Director interests, buybacks and capital formation across SGX stocks
[SINGAPORE] Over the five sessions from Aug 21 to 27, close to 90 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed for around 40 primary-listed stocks.
Directors or CEOs reported 22 acquisitions and four disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded seven acquisitions and seven disposals.
This included CEO or director acquisitions filed for A-Sonic Aerospace , Attika Group , Ho Bee Land , Huationg Global , Kin Global , Nera Telecommunications , Singapore Shipping Corporation , Stamford Land Corporation , SunMoon Food Company , UltraGreen.ai , YHI International and Yongmao Holdings .
Share buybacks
In addition, the five sessions involved 17 primary-listed companies conducting buybacks, with a total consideration of S$46 million, led by UOB , Keppel and Singtel .
Frencken: S$100 million placement to fund capacity and strategic expansion
On Aug 27, Frencken entered into an agreement, with Maybank Securities as the sole placement agent, for a proposed placement of 44.08 million new shares, at S$2.2687 a share to raise gross proceeds of S$100 million.
The placement price represents a discount of about 10 per cent to the pre-halt volume weighted average price.
The new shares represent 10.27 per cent of existing issued shares and about 9.31 per cent of the enlarged share capital.
About 90 per cent of the net proceeds, or S$87.4 million, will fund business expansion initiatives, manufacturing capacity and capabilities, and strategic investments including potential acquisitions, joint ventures and alliances.
The remaining S$9.7 million is allocated to working capital requirements and/or repayment of bank borrowings.
The strategic rationale centres on expanding Frencken’s mechatronics and advanced plastics solutions divisions, while strengthening capacity for semiconductor-related demand, automotive radar antenna production and future growth opportunities.
The placement also broadens the shareholder base, and no change in control will result. Amova Asset Management Asia, a substantial shareholder, has subscribed for 2.922 million placement shares as part of the placement.
Recent trade and manufacturing indicators have reinforced the relevance of capital formation.
Manufacturing output rose sequentially in July, although year-on-year growth moderated, while electronics exports surged, suggesting demand may have been running ahead of production.
This was consistent with Singapore’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, which showed new orders expanding faster than output while inventories declined.
As order books grow, companies often require additional capital to fund capacity expansion, equipment investment and working capital ahead of revenue realisation.
Ho Bee Land: founder accumulation as development and redevelopment plans progress
On Aug 25, Ng Noi Hinoy, spouse of executive chairman and executive director of Ho Bee Land, Chua Thian Poh, acquired 50,000 Ho Bee Land shares on the market for S$102,115, at an average price of S$2.04 a share.
The transaction continues a long history of substantial insider ownership and periodic share accumulation by the founding family.
Chua has a deemed interest of 76.07 per cent in the company.
Ho Bee Land is a property developer and investor, with development exposure in Australia and investment properties in Singapore and London.
The group reported H1FY26 revenue of S$230.5 million, up 29.6 per cent year on year, while profit after tax increased 4.9 per cent to S$52.9 million.
Management also provided more project-level detail on its growth and value-creation initiatives, highlighting continued growth in the Australian development business, the commencement of asset enhancement works at 67 Lombard Street.
The initiatives also involved redevelopment preparations for 1 St Martin’s Le Grand in London, new investments in a convenience retail portfolio in the Netherlands and a hospitality fund in Japan.
NeraTel executive chairman accumulates shares amid improving earnings visibility
Between Aug 18 and 25, Steve Chu, executive chairman and executive director of Nera Telecommunications, bought an aggregate 219,500 shares on-market for S$39,352, at an average price of S$0.179 a share.
The purchases increased his direct interest from 3,126,800 shares to 3,346,300 shares, representing 0.925 per cent of the company’s issued share capital from 0.864 per cent previously.
Chu has served as executive chairman and executive director of Nera Telecommunications since April 2025. He is also chairman and CEO of Ennoconn, the wholly owned subsidiary of which, Ennoconn Solutions Singapore, is NeraTel’s controlling shareholder.
Incorporated in 1978 and listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard since 1999, NeraTel is a Singapore-headquartered technology integrator providing connectivity, network infrastructure, cybersecurity and managed technology services in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The share purchases followed NeraTel’s return to profitability in H1 2026.
Commenting on the results, Chu said the first-half performance reflected the progress made in strengthening the business over the past year, with the group returning to profitability, delivering positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) and significantly increasing order intake, providing a solid platform for sustainable growth.
Revenue increased 1.1 per cent to S$45.2 million, while gross profit rose 8.1 per cent to S$10 million and gross margin improved to 22.2 per cent from 20.7 per cent.
The group reported net profit of S$535,000, reversing a loss of S$1.8 million in H1 2025, while Ebitda improved to S$2.4 million from negative S$400,000.
