Buyback momentum continues, director acquisitions broaden

[SINGAPORE] For the five sessions till the Jun 11 close, 26 primary-listed companies conducted buybacks with a total consideration of S$170 million. Singtel again led the buyback tally, with 27.1 million shares at an average price of S$4.26, all purchased under the S$2 billion value realisation share buy-back programme.

With a similar pace to the previous week, around 90 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed across more than 40 primary-listed stocks over the five sessions. Directors or CEOs reported 28 acquisitions and seven disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded seven purchases and two disposals.

This included CEO or director acquisitions filed for a broad mix of counters including Asian Pay Television Trust , Aspial Lifestyle , Centurion Corporation , Duty Free International , Embracing Future Holdings , Ho Bee Land , Huationg Global , LMS Compliance , Megachem , Multi-Chem , Nera Telecommunications , OxPay Financial , Prospera Global , Soon Hock Enterprise Holding , SunMoon Food Company , and Thai Beverage .

EFH: Chen Lu raises stake as group advances healthcare and digital platform focus

On Jun 8, Embracing Future Holdings (EFH) executive director and president Chen Lu acquired 83 million shares for S$3.9 million representing an average price of S$0.047 per share. The married deal increased his direct stake from 76 million shares (4.38 per cent) to 159 million shares (9.17 per cent).

The acquisition comes as the group continues its transition following its June 2025 rebranding from Biolidics, with management outlining a strategic pivot into healthcare initiatives, including stem cell-based treatments, alongside broader technology and platform-led segments.

At its annual general meeting on Apr 29, the EFH chairman highlighted collaborations in next-generation healthcare, including a partnership with a Japanese counterpart, citing its established regulatory framework for stem cell treatments, while noting that the group remains in the early stages of developing these segments

Chen, who was appointed executive director and president in April 2024, has a background in technology and platform development, with experience in senior roles spanning digital operations and scalable platform businesses.

Ho Bee Land: Deemed interest edges higher on continued market accumulation

Between Jun 3 and 8, Ho Bee Holdings acquired a combined 1,298,600 shares for total consideration of S$2,705,708, implying an average price of about S$2.08 per share. These on-market purchases increased executive chairman Chua Thian Poh’s deemed interest from 75.79 per cent to 75.98 per cent. The accumulation was executed via the controlling shareholder vehicle, which continues to account for the bulk of the deemed interest, alongside smaller holdings attributed to related entities and spouse.

Aspial Lifestyle: Chairman continues buying, stake edges higher

Koh Wee Seng, non-executive chairman of Aspial Lifestyle, has continued to accumulate shares through on-market purchases between Jun 5 and 10, acquiring a total of 2.57 million shares at around S$0.37 per share. Over this period, his direct interest increased from 9.5 per cent to 9.63 per cent, while total interest edged up from 75.02 per cent to 75.16 per cent, extending an already substantial controlling stake in the group. This comes alongside the recently completed preferential offering, with 61,419,662 shares taken up and total equity fundraising of approximately S$84.8 million completed.

Centurion: Insider accumulation extends as Mandai expansion comes through

Executive director and joint chairman David Loh has continued to accumulate shares in Centurion Corporation, acquiring 500,000 shares at S$1.41 on Jun 8 and a further 166,800 shares at S$1.40565 on Jun 10.

This lifts total interest to close to 406 million shares, with overall shareholding edging up to 48.25 per cent, extending an already significant position in the group.

The accumulation follows progress at the real estate investment trust, with approval secured on May 25 for expanded capacity at Mandai, supporting close to 10,000 beds.

LMS Compliance: Deemed interest edges higher

Ooi Shu Geok, executive director and chief executive officer of LMS Compliance, bought 150,000 shares on Jun 9 at S$0.43 per share.

While he has no direct interest, his deemed interest increased from 77.36 per cent to 77.47 per cent, marginally extending an already controlling stake in the group.

The fiscal year 2025 (FY25) annual report notes that LMS Compliance continues to position itself as an integrated compliance and ESG solutions provider, expanding across certification, advisory and regulatory services.

