Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.</li>
<li>On the IPOs front, Campus Activewear got great coverage, while Rainbow and Shieldus appear to be struggling.</li>
<li>There were no large placements, apart from a selldown in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/areit-ayalaland-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28856:1" rel="noopener">Areit (AyalaLand REIT) (AREIT PM)</a> and a friends and family round in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zhongyuan-bank-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24139:1" rel="noopener">Zhongyuan Bank (1216 HK)</a>.</li>
</ul>


Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.
On the IPOs front, Campus Activewear got great coverage, while Rainbow and Shieldus appear to be struggling.
There were no large placements, apart from a selldown in Areit (AyalaLand REIT) (AREIT PM) and a friends and family round in Zhongyuan Bank (1216 HK).


ECM Weekly (2nd May 22) - LIC, Shieldus, One Store, Campus, Rainbow, Kakao Pay, Uju, GoTo, Zhongyuan

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Equity Bottom-Up

<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2022-04/Capture_5.PNG' alt='Share buyback' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>Share buyback</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Apr 1 to 7, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.1 per cent, with the FTSE China A50 Index gaining 1.0 per cent, the Hang Seng Index declining 0.4 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI adding 1.0 per cent.

Overall, institutions were net sellers over the 5 sessions with S$124 million of net outflow. DBS Group Holdings, UOB, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, OCBC, and Singapore Press Holdings led the net institutional outflows for the 5 sessions through to Apr 7.

Meanwhile, City Developments, Mapletree North Commercial Asia Trust, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Telecommunications and Sembcorp Industries received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions. This brings total net institutional inflows in the 2022 year to Apr 7 to S$1.0 billion. Share buybacks

There were 16 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions with a total consideration of S$13.2 million, up from S$11.9 million for the preceding week. OCBC, Hong Fok Corporation and Raffles Medical Group led the buyback consideration tally. The trio were also the 3 stocks which lodged the highest buyback consideration over the preceding 5 sessions.

OCBC paid an average price of S$12.34 per share, Hong Fok paid an average price of 88.1 cents per share, while Raffles Medical Group paid an average price of S$1.16 per share. As of Apr 7, Hong Fok had bought back 0.71 per cent of its shares (excluding treasury shares) on the current share buyback mandate.  Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The 5 trading sessions saw close to 90 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for more than 30 primary-listed stocks. This included 7 company director acquisitions with no disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed 5 acquisitions and 4 disposals.

SinoCloud Group

On Apr 4, SinoCloud Group substantial shareholder Terence Joe Lam Cho Ying sold in aggregate 3,437,557,250 shares of the Catalist-listed company to Zhang Dai. Of the 3,437,557,250 shares, 2,209,952,100 shares were held directly by Lam and 1,227,605,150 shares were held by Alternus Capital, a company wholly-owned by Lam.

Dai increased his total interest in SinoCloud Group from 1.6 per cent to 23.3 per cent, while Lam reduced his total interest in the company from 27.0 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

SinoCloud announced on Apr 6, that the group had obtained continuing support from Lam and Alternus Capital, to enable the group to operate as a going concern and to meet its obligations as and when they fall due.

In view of this share disposal, the management of the company has also reached out to Zhang to engage in further discussions with him, in particular, whether he intends to furnish the financial support to the group. The company will provide updates to shareholders in due course, including but not limited to, the board's assessment of the going concern of the company.

Olam Group

On Apr 6, Olam Group non-executive and independent director Nihal Kaviratne acquired 152,800 shares of the company at S$1.77 per share and consideration of S$270,456. He maintains a 0.01 per cent direct interest in Olam Group. This followed his acquisition of 133,100 shares at S$1.79 per share on Mar 28.

Kaviratne was previously the chairman and CEO for the Unilever group across Asia, Europe and Latin America. His career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years which also covered senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development. Kaviratne is also a director of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals and StarHub.

From March 15, Olam Group has replaced Olam International as the listed company. Olam Group directly holds Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and Olam Global Holdco which owns Olam Ventures, and Olam Technology and Business Services as separate subsidiaries.

As maintained by the chairman non-executive and independent director, Lim Ah Doo, this structure allows the group to explore the sequential sale, spin-off or IPO of Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and potentially the other businesses of the group.

Hong Fok Corporation

On Apr 1, Hong Fok Corporation executive director and joint-CEO Cheong Sim Eng acquired 80,000 shares of the listed company for a consideration of S$70,400 at an average price of 88.0 cents per share. He maintains a 20.08 per cent total interest in Hong Fok, gradually increasing his total interest in the property developer from 19.06 per cent as at the end of 2018.

His preceding acquisitions were on March 1, with 42,000 shares acquired at 74.0 cents per share and November 20, 2020, with 64,500 shares acquired at an average price of 70.7 cents per share.

Cheong is principally involved in the group's overall operations and management with greater emphasis in Singapore. He has over 37 years of experience in the property development business.

Hong Fok is an investment holding company whose subsidiaries are primarily engaged in property investment, property development and construction, property management, investment trading and investment holding and management. Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the group returned to profitability in FY21 (ended Dec 31).

With tourism arrivals and tourism receipts remaining weak in 2021, revenue from the group's hotel investment property, YOTEL Singapore Orchard Road made only a small contribution to the group's revenue.

However, the group reported an uptick in sales revenue from its residential units in Concourse Skyline. This saw Hong Fok report an attributable net profit of S$38.9 million in FY21 compared to a loss of S$8.7 million in FY20.

