Director buying, selling surge

THE buying rose for the second straight week while the selling among directors surged based on filings on the Singapore Exchange from Feb 3-7. A total of 14 companies recorded 36 purchases worth $6.85 million versus two firms with 14 disposals worth $1.83 million. The buy figures were up from the previous week's four-day totals of 11 companies, 21 purchases, and $3.7 million. On the selling side, the number of trades and value were sharply up from the previous week's five disposals worth $0.35 million.

While the buying by directors rose last week, the buyback activity fell with only two firms that posted two repurchases worth $0.697 million. The figures were down from the previous week's four-day totals of three companies, five trades, and $1.83 million.

It was a very active week with buybacks in Wing Tai Holdings and rare director purchases in Ezra Holdings, Chew's Group, and SPH Reit. Funds were also active last week with a purchase in Noble Group and sales in Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Linc Energy, and Hong Leong Finance.