A week of insider buying and company buybacks

[SINGAPORE] While the index benchmarks consolidated, director and CEO activity notched higher over the five sessions through to the Jul 2 close. 

Over the five sessions, more than 120 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed for around 50 primary-listed stocks. 

Directors or CEOs reported 32 acquisitions and 11 disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded 11 acquisitions and three disposals. This included CEO or director acquisitions filed for Aspial Lifestyle , Duty Free International , Elite UK Reit , GSH Corporation , Heeton Holdings , Hong Fok Corporation , Hosen Group , Leong Guan Holdings , LMS Compliance , Marco Polo Marine , mDR , Megachem , Nam Cheong , Nera Telecommunications , Singapore Shipping Corporation , Stamford Land Corporation , Tuan Sing Holdings , Ultragreen.ai , and VCPlus .

In addition, the five sessions saw 27 primary-listed companies conduct buybacks with a total consideration of S$37 million. 

Recent buyback developments include inaugural buyback programmes from Yangzijiang Maritime Development and Winking Studios . Yangzijiang Maritime Development purchased 1.43 million shares for a total consideration of S$0.84 million across Jun 25 and 26, while Winking Studios acquired 664,600 shares over six trading days in June for a total consideration of S$0.15 million.

Lincotrade & Associates Holdings also continued its buyback programme on Jul 2, purchasing 184,900 shares for S$57,931.

Aspial Lifestyle: Chairman continues market purchases following fund raising

Between Jun 26 and 30, non-executive chairman Koh Wee Seng acquired a total of 1,331,200 shares via market transactions at an average price of S$0.354 per share for a combined consideration of S$471,245, increasing his direct interest to 9.95 per cent from 9.88 per cent. His total interest increased to 75.67 per cent from 75.60 per cent, while his deemed interest remained unchanged at 65.72 per cent. 

On Jun 16, Aspial Lifestyle issued 61,709,489 preferential offering shares at an issue price of S$0.402 per share. On Jun 26, the group completed a S$46.4 million acquisition of three Malaysian companies through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Maxi Cash (Malaysia), expanding its regional footprint.

Nera Telecommunications: Executive chairman steadily builds stake

Between Jun 25 and 30, executive chairman Steve Chu acquired a total of 560,800 shares via market transactions for a combined consideration of S$91,450 at an average price of S$0.163 per share. The purchases increased his direct interest to 0.585 per cent, extending a series of market acquisitions that began on Jan 7.

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For FY2025 (ended Dec 31), Nera Telecommunications reported revenue of S$100.2 million, returned to positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of S$2.8 million and achieved profit before tax of S$1.8 million in the second half of FY2025. The group also ended FY2025 with a net cash position of S$7.2 million and an order backlog of S$104.5 million, while continuing to expand higher-margin recurring revenue streams in managed services, cybersecurity, security operations centre and network operations centre offerings.

Nam Cheong: Executive chairman increases deemed interest

Between Jun 25 and 30, executive chairman Tiong Su Kouk increased his deemed interest in Nam Cheong by 245,300 shares through a series of market purchases at an average price of S$1.096 per share. The acquisitions comprised 90,000 shares on Jun 25, 50,000 shares on Jun 26 and 105,300 shares on Jun 30. His deemed interest increased to 6.701 per cent from 6.640 per cent, while his total interest increased to 23.974 per cent from 23.913 per cent. 

Nam Cheong reduced its restructured debt from RM492.2 million (US$120.89 million) at the completion of its debt restructuring exercise in March 2024 to RM285 million by April 2026. Management has stated that the group remains focused on achieving long-term sustainable growth while maintaining prudent debt levels.

LMS Compliance: CEO adds to stake as compliance demand grows

On Jun 25 and 26, executive director and CEO Dr Ooi Shu Geok increased his deemed interest in LMS Compliance by 220,000 shares through market transactions for a combined consideration of S$95,689, raising his total deemed interest to 77.77 per cent, from 77.61 per cent. Dr Ooi’s interest is deemed through his shareholding interests in Louis May and Fitcorp Value.

