Director activity falls while buybacks go up

THE director activity was low last week with only eight companies recording 20 purchases worth S$4.6 million and no sales, based on filings on the Singapore Exchange from Feb 23 to 27. The number of firms and trading value were down from the previous week's 3-day totals of nine companies and S$22.8 million. The number of acquisitions, on the other hand, was not far off from the previous week's 16 purchases. The absence of sellers compares with one firm that recorded one disposal worth S$0.26 million in the previous week.

While the buying by directors fell, the overall buyback activity rose for the second straight week with 12 companies posting 44 repurchases worth S$19.5 million. The figures were sharply up from the previous week's seven firms, 18 trades and S$10.1 million.

The bulk of the purchases last week were made following the announcement of earnings results, with buybacks in SingTel and insider buys in Challenger Technologies, Lum Chang Holdings, Roxy-Pacific, CWT Limited, GP Batteries and GRP Limited.