To The Moon

Share buybacks can be used for employee compensation plans, such as share option schemes or employee share purchase plans, as well as for long-term capital management.

As at Nov 13, nearly 80 primary-listed companies have repurchased their shares on-market this year, amounting to S$1.03 billion in buyback consideration.

A total of 11 STI stocks accounted for more than 80 per cent of the S$1.03 billion consideration, with $CapitaLandInvest(9CI.SI)$ (CLI) leading the buyback consideration tally.

For the non-STI primary-listed companies, $YZJ Fin Hldg(YF8.SI)$ (YZJF) led the consideration tally.

1. $CapitaLandInvest(9CI.SI)$

In 2024 to Nov 13, CLI bought back 126.2 million shares at an average price of S$2.72 per share. This comprised 31,235,000 shares bought back in January as part of the FY23 (ended Dec 31) share purchase mandate, and 94,971,200 shares bought back on the FY24 mandate to October.

For the FY24 mandate, CLI bought back 1.87% of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) as at the mandate approval date. This followed its buying back of 1.03%t of its shares on the FY23 mandate.

CLI said its share purchase mandate provides flexibility in managing share capital and improving return on equity (ROE). For the current FY, it can buy back as much as 5% of the issued shares, excluding treasury shares and subsidiary holdings. Should it wish to increase the limit, it could seek approval at the FY24 annual general meeting or at an extraordinary general meeting.

2. $YZJ Fin Hldg(YF8.SI)$

In 2024 to Nov 13, YZJF bought back 89.6 million shares at an average price of S$0.324 per share.

This mostly comprised 84,568,900 shares bought back from January to April at an average price of S$0.32 per share, as part of the FY23 (ended Dec 31) share purchase mandate.

YZJF bought back as much as 4.37% of its issued shares on its FY23 mandate.

Recently, YZJF conducted its first buyback in the FY24 mandate, repurchasing five million shares at an average price of S$0.398 per share.

The group views its share buyback programme as an effective way to return value to shareholders, and will continue this practice when conditions allow.

Factors considered when engaging in share buybacks include the amount of surplus cash available, the share price level and prevailing market conditions.

The group also noted that its stock is trading at an attractive valuation, offering strong yield, coupled with robust growth prospects.