Directors in developers and maritime stocks elevating interests

OVER the four trading sessions from May 9 to 15, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional outflow of S$55 million, partially reversing the net inflow of S$123 million for the preceding five sessions. This brings the net institutional outflow for the 2025 year to May 15 to S$1.66 billion.

Institutional flows

The stocks that saw the highest net institutional outflows over the four trading sessions were OCBC, ST Engineering, Singapore Exchange, Riverstone Holdings, Thai Beverage, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Sembcorp Industries, Wilmar International, Mapletree Industrial Trust, and Keppel DC Reit.

Meanwhile, DBS, UOB, Singapore Airlines, Jardine Matheson Holdings, Keppel, Capitaland Investment, UMS Integration, Frasers Hospitality Trust, ComfortDelGro, and Frencken Group led the net institutional inflows.

From a sector perspective, Reits and consumer non-cyclicals experienced the highest net institutional outflows, while industrials and technology saw the most net institutional inflows.

Share buybacks

The four sessions saw 13 primary-listed companies make buybacks with a total consideration of S$34.1 million.

Director transactions

Close to 60 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed for more than 30 primary-listed stocks. Directors or CEOs filed 11 acquisitions, and one disposal, while substantial shareholders filed six acquisitions and three disposals. This included director or CEO acquisitions in Far East Orchard, Ho Bee Land, Hyphens Pharma International, IFS Capital, Marco Polo Marine, Nera Telecommunications, Niks Professional, Samudera Shipping Line and Wing Tai Holdings.

Ho Bee Land

Between May 14 and 15, Ng Noi Hinoy, the spouse of Ho Bee Land executive chairman Chua Thian Poh, acquired 43,500 shares for a consideration of S$248,981. At S$1.74 per share, this increased Chua’s deemed interest in Ho Bee Land, from 75.60 per cent to 75.63 per cent.

Wing Tai Holdings

Wing Tai Holdings chairman and managing director Cheng Wai Keung continued to raise his deemed interest in the company through shares bought by his spouse, Helen Chow. Between May 9 and 15, Cheng’s deemed interest in the real estate developer and lifestyle retailer rose by 230,000 shares, from 61.69 to 61.72 per cent.

Federal International (2000)

On May 9, Federal International (2000) substantial shareholder Yafin Tandiono Tan acquired 1,178,300 shares at an average price of S$0.17 apiece. This increased his direct interest from 11.24 to 12.08 per cent. It closely follows Tan’s interest in the integrated service provider and procurement specialist in the oil and gas, and energy industries, surpassing the 10 per cent threshold on May 2.

Back on Feb 28, Federal International (2000) highlighted that it remains cautiously positive about the outlook of its businesses as regional oil and gas activities stay resilient despite global geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties. The group added that will continue to forge strategic collaborations in the region to build up the order book for engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of offshore oil and gas platforms.

In FY 2024 (ended Dec 31), the group actively implemented consolidation plans by divesting less profitable businesses and markets to focus on growing trading activities, particularly in the regional distribution of flowline control products and fire detection systems. These were among the strategic moves that enabled the group to turn around and reverse its FY 2023 attributable net loss of S$18.0 million to return to the black with FY 2024 attributable net profit of S$3.9 million.

This was also despite revenue for FY 2024 declining 12 per cent from FY 2023 to S$44.3 million. This decline was due to lower sales in China following the disposal of Federal International (Shanghai) in Q1 FY2024 and the end of charter income from an Indonesia land drilling rig in December 2023. These were partially offset by higher revenue attained through equipment rental in Vietnam and trading business in Thailand. The group also has plans to expand into the high growth Vietnam and Thailand markets for its flowline control products and procurement businesses.

Samudera Shipping Line

Between May 8 and 14, Samudera Shipping Line executive director and CEO Bani Maulana Mulia acquired 99,600 shares at an average price of S$0.80 apiece. This increased his direct interest from 0.65 to 0.67 per cent. His preceding acquisition was in September 2022, with 53,200 shares purchased at S$0.94 a share.

