Institutional outflows persist as buybacks sustain and insiders accumulate

[SINGAPORE] For the five trading sessions spanning Mar 6 to 12, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional outflow of S$156 million. This took the accumulated net outflow for the first quarter of 2026 to Mar 12 to S$304 million.

The stocks that had the highest net institutional outflow over the five sessions included DBS , Yangzijiang Shipbuilding , Genting Singapore , UI Boustead Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), Singtel , OCBC , CapitaLand India Trust , CapitaLand Ascendas Reit , UOL Group and ComfortDelGro Corporation .

Meanwhile, Hongkong Land , ST Engineering , Wilmar International , UOB , Singapore Exchange (SGX), Seatrium , AEM , Keppel , UMS Integration and DFI Retail Group led the net institutional inflow.

Share buybacks surge

Over the five sessions, 30 primary-listed companies conducted buybacks with a total consideration of S$65 million. Twenty of the 30 stocks that filed the largest buyback considerations are tabled.

Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust also bought back units, as did secondary-listed Hongkong Land.

Director transactions

Close to 80 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed for more than 40 primary-listed stocks across the five sessions. Directors or chief executive officers reported 16 acquisitions and one disposal, while substantial shareholders recorded five acquisitions and one disposal.

This included CEO or director acquisitions filed for BRC Asia , , Centurion Corporation , Geo Energy Resources , IFS Capital , MegaChem , Nera Telecommunications , QAF , Raffles Medical Group , SunMoon Food Company and Tai Sin Electric .

On Mar 9, Raffles Medical executive and non-independent director Dr Sarah Lu increased her deemed interest by 100,000 shares at an average price of S$0.99 apiece. She maintains a 3.43 per cent total interest in the group, and has been on the board since February 2018.

Centurion Corporation: CEO and chairmen continue buying following results

Centurion Corporation executive director and joint chairman David Loh and non-executive director and joint chairman Han Seng Juan continued to increase their interests in the purpose-built accommodation assets group.

On Mar 9, Loh acquired 200,000 shares at an average price of S$1.39 each. This raised his total interest from 60 per cent to 60.02 per cent, following an increase from 59.82 per cent over the preceding five sessions.

Between Mar 9 and 12, Han acquired 764,800 shares at an average price of S$1.40 apiece, bringing his total interest up from 55.9 per cent to 55.99 per cent.

QAF managing director buys shares amid profit upswing

On Mar 9, QAF joint group managing director and executive director Lin Kejian acquired 69,500 shares, increasing his total interest from 39.5 per cent to 39.51 per cent. The shares were bought at an average price of S$0.96 each.

For the second half of its 2025 financial year (ended Dec 31), the food company’s profit expanded 62 per cent year on year to S$35.9 million, despite comparable revenue.

This was attributed largely to a foreign currency translation gain in H2 FY2025, compared with a foreign currency translation loss in H2 FY2024.

The bakery segment contributed more than 70 per cent to the company’s H2 revenue, while the Philippines and Malaysia accounted for over 40 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, of full-year revenue.

The group continues to focus on strengthening its competitive position through its core brands, selective product launches and regional growth. At the same time, it is mitigating margin pressure via product mix and operational efficiencies, supported by a strong balance sheet.

Tai Sin Electric CEO increases stake

Between Mar 6 and 10, Tai Sin Electric executive director and CEO Bernard Lim acquired 170,700 shares at S$0.51 per share. This raised his total interest in the industrial group from 18.23 per cent to 18.27 per cent.

He has been gradually increasing his total interest in the company from 14.82 per cent as at end-2019.

Tai Sin Electric was founded in 1980 and is now a regional cable manufacturer listed on the SGX mainboard. It supplies high-quality electrical cables from plants in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam to industrial, commercial, residential and infrastructure projects across both the public and private sectors.

For its H1 FY2026 (ended Dec 31), its profit fell 53.1 per cent from the year before to S$7.4 million, despite a 20 per cent rise in revenue, reflecting margin pressure rather than demand weakness.

