Over the five trading sessions from Feb 7 to Feb 13, institutions were net buyers of Singapore stocks, leading to net institutional inflow of S$63 million, partially reversing the net outflow of S$169 million over the preceding five sessions. This brings the net institutional outflow for the 2025 year to Feb 13 to S$633 million.  

Institutional Flows 

The stocks that led the net institutional inflow over the five sessions through to Feb 13 included Singapore Telecommunications, Seatrium, Singapore Exchange, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings), CapitaLand Investment, Yangzijiang Financial Holding, Rex International Holding, and Suntec REIT. Meanwhile, the stocks that led the net institutional outflow included Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, DBS Group Holdings, Keppel Corporation, Sembcorp Industries, Mapletree Industrial Trust, United Overseas Bank, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, SATS, ComfortDelGro Corporation, and Hongkong Land Holdings.

Consequently, over the five sessions, Telecommunications and Industrials experienced the highest net institutional inflow, while Financial Services and Utilities saw the most net institutional outflow.

Singapore Telecommunications booked S$112 million of net institutional inflow over the five sessions, bringing its net institutional inflow in the 2025 year to February 13 to S$235 million. On February 7, Singtel announced its regional data centre arm, Nxera DCT Pte Ltd, has secured a S$643 million five-year green loan to develop a new 58MW data centre in Singapore, DC Tuas. The loan will fund the development and capital expenditure of DC Tuas, which is designed to be the most hyper-connected green data centre with the highest power density. DC Tuas has achieved the Green Mark Platinum certification, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable design and operations.

Share Buybacks

The five sessions saw four primary-listed companies conduct buybacks with a total consideration of S$129,251, a similar pace to the S$130,882 filed for the preceding five sessions. The seasonal decline in buyback filings is attributed to the busy schedule for releasing FY24 financial statements in February. As a best practice, companies should avoid buying back their shares during the one month immediately preceding the release of full-year financial statements.

ESR-REIT

ESR-REIT Management also bought back 5 million units of ESR-REIT on February 11 at an average price of S$0.248 per unit. This took the number of units acquired on the current buyback mandate to 24 million units or 0.31 per cent of the outstanding issued units. ESR_REIT reported its FY24 results on January 24. 

As of December 31, ESR-REIT holds interests in a diversified portfolio of logistics properties, high-specifications industrial properties, business parks, and general industrial properties with total assets of approximately S$6.0 billion, comprising 72 properties across Singapore, Australia, and Japan, and investments in three property funds in Australia. On January 27, ESR-REIT Management announced it had entered a contract to divest properties at 1 Third Lok Yang Road and 4 Fourth Lok Yang Road for approximately S$6.8 million, representing a 3.5 per cent premium above their valuation, which would bring the portfolio to 70 properties as of the end of 1Q25. Net proceeds will be used to repay borrowings, finance acquisitions, asset enhancements, redevelopments, and general working capital.

ESR-REIT Management has been pursuing a "4R Strategy" for ESR-REIT since 2022. This focuses on Recapitalising the balance sheet, Rejuvenating the asset portfolio, Recycling capital, and Reinforcing the Sponsor's support. The CEO of ESR-REIT Management, Adrian Chui, maintains this strategy has led to income growth and is expected to translate into Net Property Income (NPI) and Distribution Per Unit (DPU) growth, as well as improved asset and earnings quality. 

Director Transactions

The five trading sessions saw less than 40 director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for more than 20 primary-listed stocks. Directors or CEOs filed 12 acquisitions, and one disposal, while substantial shareholders filed eight acquisitions and two disposals. 

Marco Polo Marine 

On February 11, Marco Polo Marine Executive Director and CEO Sean Lee Yun Feng acquired 500,000 shares at an average price of S$0.054 per share. This took his total interest in the regional integrated marine logistics company from 4.78 per cent to 4.80 per cent. His preceding acquisition was on December 4, with 2 million shares acquired at S$0.053 per share. 

Mr Lee has been serving as CEO since September 2007. He is responsible for setting the business strategies and directions for the Group and managing its business operations. He has gradually increased his total interest in the company from 0.23 per cent at the end of 2017. 

