FOR the 5 trading sessions that spanned Jan 7 to 13, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 2.3 per cent, with the FTSE China A50 Index declining 1.4 per cent, the Hang Seng Index gaining 4.9 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gaining 2.1 per cent.

Within the STI, DBS Group Holdings D05 , OCBC O39 , UOB U11 , Singapore Telecommunications Z74 and Singapore Exchange S68 : S68 0% received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions.

Outside the STI, Singapore Press Holdings T39 , Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust RW0U , Keppel Reit K71U , Ascott Residence Trust HMN and Riverstone Holdings AP4 : AP4 0% received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions.

Overall, institutions were net buyers over the period, with S$405 million of net inflow, with ComfortDelGro Corporation C52 , Mapletree Logistics Trust M44U , and CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust C38U : C38U 0% reporting the highest net institutional outflows.

Share buybacks

There were 18 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions with a total consideration of S$12.0 million.

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Nanofilm Technologies International MZH : MZH 0% led the consideration tally, paying an average price of S$3.45 per share.

Secondary-listings Hongkong Land H78 and Jardine Matheson Holdings J36 : J36 0% also bought back shares during the period.

Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The 5 trading sessions saw close to 60 changes in director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for 27 primary-listed stocks.

This included 16 company director acquisitions with 2 disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed 8 acquisitions and 2 disposals.

UOL Group

On Jan 10, Wee Investments acquired 278,000 shares of UOL Group U14 : U14 0% at S$7.00 per share.

This took the total interest of UOL Group chairman Wee Cho Yaw from 37.95 per cent to 37.99 per cent.

The recent wave of acquisitions by Wee Investments, which began late last year on Nov 30, has seen the banker increase his total interest in UOL Group from 37.41 per cent.

In August 2021, UOL Group reported a net attributable profit of S$91.3 million for its H1FY21 (ended Jun 30) as revenue from property development rose substantially while fair value losses fell sharply, turning around from a net attributable loss of S$82.1 million for the same period last year.

The company is expected to report its FY21 results in late February.

iFAST Corporation

On Jan 11, iFAST Corporation AIY : AIY 0% (iFAST Corp) chairman and CEO Lim Chung Chun acquired 100,400 shares of the company for a consideration of S$758,792.

At an average price of S$7.56 per share, the acquisition took his total interest in iFAST Corp from 22.07 per cent to 22.10 per cent.

His preceding acquisition of shares, via market transactions, were in early 2021, with 50,000 shares acquired at S$5.63 per share on Mar 11, and 40,500 shares at S$5.64 a share on Feb 24.

While the S$7.56 price per share was more than 30 per cent higher than the prices paid for Lim's preceding acquisitions in February to March last year, the price-earnings ratio of iFAST Corp, was comparable at 70x.

This was on the back of iFAST Corp reporting a 63.6 per cent year-on-year increase in its net profit for its 9MFY21 (ended Sep 30).

Lim noted last year that the recent trend of greater digitalisation had benefited iFAST Corp, as the company had always sought to position itself for the wealth management industry of the future, which it believed would be highly digitalised.

Lim co-founded the company with the launch of its B2C division Fundsupermart.com in Singapore in 2000, following which the B2B division iFAST Financial was launched in 2001.

Today, iFAST Corp is a wealth management Fintech platform that combines Fintech solutions with the capabilities of a licensed financial institution to provide multi-product offerings.

Lim has also led the company's regional expansion efforts, extending iFAST Corp's presence beyond Singapore to Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and India.

Last week, iFAST Corp also announced that it had raised a total of S$105 million via a placement of 14 million shares to institutional and accredited investors for the purpose of funding the group's proposed acquisition of a UK bank that was announced on Jan 7.

The placement was over-subscribed with more than S$150 million in total subscription, which was more than double the initial base deal size of S$75 million, with the issue price of S$7.50 also at the top end of the placement's price range of S$7.30 to S$7.50.

As of Sep 30, the wealth management fintech platform, maintained S$18.38 billion in assets under administration.

LY Corporation

On Jan 11, LY Corporation 1H8 : 1H8 0% founder and executive chairman Tan Kwee Chai acquired 714,200 shares of the company via a married deal, in addition to another 50,000 shares via the open market.

At an average price of 11.0 cents per share, the total consideration of the 2 acquisitions was S$84,112.

This took his total interest in the manufacturer and exporter of wooden bedroom furniture from 72.97 per cent to 73.12 per cent.

It followed his acquisition of 200,000 shares of the company at 13.0 cents per share on Nov 5, and 2,471,800 shares at 16.0 cents per share on Aug 3.

Tan, who started furniture making in 1976, has been a director of LY Furniture since its incorporation and is responsible for the group's overall management and operations, including formulating its strategic directions and expansion plans.

Chip Eng Seng Corporation

On Jan 10, Chip Eng Seng C29 : C29 0% Corporation independent director Yaacob bin Ibrahim acquired 100,000 shares of the company for a consideration of S$42,500.

This was Professor Yaacob's first acquisition of Chip Eng Seng Corporation shares since his appointment to the board in February 2020.

The former government minister is currently a Professor of Engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology, where he is also adviser to the president of the Singapore Institute of Technology and director of the Community Leadership and Social Innovation Centre.

Prior to Professor Yaacob's acquisition, between Jan 6 and 7, Chip Eng Seng Corporation non-executive chairman Celine Tang increased her total interest in the homegrown construction and property development group from 37.25 per cent to 38.04 per cent.

LHT Holdings

On Jan 7, LHT Holdings BEI : BEI 0% chairman, managing director and CEO, Yap Mui Kee acquired 46,800 shares of the company for a consideration of S$32,292.

At an average price of 69.0 cents per share, this took Yap's total interest in the manufacturer of high-quality wooden pallets, boxes, and crates from 14.60 per cent to 14.69 per cent.

Since Sep 20, 2021, she has been steadily increasing her direct interest in LHT Holdings from 14.12 per cent.

Yap has been executive director of the company since January 1988.

After her appointment as acting managing director in February 2016, she became chairman, managing director and CEO in February 2017.

The company announced last week that it will report its FY21 (ended Dec 31) financials after the Feb 25 market close.

Baker Technology

Between Jan 10 and 11, Baker Technology BTP : BTP 0% executive director Benety Chang acquired 65,000 shares of the company at an average price of 40.3 cents per share.

With a consideration of S$26,216, this increased Dr Chang's total interest in the manufacturer and provider of specialised marine offshore equipment and services, from 52.75 per cent to 52.78 per cent.

His preceding acquisition was on Dec 8, with 113,700 shares acquired at 41.9 cents per share.

He is also an executive director and CEO of CH Offshore.

• The writer is the market strategist at Singapore Exchange (SGX). To read SGX's market research reports, visit sgx.com/research.