Rethinking the purpose of share buybacks

IN 2022, companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) spent a three-year high of about S$1.7 billion on share buybacks. Those listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) also broke repurchase records in recent years. A large increase in share buybacks was also observed among firms listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2017 to 2018, although this has moderated since 2020.

Over in the United States, a 1 per cent tax on companies purchasing their own shares from the market was signed into law by US President Joe Biden in February.

Democratic lawmaker Chuck Schumer reportedly said: “I hate stock buybacks… Instead of investing in workers and in training and research and in equipment, they don’t do a thing to make the company better and they artificially raise the stock price by just reducing the number of shares. They are despicable. I’d like to abolish them”.