The acquisitions were made at an average price of S$0.435 per share. 

LMS Compliance provides ESG (environmental, social and governance) assurance, laboratory testing, certification and compliance technology solutions across Asia. For FY2025, the group reported a 32.5 per cent increase in revenue to RM33.6 million and a 29.8 per cent rise in net profit after tax to RM6.8 million, and shareholders subsequently approved a final dividend of S$0.01 per share at the April annual general meeting. 

In May, RHT Capital initiated coverage on LMS Compliance with a “buy” recommendation and S$0.68 target price. RHT highlighted the group as a beneficiary of increasing regulatory requirements across ESG assurance, certification and compliance services, and projected revenue could increase from RM33.6 million in FY2025 to RM63 million by FY2027. The report identified execution in pursuing new market share, the pace of organic growth, and the macro and trade environment as key risks to its valuation, while separately noting succession planning as a medium-term consideration.

iWOW: S$15 million placement to support growth initiatives

On Jun 30, iWOW Technology announced a proposed placement of up to 66.7 million new shares at S$0.225 per share, raising up to S$15 million in gross proceeds. The placement is being undertaken through Zico Capital as placement agent, with Maybank Securities appointed as sub-placement agent.

The placement is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to represent approximately 24 per cent of the company’s existing issued share capital and 19.3 per cent of the enlarged share capital. The placement price of S$0.225 represents a 31.8 per cent discount to the volume weighted average price of S$0.33 on Jun 26.

iWOW stated that the proposed placement is intended to strengthen its capital base and support growth initiatives across its AgeTech, Clinical Nutrition and Internet-of-things (IoT) businesses. Net proceeds of approximately S$14.5 million are expected to be deployed towards Clinical Nutrition manufacturing capacity expansion, overseas expansion, sales and business development initiatives, research and development, acquisitions and general working capital.

The company also highlighted that the placement is intended to broaden and strengthen its shareholder base through the introduction of institutional, accredited and strategic investors, with the aim of improving market awareness and trading liquidity over time. 

The proposed placement follows a smaller capital raising completed in October 2025. At the time, iWOW issued 15 million new shares at S$0.20 per share, raising S$3.0 million in gross proceeds and increasing its issued share capital from 263.1 million shares to 278.1 million shares. As at May 29, S$513,000 of the associated net proceeds had been utilised, primarily for capital expenditure supporting the deployment of its AgeTech Wireless Alert Alarm System project. 

The latest fundraising follows improved operating performance for its FY2026 (ended Mar 31).  Revenue increased 19 per cent year on year to S$41.3 million, while operating profit rose 150 per cent to S$3.6 million. All five business segments recorded revenue growth, led by Datacomm & Enterprise Solutions, which increased 58 per cent to S$13.9 million, while Wireless Engineering Solutions grew 4 per cent to S$15.8 million. Excluding exceptional items, adjusted net profit improved to S$2.8 million, compared with S$1.3 million in FY2025. 

Reported FY2026 earnings continued to be impacted by a S$4.4 million final fair value adjustment relating to the acquisition of Roots Communications, resulting in a net loss of S$1.6 million. The company stated that FY2026 marked the conclusion of the three-year earn-out assessment period, with no further fair value adjustments expected in relation to the acquisition.

The proposed placement coincides with iWOW’s expansion across its AgeTech, Clinical Nutrition and IoT businesses. In April 2026, the company announced the proposed S$11.2 million acquisition of The Gentle Group, a Singapore-based provider of therapeutic nutrition solutions.

In its FY2026 results commentary, management described the transaction as part of its strategic development of a broader longevity ecosystem spanning safety, sustenance and social connection segments. iWOW ended FY2026 with S$11.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from S$4.4 million a year earlier, while net asset value per share increased to S$0.0877 from S$0.0720.

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