The order intake increased 40.9 per cent to S$56.8 million, and the order backlog stood at S$116.1 million as at Jun 30, providing revenue visibility into 2027.
A-Sonic CEO continues to raise stake following H1 2026 earnings surge
CEO of A-Sonic Aerospace and substantial shareholder Janet Tan bought 59,600 shares of the company on Aug 21, through an open-market purchase at an average price of S$0.58 a share, for a total consideration of S$34,817.
Following the transaction, her direct interest increased to 67.14 million shares from 67.08 million shares previously, raising her stake from 67.01 to 67.07 per cent.
In its H1 2026 results announced on Aug 11, the company reported a 28.1 per cent increase in turnover to US$142.6 million, while profit attributable to equity holders surged 234.0 per cent to US$1.45 million from US$0.44 million in H1 2025.
Profit before tax increased 197.7 per cent to US$1.67 million, supported by stronger logistics operations and improved margins.
A-Sonic Aerospace operates aviation and logistics businesses across 28 cities in 14 countries.
As at Jun 30, 2026, it held US$39.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and reported net asset value a share of S$0.6377.
In H1 2026, the company bought back and cancelled 3.95 million shares for a consideration of US$1.62 million pursuant to its share buyback mandate.
Attika: insider buying, project visibility and the valuation bridge
On Aug 21, Steven Tan, managing director and executive chairman of Attika, purchased 200,000 shares on market for S$40,000, at S$0.20 a share.
The purchase increased his direct interest from 198.8 million shares to 199 million shares, with his total interest remaining at 73.8 per cent of the company’s issued share capital.
Tan, who founded the group in 2014, is responsible for its strategic direction and overall management.
Listed on the Catalist board in November 2024, Attika Group is a Singapore-based integrated interior fit-out and mechanical, electrical and plumbing-engineering services provider.
In FY2025, the group expanded into property development and investment, completing the acquisition of a property at 186 Tagore Lane as part of its diversification strategy.
The insider purchase also came against a backdrop of improved external visibility on the group.
On Jun 30, KGI Securities analyst Ting Shuo Chong initiated coverage on Attika in a report titled Attika Group Ltd: Scaling into data centres and public-sector infrastructure, setting out how the company’s disclosed project awards and operating information could be translated into forecasts and valuation.
Among the projects discussed were a commercial office project valued at about S$36 million, a data-centre fit-out contract estimated by KGI at S$20.8 million, Land Transport Authority-related projects and other commercial and institutional works.
KGI grouped these and other disclosed contracts into an estimated award base of about S$76 million. From that award base, KGI then set out the revenue and cash-flow bridge.
Its forecasts assumed revenue increases from S$37.5 million in FY2025 to S$54.9 million in FY2026 and S$60.8 million in FY2027, with Ebit rising from S$4.5 million in FY2025 to S$6.9 million in FY2026 and S$8.7 million by FY2030.
After adjusting for tax, depreciation and amortisation, and working-capital requirements, KGI forecast free cash flow of S$3.6 million in FY2026, increasing to S$7.2 million by FY2030. These forecast cash flows were then discounted to present value using KGI’s discounted cash-flow methodology.
The report derived an enterprise value of S$91.4 million, deducted debt of S$14.0 million and added cash of S$6.8 million to arrive at an equity value of S$84.2 million. Based on 269.8 million diluted shares, this resulted in a fair value estimate of S$0.312 a share.
An important point is that the valuation is not based solely on the forecast of cash flows over the next five years.
KGI estimated that the present value of cash flows generated from FY2026 to FY2030 will contribute about S$23 million to enterprise value, while assumptions regarding cash flows beyond FY2030 contribute about S$68 million.
As with many discounted cash-flow valuations, a substantial proportion of value is derived from assumptions regarding the company’s ability to continue winning projects, replenishing its order book and generating cash flows over the longer term.
This highlights an important feature of many valuation models.
A target price is influenced not only by near-term earnings and cash-flow forecasts, but also by assumptions regarding a company’s ability to sustain its operations, replenish its order book, execute projects and generate cash flows over the longer term.
Just like with any valuation model, the outcome depends on assumptions. KGI identifies execution delays, margin pressure, slower order replenishment, working-capital demands and small-cap liquidity as key risks to the investment case.
The broader takeaway extends beyond Attika.
Project awards, contract values, completion timelines and operating metrics provide analysts with the building blocks needed to construct revenue forecasts, earnings estimates, cash-flow projections and valuation frameworks.
The greater the visibility around those drivers, the easier it becomes for analysts and investors to assess how operational assumptions may translate into forecasts and ultimately into valuation.
The writer is the market strategist at Singapore Exchange (SGX). To read SGX’s market research reports, visit sgx.com/research.
