Oxley executive chairman Ching Chiat Kwong raises stake

FOR the trading sessions that spanned Apr 28 to May 4, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.4 per cent while the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI gained 0.3 per cent.

Institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks over the four sessions with S$50 million of net outflow. DBS : D05 0%, UOB : U11 0%, Thai Beverage : Y92 0%, OCBC : O39 0% and Keppel Reit : K71U 0% led the net institutional outflow for the four sessions.

Meanwhile, Singtel : Z74 0%, Sembcorp Industries : U96 0%, Seatrium : S51 0%, Keppel Corporation : BN4 0% and Singapore Airlines : C6L 0% led the institutional inflow over the four sessions.

Share buybacks

There were 12 companies conducting share buybacks over the four trading sessions through to May 4, with a total consideration of S$4.8 million. (* see amendment note below)

Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The four trading sessions saw 100 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for close to 40 primary-listed stocks. This included 17 company director acquisitions with four disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed 11 acquisitions and 11 disposals.

Acquisitions saw filings for directors of A-Sonic Aerospace : BTJ 0%, China Sunsine Chemical Holdings : QES 0%, Darco Water Technologies : BLR 0%, Heeton Holdings : 5DP 0%, Tai Sin Electric : 500 0%, Trans-China Automotive Holdings : VI2 0% and YKGI : YK9 0%, in addition to Oxley Holdings : 5UX 0% and Wilmar International : F34 0%.

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Oxley Holdings

On April 28, Oxley Holdings executive chairman and CEO Ching Chiat Kwong acquired 20 million shares at S$0.140 per share. This increased his direct interest in the home-grown property developer from 42.65 per cent to 43.12 per cent.

Oxley Holdings maintains a business presence in seven geographical markets, which include Singapore, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cambodia, Malaysia, China, and Cyprus.

Ching is responsible for the formulation of corporate strategies, charting future growth plans and driving the overall performance of the group.

He possesses more than 20 years of property industry experience. Prior to establishing the group, he invested in, developed, and launched 13 residential property projects in various parts of Singapore.

He noted in February, with Oxley’s first-half results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, that the group saw opportunities in the year ahead but would take cautious steps and continue to strengthen its financial position with the disposal of non-core assets to focus on the development projects in developed markets.

As at Dec 31, 2022, Oxley Holdings maintained cash and cash equivalents of S$152.9 million and a gearing ratio of 1.89, compared with cash and cash equivalents of S$143.9 million and a gearing ratio of 1.99, as at Jun 30, 2022.

From its incorporation in March 2010, through to Dec 31, 2022, the company has launched a portfolio of 51 projects and completed 41 projects. Most of its projects incorporate retail elements, lifestyle features and facilities.

Ching’s keen business acumen and astute ability to identify market trends and business opportunities have enabled him to lead the group’s expansion into the development of industrial and commercial projects in addition to residential properties. The 2010 year also saw Ching listing Oxley Holdings on the SGX Mainboard.

As he highlighted back in September 2021, one of the key lessons Oxley Holdings learnt over the past decade was to pick a strong partner, and the group maintains a strategy to enter into joint ventures or strategic alliances with good partners for the pooling of financial resources and management expertise in project developments. Ching affirms that this significantly reduces the risks undertaken by the group.

Among the multiple international development projects, Oxley Holdings maintains a 90 per cent effective stake in Dublin Arch with an expected Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in 2025; a 50 per cent effective stake in Riverscape in the UK which expects a TOP in 2024; a 75 per cent effective stake in The Peak in Cambodia with a TOP in 2023; and a 45 per cent effective stake in Trinity Wellnessa in Malaysia which is pending a TOP in 2025.

The group does maintain 100 per cent stakes in some international projects as well, and that includes Oxley Towers KLCC in Malaysia which expects a TOP in 2024.

Meanwhile, the group highlighted on Feb 1 that as at Jan 3, more than 99 per cent of its Singapore development projects had been sold. As at Dec 31, the group had a total unbilled contract value of S$1.4 billion, of which about S$1.1 billion was attributable to the projects in Singapore and around S$0.3 billion was attributable to overseas projects.

Oxley Holdings has also been conducting share buybacks this year, buying back 12.5 million shares on the current mandate which represents 0.30 per cent of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares). The group’s shareholders first approved the share purchase mandate at the extraordinary general meeting held in October 2015 to enable the company to purchase or otherwise acquire issued shares, with the mandate renewed at subsequent annual general meetings.

Oxley Holdings maintains that the rationale for its share buybacks is threefold.

Firstly, it provides the company with a mechanism to return surplus cash over and above its ordinary capital requirements and investment needs to its shareholders in an expedient and cost-efficient manner.

Secondly, the share buyback mandate allows the directors to exercise greater control over the company’s share capital structure, dividend policy and cash reserves, with a view to enhancing the net tangible assets and/or earnings per share.

Thirdly, the purchase or acquisition of shares under the share purchase mandate can help to mitigate short-term share price volatility by stabilising the supply and demand of issued shares and offset the effects of short-term share price speculation, thereby supporting the fundamental value of the issued shares, and bolstering shareholder confidence. As noted in February, the group remains focused on repositioning and growing its business, pushing ahead on the path towards full financial recovery.

Wilmar International

Wilmar International chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hong increased his deemed interest in the company following the April 28 release of its first-quarter results for the year ending Dec 31, 2023. On May 3, two companies that Kuok is deemed to be interested in acquired a total of 311,000 shares in Wilmar International at S$3.85 per share. The consideration of the acquisitions totalled S$1,197,350. Kuok maintains a 13.19 per cent total interest in the company.

The group reported Q1 FY23 net profit of US$391.4 million and core net profit of US$381.9 million, with stronger sales volume recorded in both food products and feed and industrial products segments. Excluding the gain on dilution of interest in Adani Wilmar of US$175.6 million recognised in Q1 FY22, the group reported year-on-year growth in net profit of 10.3 per cent, while core net profit grew 16.5 per cent year on year in Q1 FY23.

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

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story gave the total buyback consideration value in Sing dollars, but this is incorrect as one of the components is not in Sing dollars.