Institutions turn net sellers as new share placements hit the market

[SINGAPORE] For the five trading sessions spanning Jan 23 to 29, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional outflow of S$61.6 million, reducing the net inflow for the month to S$211 million.

Stocks that had the highest net institutional outflow over the five sessions included DBS , CapitaLand Ascendas Reit , CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust , Jardine Matheson Holdings , ST Engineering , Sembcorp Industries , Jardine Cycle & Carriage , Frasers Centrepoint Trust , OCBC and Seatrium .

Meanwhile, UOB , CapitaLand Investment , Singtel , Wilmar International , iFAST Corporation , CNMC Goldmine Holdings , Keppel , Hongkong Land Holdings , Singapore Exchange and UOBKay Hian Holdings led the net institutional inflow.

In the month till the Jan 29 close, OCBC, CapitaLand Investment, UOB, Hongkong Land Holdings and UOL Group have led the net institutional inflow.

Share buybacks

Over the five sessions, seven primary-listed companies conducted buybacks with a total consideration of S$3.6 million. This is a seasonal reduction in buybacks due to the higher number of companies set to report their FY2025 financials in February.

Secondary-listed Jardine Matheson Holdings bought back 841,100 shares at an average price of US$73.43. Hongkong Land bought back 705,000 shares at an average price of US$8.30 apiece.

Director transactions

Over the five sessions, more than 80 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed. The directors or CEOs of approximately 30 primary-listed stocks reported five acquisitions and four disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded two acquisitions and four disposals.

Acquisitions were filed by CEOs or directors of Duty Free International , HG Metal Manufacturing , JEP Holdings , PSC Corporation and Mermaid Maritime Public Company , while disposals were filed for Acma , Raffles Education and Reclaims Global .

On Jan 27, Derek Cheong increased his direct interest in Accrelist to above the 5 per cent substantial shareholder threshold. He acquired 2.05 million shares at S$0.05 apiece, taking his direct interest to 5.37 per cent.

In 2024, Accrelist acquired a 28.5 per cent interest in MClean Technologies, a precision cleaning and surface treatment service provider, listed on the Bursa Malaysia ACE board. Cheong was listed as a shareholder of MClean Technologies in its most recent annual report.

HG Metal Manufacturing

On Jan 27, independent non-executive chairman Ong Hwee Li acquired 100,000 shares at S$0.635 apiece. This was his first acquisition on the open market since his appointment to the board on Jun 22, 2023. Ong is also a co-founder and the CEO of SAC Capital. He has more than 20 years of experiences in initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and advisory transactions, and has been with SAC Capital since July 2004.

He is also active in fundraising and investments for private and listed companies. Prior to co-founding SAC Capital in July 2004, he worked in the investment banking departments of various local and foreign financial institutions.

Backed by more than 40 years of experience, HG Metal Manufacturing serves more than 1,500 customers as one of the region’s largest steel distributors and processors, delivering end-to-end solutions across our three business units. Its FY2025 (ended Sep 30) covered only nine months, following the group’s announcement in August to change its FY end from Dec 31 to align with its controlling shareholder, Green Esteel.

The group recorded revenue of S$130.3 million over the nine months of FY2025, compared to S$157.9 million for the full 12-month FY2024. HG Metal Manufacturing has also highlighted that it was making strong progress in its strategic transformation to become a leaner, more efficient and forward-looking company focused on enhancing growth and long-term shareholder value.

Its priorities include expanding market share, sales and profitability by developing and applying steel products for the built environment locally and overseas, through acquisitions or organic growth, while broadening offerings, strengthening its competitive position, increasing production capacity and managing costs effectively.

The group also noted that the share placements and rights issue completed in FY2024, which net raised about S$32.5 million, have strengthened its balance sheet. That, together with operating cash flow, equipped the company with the financial capacity to drive its business transformation, expand core operations and pursue strategic investments as opportunities arise.

