Wee Ee Cheong boosts UOB stake

FOR the 5 trading sessions that spanned Aug 19 to Aug 25, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.8 per cent, with the FTSE China A50 Index declining 0.9 per cent, the Hang Seng Index gaining 1.3 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declining 1.1 per cent.

Overall, institutions were net buyers of Singapore stocks for the 5 sessions ending Aug 25, with S$151 million of net inflows. DBS Group Holdings : D05 0%, United Overseas Bank : U11 0%, Keppel Corporation, : BN4 0%Venture Corporation : V03 0% and Sembcorp Industries : U96 0% led the net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions.

Share buybacks

There were 23 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 4 sessions ending Aug 25, with a total consideration of S$83.8 million following the consideration of S$113.6 million for the preceding 5 sessions.

The non-STI stocks that led the share buyback consideration tally were Yangzijiang Financial Holding and The Hour Glass. The Hour Glass paid an average price of S$2.20 for its buybacks, while Yangzijiang Financial Holding paid an average price of 37.8 cents per share. As of Aug 25, the current mandates had seen Yangzijiang Financial Holding buy back 1.78 per cent of its issued shares, excluding treasury shares, while The Hour Glass had bought back 1.62 per cent.

Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The 5 trading sessions saw over 70 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for 40 primary-listed stocks. This included 19 company director acquisitions with 1 disposal filed, while substantial shareholders filed 7 acquisitions and 5 disposals.

United Overseas Bank

Between Aug 16 and 22, United Overseas Bank (UOB) deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong acquired 100,000 shares at an average price of S$26.86 per share. With a consideration of S$2,685,568, this increased his total interest in UOB from 10.55 per cent to 10.56 per cent. These were his first acquisitions since June 3, 2019, when he acquired 25,000 shares at S$23.56 per share. Wee’s career in banking spans more than 40 years. He joined UOB in 1979 and was appointed as its deputy chairman in 2000, and in 2007, he assumed the position of CEO. He also sits on the boards of several UOB subsidiaries including United Overseas Insurance, United Overseas Bank (China), PT Bank UOB Indonesia, United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) and United Overseas Bank (Thai) Public Company. He was also formerly a director of Far Eastern Bank. Wee noted back on July 29 that the group had continued to see economic activity picking up as borders reopen and investment flows resume. For Singapore, he noted consumer sentiment was holding up well and employment was strong with institutional and private wealth inflows remaining steady given the country’s safe-haven and regional hub status. He added that while the aggressive rate increases around the world are going to put a damper on global growth, the group remained fairly optimistic of the resilience of its key markets in South-east Asia. UOB operates through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as branches and representative offices across the region.

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United Hampshire US Reit

On Aug 24, United Hampshire US Reit : ODBU 0% Management Pte Ltd non-independent non-executive director David Tuvia Goss acquired 400,000 units of United Hampshire US Reit (UHREIT) at an average price of 60.4 US cents per unit. With a consideration of US$419,580 this took his direct interest in UHREIT to 0.21 per cent. UHREIT is the first US grocery-anchored shopping centre and self-storage Reit to list in Singapore, and on Aug 12, reported 1H22 distributable income of US$16.3 million, 7.2 per cent higher than 1H21.

Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit

On Aug 22, Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit : CMOU 0% Management Pte Ltd non-executive and independent director Kenneth Tan Jhu Hwa acquired 450,000 units of Keppel Pacific Oak US Reit (KORE) at 65.6 US cents per unit. With a consideration of US$295,200, this increased his interest in KORE from 0.02 per cent to 0.07 per cent. Tan is currently the co-managing partner and managing director of Southern Capital Group where he oversees the fund management process and is responsible for deal generation, execution, portfolio monitoring, post-acquisition exits via trade sale and recaps.

Bonvests Holdings

On Aug 22, Bonvests Holdings : B28 0% executive chairman and managing director Henry Ngo acquired 1,676,900 shares at an average price of 98.0 cents per share. The acquisition was made through Allsland, which is wholly owned by him and increased his total interest in Bonvests from 83.80 per cent to 84.21 per cent. His preceding acquisitions were on Aug 10, with 4,100 shares acquired at 98.0 cents per share and between May 11 and 17, with 86,300 shares acquired at 95.9 cents per share.

On Aug 8, Bonvests Holdings reported group 1H22 revenue of S$93.17 million, an increase of 55.4 per cent from 1H21. The group’s 3 core businesses are property development and investment, hotel ownership and management, waste management and contract cleaning of buildings.

The hotel division’s 1H22 revenue increased by 122.8 per cent over the same period last year as countries relaxed their border controls and travel restrictions. The group’s property - rental division’s revenue decreased marginally by 0.3 per cent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, the group’s industrial division registered lower revenue mainly due to fewer new contracts secured, non-renewal of contracts upon expiry and rollover effects of contracts expired during FY21 for both the waste disposal and contract cleaning businesses.

Baker Technology

On Aug 23, Baker Technology : BTP 0% executive director Benety Chang acquired 301,700 shares of the company at an average price of 47.5 cents per share. With a consideration of S$143,308, this increased his total interest in the company from 53.08 per cent to 53.23 per cent. Previously he had acquired 115,000 shares at 46.0 cents per share on Aug 12, 132,000 shares at of 44.9 cents per share on Aug 2, and 82,300 shares at 43.9 cents per share on May 4. As the major shareholder of the company, Dr Chang has extensive experience in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Addvalue Technologies

Between Aug 19 and 22, Addvalue Technologies : A31 0% non-executive and non-independent director Chua Chwee Koh acquired 7,834,900 shares for a consideration of S$119,524. At an average price of 1.53 cents per share, this took his direct interest in the satellite communications company to 0.24 per cent. Chua was appointed to the board on Jan 1, 2022. He has spent 17 years with Certis Cisco in leading and transforming the business, playing a key role in integrating operations and technology in the security business and was leading the digital transformation in the last 3 years. He is currently a senior adviser in Certis.

Samudera Shipping Line

Between Aug 18 and 19, Samudera Shipping Line : S56 0% executive director and CEO Bani Maulana Mulia acquired 49,100 shares at an average price of S$1.02 cents per share. He maintains a 0.62 per cent direct interest in Samudera Shipping Line, which is primarily engaged in container shipping transportation of cargo in the Asian region. His preceding acquisition of 6,700 shares was on May 27 at 74.5 cents per share. Mr Bani took the helm as CEO in September 2020 bringing with him nearly 2 decades of industry experience, having started his career in 2001 as a finance officer in Samudera Indonesia. The group reported 1H22 revenue of US$476.2 million, representing 128 per cent year-on-year growth from 1H21. Revenue from the container shipping segment rose 131 per cent year-on-year. While in line with the higher level of shipping activities, cost of services rose by 77 per cent. This saw 1H22 net profit after tax of US$172.4 million. Looking forward, Samudera Shipping Line noted that while demand for container shipping services has stabilised, freight rates are expected to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels due to the lag in container vessel supply to meet demand.

Livingstone Health Holdings

On Aug 22, Livingstone Health Holdings : PRH 0% executive director and CEO Wilson Tay Ching Yit acquired 92,000 shares of the Catalist-listed company at an average price of 11.6 cents per share. With a consideration of S$10,672, this increased Dr Tay’s total interest in the multidisciplinary healthcare group from 58.53 per cent to 58.55 per cent.

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