The decline was driven mainly by an S$11.8 million provision for onerous contracts following higher copper prices, alongside lower gains from subsidiary disposals. It was partly offset by a bargain purchase gain from the acquisition of renewable energy subsidiaries.

Tai Sin Electric said that while copper price volatility and supply chain constraints remain pressures, the group is focused on execution and selective growth in South-east Asia, supported by resilient domestic demand, digital infrastructure investment and renewable energy development.

Beng Kuang Marine completes S$5 million placement to support working capital

Beng Kuang Marine concluded its placement of new shares on Mar 10, with the listing on Mar 11, following its initial announcements on Feb 26.

The company allotted and issued 15,625,000 new ordinary shares at an issue price of S$0.32 each, raising gross proceeds of about S$5 million. This expanded its issued share capital by 7.5 per cent.

The placement was to raise funds for working capital purposes. Beng Kuang’s directors said this would improve liquidity to support ongoing business operations.

The group operates across infrastructure engineering and corrosion prevention, with a core focus on maintenance, upgrading and life-extension work for floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), as well as floating storage and offloading vessels (FSOs).

According to the American Bureau of Shipping, more than half of the global FPSO fleet is over 30 years old. This supports sustained demand for asset integrity, maintenance and life-extension services as the fleet continues to age.

As at the end of FY2025, Beng Kuang serviced 23 FPSOs and one FSO. By prioritising shorter-term contracts with faster turnover, it aims to improve operational visibility and earnings stability. This is also amid industry forecasts for a steady FPSO project pipeline into the late 2020s.

On Feb 26, the group announced plans – which are subject to shareholder approval – to acquire the remaining stake in Asian Sealand Offshore and Marine for S$60 million.

This would lead to full ownership of a business that provides high-value, mission-critical offshore life-cycle services, including asset life extension, regulatory compliance and operational reliability for floating production assets.

Serial Achieva raises S$4.6 million at premium to support balance sheet and growth

Catalist-listed Serial Achieva is a distributor of consumer and enterprise IT products with operations in Malaysia and Thailand. It partners brands such as MSI, Intel, Gigabyte, AMD and ViewSonic to offer products ranging from desktop central processing units and motherboards, to video graphics array cards and gaming laptops.

The group has entered into a share subscription agreement with UFCT Technology Co for the issuance of 21 million new ordinary shares at a subscription price of S$0.22 per share, raising around S$4.6 million in gross proceeds.

The subscription price represents a 21.55 per cent premium to the volume-weighted average price of the shares on Mar 10. Post-completion, the new shares will represent about 11.01 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital.

The net proceeds are intended to be used for loan repayment (40 per cent) and working capital (60 per cent).

The subscriber is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shannon Semiconductor Technology Co, a Shenzhen-listed electronic components distributor, and is subject to a six-month restriction on the disposal of the subscription shares.

For its H2 FY2025 (ended Dec 31), Serial Achieva recorded a lower net loss of US$200,000 compared with US$900,000 in H2 FY2024. This was due mainly to higher gross profit from improved margins despite lower sales, supported by larger foreign exchange gains.

Guided by its 2026 theme of strengthening capabilities and creating opportunities, the company aims to broaden its customer base, diversify revenue sources and enhance operational efficiency and talent development while actively managing external risks through disciplined inventory and credit practices.

Lendlease Global Commercial Reit advances preferential offering process

On Mar 10, Lendlease Global Commercial Reit dispatched an instruction booklet to entitled unitholders in connection with its underwritten, non-renounceable preferential offering to raise S$196.6 million.

This marked the formal commencement of the offering, enabling unitholders to accept their provisional allotments and apply for excess new units by Mar 18.

The preferential offering will be used to fund a 30 per cent acquisition in PLQ Mall and repay debt at the Lendlease Reit level, with the combined transaction expected to be distribution per unit-accretive while keeping pro forma aggregate leverage at around 38 per cent.

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