SGX share buyback consideration hits 10-year high of S$1.91 billion

[SINGAPORE] Share buybacks on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have surged to a 10-year high, the local bourse reported on Monday (Nov 3).

Companies ramped up repurchases amid broad market volatility. In the first 10 months of 2025, 78 primary-listed companies bought back shares with a total consideration of S$1.91 billion. This represents a jump of about 90 per cent from the S$1.01 billion recorded for the same period last year.

The 10-month figure for 2025 also figure surpasses the S$1.89 billion recorded for the full year in 2015. That was the last time buyback activity reached such levels, when there was a similar bout of volatility in the market. 

This S$1.91 billion figure excludes off-market share buybacks, repurchases from secondary-listed companies, and unit buybacks by Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts.

A sharp 8 per cent drop in the Straits Times Index (STI) during the first two weeks of April 2025 coincided with about a quarter of the buybacks seen in the year to date.

Blue-chips lead, SMIDs participate

The activity has been heavily concentrated among blue-chip counters. Of the S$1.91 billion total, a staggering S$1.76 billion, or 92 per cent, was contributed by just 11 large-cap stocks with market capitalisations exceeding S$10 billion.

In contrast, small and mid-cap (SMID) companies accounted for S$144 million; stocks with less than S$100 million in market cap made up the remaining S$6 million.

Among the SMIDs, 17Live Group led with the highest ratio of filed buyback considerations to current market capitalisation. The company repurchased S$6.2 million worth of its shares this year at an average price of S$0.925, representing 3.4 per cent of its current market capitalisation. 

Another active SMID was Global Investments , which repurchased S$4.5 million worth of its shares at an average price of S$0.126 apiece.

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Catalist and off-market activity

Sixteen Catalist-listed companies conducted buybacks in the first 10 months of 2025.

Jason Marine Group conducted its first share buyback since 2015 on Sep 1. This followed a strong performance for its 2025 financial year, with revenue climbing 40 per cent year on year to S$48.6 million, and profit after tax jumping to S$777,000 from S$180,000 a year earlier.

Ocean Sky International also initiated its first buyback on Oct 14 after returning to profitability in the first half of its FY2025.

While not included in the primary-listed tally, SGX noted other significant buybacks that occurred, including secondary-listed Hongkong Land , which bought back 38.7 million shares for US$222.9 million this year. 

Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust also bought back 2,251,200 units on its current mandate, in addition to 1,505,300 of its units on the previous mandate. 

On Jun 10, City Developments Ltd executed an off-market equal access scheme, repurchasing 10 per cent of its outstanding preference shares at S$0.78 apiece.