THE S$0.65-a-share privatisation offer for Teckwah Industrial Corp by its three major shareholders comes at a good premium over Teckwah's all-time close of S$0.555.

But it also underscores the worrying trend of the Singapore market's fixation on cash returns.

The cash offer for Teckwah comes on the heels of an open letter from activist investor Quarz Capital Management to Teckwah's management and board. Bemoaning Teckwah's low share price return, Quarz had called on Teckwah to increase its dividend payout ratio to 80 per cent of net income from the historical average of 32 per cent since 2011.