Major sales in LionGold, Dairy Farm

DIRECTOR activity was flat last week. Filings on Singapore Exchange for Oct 7-11 showed 15 companies recording 24 purchases worth $3.7 million and five firms with 24 disposals worth $9.6 million. The number of companies and trades on the buying side were consistent with the previous week's 14 firms and 22 acquisitions. The buy value, however, was sharply down from the previous week's purchases worth $9 million. On the selling side, the number of firms was unchanged while the number of trades was sharply up from the previous week's seven disposals. The sell value, on the other hand, was sharply down from the previous week's sales worth $64.5 million.

Buyback activity among listed firms rose with 11 companies that posted 26 repurchases worth $14.2 million. The number of trades was slightly down from the previous week's 30 repurchases but the number of firms and value were up from the previous week's eight companies and $6.98 million.

There were several significant corporate shareholder trades last week with buybacks by Ho Bee Investment and euNetworks Group following the fall in their share prices. On the directors' side, there were heavy disposals in LionGold Corp and Dairy Farm International. On the institutional shareholders' front, there were fund-manager buys in Dukang Distillers Holdings and SATS Ltd and sales in Capitacommercial Trust and Jaya Holdings.