These acquisitions followed Samudera providing a Q1 FY 2025 (ended Mar 31) business update on Apr 29. For the container shipping segment, volume in Q1 FY 2025 was higher compared to Q1 FY 2024, but this was lower than Q4 FY 2024.

For the bulk and tanker segment, fleet size increased with the delivery of two new gas carriers in 2024, and all vessels are employed under time charter contracts. In its logistics segment, the group noted that the higher volume handled in Q1 FY 2025 compared to Q1 FY2024 was mainly due to an increase in volume from existing and new customers. The segment also continues to grow with new management contracts on fourth-party logistics (4PL).

Bani emphasised that Samudera’s focus on continual improvement enhances its ability to navigate industry shifts and capitalise on opportunities. He maintained that one such opportunity may involve a shift of manufacturing activity towards South-east Asia and India, which could boost demand for container shipping services in these regions.

He reasoned that such a realignment of global shipping alliances may alter transhipment and regional shipping routes, presenting both competitive pressures and opportunities for regional operators such as Samudera. Bani also notes that despite challenges in managing vessel availability and high charter-hire costs, new vessel deliveries from 2025 onwards may alleviate some pressure.

He adds that Asia, particularly Indonesia, remains the group’s primary growth market for container shipping. This means the group will pursue strategic collaborations with shipping partners to explore new service offerings and expand beyond its current network, while ensuring operational resilience.

IFS Capital

Between May 9 and 14, IFS Capital executive director and group CEO Randy Sim Cheng Leong bought 708,000 shares at an average price of S$0.13 per share. This increased his direct interest in the provider of financing, insurance and asset management services, from 1.24 to 1.43 per cent.

Sim is responsible for the overall management of the entities within the IFS Group. The group provides a range of financing, insurance and asset management services to corporations, SMEs, and consumers in South-east Asia.

Marco Polo Marine

On May 13, Marco Polo Marine non-executive director Darren Teo bought one million shares at S$0.044 apiece. This increased his direct interest in the integrated marine logistics group from 0.26 per cent to 0.29 per cent. It followed the regional integrated marine logistics company, which principally engages in ship chartering and shipyard businesses, reporting its H1 FY 2025 (ended Mar 31) results on May 9. His preceding acquisition also totalled one million shares at S$0.049 apiece on Mar 4.

Additionally, he has deemed interest through Apricot Capital, which holds 607,142,857 shares in Marco Polo Marine. He indirectly owns 20 per cent of Apricot Capital’s issued and paid-up share capital, bringing his total interest in Marco Polo Marine to 16.46 per cent.

The group’s revenue for H1 FY 2025 was S$52.7 million, down 14 per cent from S$61.6 million in H1 FY 2024. This decline was primarily due to reduced revenue from shipyard operations. At the same time, the gross margin improved by 5.2 percentage points to 41.3 per cent in H1 FY 2025, driven by higher margins in the ship chartering segment due to reduced rechartering of lower-margin third-party vessels in Taiwan. This saw net attributable profit decrease by 3 per cent, from S$11 million to S$10.6 million.

Marco Polo Marine CEO Sean Lee noted that Q2 FY 2025 had progressed as expected, laying the groundwork for future growth. He highlighted that with the successful deployment of the new CSOV, the Wind Archer, in mid-April, the group is starting to see the benefits of its strategic investments over the past two years and anticipate a stronger performance in its H2 FY 2025.

Lee added that the diversification into the renewable energy sector, alongside the established oil & gas business, has bolstered the group’s resilience and positioned it well to seize opportunities in today’s dynamic geopolitical landscape.

Far East Orchard

On May 15, Far East Orchard chair and non-executive director Koh Kah Sek purchased 20,000 shares at an average price of S$1.04 apiece. Her direct interest is 0.03 per cent. This followed Far East Orchard providing a Q1 FY 2025 business update on May 8, in which it reported a profit after tax of S$17.1 million in Q1 FY 2025. This included a one-off gain of S$9.2 million from acquiring an additional 6.7 per cent interest in Woods Square.

Revenue and operating profit were also impacted by refurbishment in Australia, stronger contributions from the UK purpose-built student accommodation segment, and continued expansion with a new acquisition in Manchester and a hotel opening in Osaka.

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