Amova builds Frencken stake as guidance deepens

On Jun 2, Amova Asset Management Asia acquired 1.01 million shares in Frencken for S$2.64 million, implying an average price of about S$2.62 per share. This increased its deemed interest from 24,853,200 shares (5.8 per cent) to 25,861,000 shares (6.03 per cent), lifting its stake above the 6 per cent level. At the group level, Amova Asset Management Co and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group saw their deemed interests rise to 26,227,200 shares (6.11 per cent), reflecting the same transaction.

Amova Asia had first become a substantial shareholder on Mar 30, when its stake rose to 21,734,000 shares (5.08 per cent).

The increase in stake has coincided with Frencken outlining expectations for higher revenue and profit in FY26, supported by continued demand from key semiconductor customers and improving momentum through the year. Mechatronics Asia continues to deliver growth, cushioning softer demand in Mechatronics Europe as the latter aligns capacity for a recovery from H2 FY26.

Frencken’s Q1 FY26 business update also provided a more expanded outlook relative to the previous year. The extent of guidance detail appeared significantly greater, covering areas such as buffer inventory, cost pass-through, supply chain adjustments and a structured growth framework targeting revenue beyond S$1 billion alongside organisational alignment initiatives.

The update also set out clearer segment trajectories. Mechatronics Asia continues to benefit from semiconductor programmes in volume production and new project wins, while Mechatronics Europe is positioning for a recovery in order flow from H2 FY26. Analytical life sciences demand remains soft but could stabilise later in the year.

Capacity expansion in Malaysia and a new Singapore facility targeted for completion in Q1 FY27 are expected to support future growth, while the automotive radar antenna business is anticipated to reach an inflection point in FY26 with ramp-up from H2 FY26. New opportunity areas such as service robots and humanoids were also highlighted.

Following the update, both Phillip Capital and DBS noted a recovery skewed to H2 FY26. Phillip expects stronger second-half momentum driven by semiconductor demand, particularly linked to EUV equipment, while DBS highlighted that H1 FY26 revenue could be broadly in line with the previous year, with growth in Asia, medical and automotive segments offsetting weakness in Europe and analytical life sciences, before stronger momentum in H2 FY26 supports higher full-year revenue and earnings.

UI Boustead Reit: Amova increases deemed interest as leasing momentum improves

On May 28, Amova Asset Management Asia acquired 6,684,900 units in UI Boustead Reit for approximately S$5.37 million, S$0.80 per unit, increasing its deemed interest from 80,485,200 units (5.89 per cent) to 87,170,100 units (6.38 per cent). Amova had earlier emerged as a substantial unitholder in March, with its interest reaching 70,626,200 units (5.1 per cent).

The increase in stake has coincided with improving portfolio leasing momentum. UI Boustead Reit reported committed occupancy of 92.2 per cent as at Apr 30, up from 89.4 per cent, supported by 305,292 square feet of renewed and new leases. Singapore portfolio occupancy reached 97.1 per cent, while Japan improved to 83.2 per cent.

Leasing progress has been complemented by active cost management, including locking in electricity tariffs for Singapore properties through 2029 to mitigate utility cost volatility. Alongside this, UI Boustead Reit is pursuing growth through co-investment. In May, it announced a proposed 51 per cent interest in a build-to-suit aerospace facility in Seletar Aerospace Park, with an estimated development cost of about S$104 million and a tenant lease of 22.5 years.

Serial Achieva advances UFCT strategic investment with regulatory approval

Serial Achieva is progressing a subscription of 21,004,873 new shares to UFCT Technology. The company has received SGX approval-in-principle for the listing and quotation of these shares, subject to compliance with listing requirements. Completion remains conditional, with the long-stop date extended to Jun 30 to fulfil precedent conditions, indicating the transaction is still pending with no certainty of completion.

This proposed investment is part of a broader strategic partnership. On Mar 11, UFCT agreed to subscribe for the shares at S$0.22 per share, raising about S$4.62 million and representing about 11.01 per cent of the enlarged shares upon completion.

The subscription was announced alongside a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed on Mar 16 to explore long-term cooperation across AI infrastructure, cloud computing, storage and related technologies, alongside potential capital collaboration and regional expansion. UFCT is a Hong Kong-based semiconductor distribution player with upstream supplier relationships and downstream exposure to cloud and data centre customers.

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