Some of these proceeds were drawn to fund the subscription for Class B preference shares in Eden Flame. These are convertible 1:1 into ordinary shares, and will give HG Metal Manufacturing about 4.4 per cent of Eden Flame’s enlarged share capital.

Eden Flame, a wholly owned subsidiary of Esteel, is developing a low-carbon electric arc furnace steel plant in Pasir Gudang with an annual capacity of about 500,000 tonnes. It is targeted to start operations in Q3 2026 and will initially focus on 10-40mm rebars, a key demand segment in South-east Asia.

The group highlighted that this investment strengthens its regional supply chain position and secures a competitive source of low-carbon steel, supporting Singapore’s climate policies and rising market demand for greener construction materials.

Skylink

On Jan 29, Skylink Holdings announced plans to issue up to 26 million new shares at S$0.27 each, raising as much as S$7.02 million in gross proceeds, subject to approvals. SAC Capital was appointed as the placement agent.

Skylink is a newly listed commercial vehicle leasing and engineering solutions provider, formed through a reverse takeover completed in September 2025. The group said it has established a predictable revenue and profitable business model supported by its synergistic ecosystem.

Of the net proceeds, 29.5 per cent are marked for electric vehicle initiatives, and 70.5 per cent will fund loan book growth or related M&A. Skylink Holdings also highlighted that the capital raised from this proposed placement will further strengthen its balance sheet, providing it with greater financial flexibility as it implements its growth strategies and pursue new opportunities ahead.

This also follows the group raising S$9.2 million in gross proceeds in September 2025. Since listing in September 2025, the group has undertaken several strategic initiatives to drive expansion, beginning with winning its maiden engineering service contracts from and in November 2025. It also secured new leases at Jurong Port Road that doubled its specialist workshop space to more than 33,000 square feet and significantly increased its engineering capacity.

It followed this in early December 2025 with the acquisition of 132 commercial vehicles, adding an immediate recurring revenue stream, supporting additional engineering work, and contributing to optimised fleet-replacement cycles.

In mid-December 2025, the group further strengthened its engineering capabilities, talent pool and customer base through the acquisition of the business and related assets of CLP 2026. The deal created cost synergies and enhanced the utilisation of Skylink’s recently expanded Jurong Port Road facility.

For its H1 FY2026 (ended Sep 30), Skylink’s revenue rose 33.8 per cent from H1 FY2025 to S$16.14 million. Commercial leasing revenue grew 52.6 per cent, driven by a larger fleet and more long-term contracts, while engineering revenue increased 11.6 per cent on new maintenance, repair and operations contract wins.

For the credit business, revenue fell 20.3 per cent; and despite higher costs lifting cost of sales by 42.2 per cent, gross profit still rose 12.7 per cent, though margins declined to 23.9 per cent. Gross profit increased by 12.7 per cent from H1 FY2025 to S$3.86 million in H1 FY2026.

Huationg Global

On Jan 26, Huationg Global , a civil engineering and infrastructure services provider with ancillary inland logistics support services, proposed a placement of up to S$7.1 million at S$0.60 per share. The placement is intended to raise additional working capital to support manpower requirements and project execution.

As at Aug 13, Huationg Global’s order book stood at approximately S$512.3 million, comprising ongoing projects that are expected to be completed over the next three years. With its comprehensive pool of construction equipment and specialist modular formwork, Huationg Global is engaged in civil engineering works for numerous large infrastructural construction projects in Singapore.

CGS International Securities is the placement agent. Huationg Global is also expected to report its FY2025 results by the end of February. In its H1 FY2025 (ended Jun 30), it reported revenue of S$120.6 million, a marginal 1 per cent increase from H1 FY2024, driven mainly by higher civil engineering contract work.

Net profit came in at S$8.6 million, down 20.4 per cent year on year, primarily due to higher operating expenses and foreign exchange losses. Listed on Catalist, the stock maintains a return on equity of 15.7 per cent, and a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.2 times. Its P/E ratio doubled in H2 2025, as did the stock’s average daily turnover.

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