Share buybacks not for all companies

CORPORATES listed in Singapore are busy repurchasing their shares, trying to scoop them up on the cheap or shore up declining share prices in the current market sell-off.

Fifty-three companies blew S$448 million on share buybacks in just the first three weeks of March, according to Singapore Exchange (SGX) data. This amount was the highest since the last peak of S$544 million in August 2015.

In comparison, only 17 companies bought back shares in February. They spent just S$67.9 million.