Stake increases stand out amid net institutional selling

Founded by David Iben in 2013, Kopernik is an employee-owned global equity investment manager with US$10.6 billion of assets under management as at Sep 30, 2026. The firm describes its approach as bottom-up and fundamentally driven, with an emphasis on intrinsic value, long-term investing and opportunities where its analysis differs from prevailing market views.

Separately, on Oct 28, Golden Agri-Resources said senior representatives had met Singapore ministers and officials in relation to recent transboundary haze, following an earlier notice received by its wholly owned Singapore subsidiary from the National Environment Agency under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act.

The group reaffirmed its commitment to cooperate fully and transparently with the authorities and independent assessors, and said it remained committed to responsible and sustainable operations, and longstanding measures for fire prevention, monitoring and management.

Amova rebuilds UMS stake above 6%

On Oct 22, Amova Asset Management increased its deemed interest in UMS Integration to 6.08 per cent from 5.99 per cent, following the acquisition of 882,000 shares through a market transaction for S$1.96 million at an average price of S$2.2262 per share.

The acquisition increased its deemed interest to 57.22 million shares from 56.34 million shares previously. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, which has a controlling interest in Amova Asset Management, reported the same deemed interest.

The increase follows UMS’ placement of 52.94 million new shares on Oct 9, which enlarged the company’s share base and diluted Amova Asset Management’s deemed interest to 5.85 per cent from 6.15 per cent, despite the number of shares held by its managed portfolios increasing to 55.03 million from 54.62 million.

Separately, Amova Asset Management Asia acquired 402,000 shares on-market for S$1.12 million on the same day, but its percentage interest nevertheless declined to 5.72 per cent from 6.01 per cent because of the enlarged share base.

In its August results, UMS said its current performance had yet to reflect the full contribution from several new manufacturing services progressing through customer qualification. Both of its major customers projected year-on-year demand growth in 2026 and 2027, while the group continues to expand capacity in Penang and evaluate additional manufacturing capacity in Vietnam.

UMS said it expects to remain profitable in the 2026 financial year, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Amova crosses 9% Frencken stake

On Oct 22, Amova Asset Management increased its deemed interest in Frencken Group to 9.05 per cent from 8.91 per cent, following the acquisition of 634,100 shares through a market transaction for S$1.34 million at an average price of about S$2.112 per share.

The acquisition increased its deemed interest to 42.84 million shares from 42.2 million shares previously. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group, which has a controlling interest in Amova Asset Management, reported the same deemed interest.

The increase continues a series of stake increases by entities associated with Amova Asset Management, which first became a substantial shareholder in March when its interest exceeded 5 per cent, before subsequently crossing the 6 per cent threshold in June, 7 per cent in August and 8 per cent in September.

In its August results, Frencken said total revenue for the second half of FY2026 was expected to exceed that of both H2 FY2025 and H1 FY2026. It maintained its outlook for FY2026’s revenue and profit to be higher than FY2025’s.

The group expects H2 FY2026 revenue to be higher year on year for its semiconductor, medical and automotive segments, stable for analytical life sciences and lower for industrial automation.

Frencken said Mechatronics Asia was expected to remain on a growth trajectory in H2 FY2026, supported by solid demand from a major front-end semiconductor equipment customer, while its European operations are positioned for an anticipated ramp-up in activity from another major front-end equipment customer.

The group also reiterated its longer-term ambition to exceed S$1 billion in annual revenue by 2028, if not earlier, through organic expansion and strategic investments or acquisition.

T Rowe Price raises NTT DC Reit stake above 6%

On Oct 15, T Rowe Price Associates’ deemed interest in NTT DC Reit increased above the 6 per cent threshold. The investment manager became aware of the threshold crossing on the morning of Oct 16 and subsequently submitted the notification. Its deemed interest arises through investment funds and other accounts for which it or its affiliates act as investment adviser.

The increase builds on T Rowe Price’s participation in NTT DC Reit’s initial public offering. On Jul 14, 2025, it acquired 53.6 million units through the placement for US$53.6 million, resulting in a deemed interest of 5.2 per cent. The latest filing therefore represents a further increase in a position established at listing, rather than T Rowe Price becoming a substantial unitholder for the first time.

NTT DC Reit owns six data centre assets across the US, Austria and Singapore. As at Mar 31, 2026, the portfolio was valued at US$1.67 billion, with 90.7 megawatts of design IT load. The Reit is sponsored by NTT, the global data centre subsidiary of NTT Data.

For the first quarter of FY2027, distributable income of US$22.6 million exceeded the IPO projection by 10.6 per cent, while net property income of US$27.9 million was 5 per cent above projection. Occupancy increased to 95.9 per cent as at Jun 30 from 95.1 per cent as at Mar 31, and would reach 99.2 per cent including committed leases.

Lease renewals during the quarter recorded positive rental reversion of 13.4 per cent. NTT DC Reit is scheduled to report its H1 FY2027 results after market close on Nov 11.

Ang Hao Yao raises Qian Hu stake above 6%

On Oct 26, Ang Hao Yao acquired 396,000 shares in Qian Hu Corporation through a market transaction for S$39,679.20, or about S$0.10 per share. The purchase increased his direct interest from 6.62 million shares, or 5.83 per cent, to 7.01 million shares, or 6.179 per cent.

The transaction represents a further increase in a substantial shareholding established in January 2023. On Jan 10, 2023, Ang acquired 110,000 shares on-market for S$27,494.50, lifting his direct interest from 4.926 per cent to 5.023 per cent and making him a substantial shareholder.

Qian Hu is an integrated fish service provider with businesses spanning ornamental fish, aquarium and pet accessories, plastics and aquaculture. The group has also expanded into aquaculture technology, premium pet care and regional seafood supply chain activities, including AquaEasy, Natureal and Timor Aquahub.

For H1 FY2026 ended Jun 30, revenue increased 3.7 per cent to S$36.4 million, while gross profit rose 7.6 per cent to S$13.4 million and profit before tax increased 8.1 per cent to S$206,000. Cash and cash equivalents stood at S$13.5 million as at Jun 30. The group expects to remain profitable for FY2026, barring unforeseen circumstances.

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