Marco Polo Marine reported FY24 (ended September 30) total revenue of S$123.5 million, which was a slight decrease from S$127.1 million in FY23. 

The Ship Chartering segment continued to drive growth, benefiting from higher charter rates and robust demand from the offshore oil & gas and renewable energy sectors.  Conversely, the Shipyard segment's revenue was impacted by the construction of the new Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV), leading to lower ship repair volumes and decreased third-party shipbuilding activities. 

Last week, the management of Marco Polo Marine hosted a broad mix of market participants on board the new CSOV, Wind Archer, which is designed to meet Asia’s growing demand for support vessels in the offshore wind farm industry. 

The S$60 million vessel is equipped with the latest walk-to-work motion compensated gangway for safe personnel transfer and a 3D motion-compensated crane for cargo transfer. The vessel also features state-of-the-art green technology, including a hybrid battery-based energy storage system that reduces carbon emissions by 15 per cent to 20 per cent, and is designed to be future-ready for methanol fuel use. 

The vessel can also accommodate up to 110 people and features state-of-the-art amenities, including a gym with windows, a cinema room, spacious kitchen facilities, and multiple gathering rooms.

Wind Archer will soon set sail for the East Asia Sea, where it will be deployed across various offshore wind farm projects in Taiwan. The charter rates are kept confidential due to the competitive nature of the growing offshore wind sector. 

Marco Polo Marine’s strategic pivot towards the renewable energy sector has helped to diversify its customer base in addition to increase its asset utilisation. Marco Polo Marine's net asset value stood at S$201.1 million as of FY24, up from S$183.9 million in FY23. The company also maintained a cash position of S$68.8 million, with net cash amounting to S$35.8 million after accounting for borrowings. 

While headquartered in Singapore, its shipyard, located in Batam, occupies more than 34 hectares of land. The shipyard operated at an average utilisation rate of 91 per cent in FY24, compared to 84 per cent in FY23. Marco Polo Marine’s fourth dry dock commenced construction in May 2024 and is expected to be completed in 1H25. The new dry dock will be used for building, maintaining, and repairing ships, which will further strengthen Marco Polo Marine's capabilities, with revenue recognition from the new dry dock expected to start from 2HFY25.

The remainder of its fleet, which includes various vessels such as Offshore Support Vessels, Maintenance Work Vessels, tugboats, and barges, supports the company's operations in the offshore market.

Travelite Holdings

On Feb 5 Travelite Holdings executive chairman Thang Teck Jong acquired 1,024,200 shares at an average price of S$0.174 per share. This increased his total interest from 64.63 per cent to 65.71 per cent. Since November, Mr Thang has increased his total interest from 61.68 per cent.  Mr Thang formulates the group’s strategic directions and expansion plans. As the founder, he has been instrumental in the growth and development of the group since its inception in 1986.

Casa Holdings

Independent Non-Executive Director Wee Chow Hou has recently been building a direct interest in Casa Holdings. Casa Holdings is a leading distributor of home appliances in Singapore with an extensive distribution network locally, consisting of over 300 established retailers island wide. For its FY24 (ended September 30), the Casa Holdings’ revenue decreased by 11.7 per cent to S$20.7 million, primarily due to a market slowdown and normalisation of sales volumes. Despite this, gross margin improved to 44.4 per cent from 43.8 per cent in FY23, thanks to cost management and product mix. 

Dr Wee’s first acquisition on February 3, saw him acquire 70,000 shares at S$0.109 per share, followed by 129,000 shares at S$0.106 per share on February 4, and another 95,200 shares at S$0.106 per share on February 6.  This has brought his direct interest to 0.17 per cent. 

Dr Wee was appointed to the Board in March 2022. He is an Emeritus Professor at Nanyang Technological University and an Honorary Fellow of Singapore University of Social Sciences, having held various senior positions at both NTU and NUS, and consulted for over 350 major organisations globally. Dr Wee has also served as an independent director for several listed companies in Singapore.

Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.

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