Amos Group

Between Mar 30 and 31, Amos Group AMOS Group : 49B 0% executive chairman Kyle Shaw acquired 237,400 shares of the company at an average price of 19.9 cents per share. With a consideration of S$47,156, this increased his deemed interest in the company from 80.77 per cent to 80.90 per cent. This followed his acquisition of 465,000 shares of at an average price of 17.2 cents per share between Mar 28 and 29.

Shaw is the founder and managing partner of ShawKwei &amp; Partners, an international private equity fund manager investing in mid-market industrial and service businesses across Asia, the US, and Europe.

Huationg Global

On Mar 30, Huationg Global executive director and CEO, Patrick Ng Kian Ann acquired 200,000 shares of the Catalist-listed company at an average price of 9.7 cents per share. With a consideration of S$19,400, this increased his total interest in the company from 69.33 per cent to 69.44 per cent.

Ng has 20 years of experience in the civil engineering construction industry and is responsible for the overall management, strategic planning and oversees the business expansion of the group.

Huationg Global is principally engaged in the provision of civil engineering services for infrastructure projects and ancillary inland logistics support services.

On Mar 1, Huationg Global reported the group's FY21 (ended 31 Dec) revenue increased by approximately S$54.4 million or 47.0 per cent to S$170.4 million from S$116.0 million in FY20, mainly due to a higher level of business activities in its business segments after some easing measures from the Circuit Breaker.

The group is also involved in the sale of construction materials such as sand and granite aggregates, recycled concrete aggregate and liquefied soil stabiliser.

Hafary Holdings

On Mar 31, Hafary Holdings non-independent non-executive director Eric Low See Ching acquired 98,400 shares of the company at 19.0 cents per share. With a consideration of S$18,696, this further increased his direct interest in the company from 25.36 per cent to 25.38 per cent.

Mr Low was appointed as the non-independent non-executive director of Hafary Holdings in January 2014. Prior to this appointment, he served in the board as executive director and in the company as CEO. He joined the main subsidiary of the company, Hafary Pte Ltd, in 2000, and rose through the ranks from sales executive to CEO in 2005.

Low is also presently the executive director and deputy CEO of Oxley Holdings and an alternate director of Aspen (Group) Holdings.

Hafary Holdings is a leading building material supplier that has been defining living spaces with premium products. With over 5,000 products sourced from around the world, the group maintains it carries the largest collection of surfacing materials in Singapore.

One of the questions received in connection with the company's Annual Report 2021 pertained to whether the group had been affected by supply chain disruptions, particularly from shipping.

The group replied that as it sources its raw materials from various countries, some of its operations have been affected by such global supply change disruptions, and the group continues to monitor the situation and will make the appropriate announcements in the event that such disruptions are material. Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hong-fok-continues-buybacks-as-joint-ceo-raises-stake-0"> read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    Share buyback


For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Apr 1 to 7, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.1 per cent, with the FTSE China A50 Index gaining 1.0 per cent, the Hang Seng Index declining 0.4 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI adding 1.0 per cent.

Overall, institutions were net sellers over the 5 sessions with S$124 million of net outflow. DBS Group Holdings, UOB, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, OCBC, and Singapore Press Holdings led the net institutional outflows for the 5 sessions through to Apr 7.

Meanwhile, City Developments, Mapletree North Commercial Asia Trust, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Telecommunications and Sembcorp Industries received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions. This brings total net institutional inflows in the 2022 year to Apr 7 to S$1.0 billion.  Share buybacks

There were 16 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions with a total consideration of S$13.2 million, up from S$11.9 million for the preceding week. OCBC, Hong Fok Corporation and Raffles Medical Group led the buyback consideration tally. The trio were also the 3 stocks which lodged the highest buyback consideration over the preceding 5 sessions.

OCBC paid an average price of S$12.34 per share, Hong Fok paid an average price of 88.1 cents per share, while Raffles Medical Group paid an average price of S$1.16 per share. As of Apr 7, Hong Fok had bought back 0.71 per cent of its shares (excluding treasury shares) on the current share buyback mandate.   Director and substantial shareholder transactions

The 5 trading sessions saw close to 90 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for more than 30 primary-listed stocks. This included 7 company director acquisitions with no disposals filed, while substantial shareholders filed 5 acquisitions and 4 disposals.

SinoCloud Group

On Apr 4, SinoCloud Group substantial shareholder Terence Joe Lam Cho Ying sold in aggregate 3,437,557,250 shares of the Catalist-listed company to Zhang Dai. Of the 3,437,557,250 shares, 2,209,952,100 shares were held directly by Lam and 1,227,605,150 shares were held by Alternus Capital, a company wholly-owned by Lam.

Dai increased his total interest in SinoCloud Group from 1.6 per cent to 23.3 per cent, while Lam reduced his total interest in the company from 27.0 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

SinoCloud announced on Apr 6, that the group had obtained continuing support from Lam and Alternus Capital, to enable the group to operate as a going concern and to meet its obligations as and when they fall due.

In view of this share disposal, the management of the company has also reached out to Zhang to engage in further discussions with him, in particular, whether he intends to furnish the financial support to the group. The company will provide updates to shareholders in due course, including but not limited to, the board's assessment of the going concern of the company.

Olam Group

On Apr 6, Olam Group non-executive and independent director Nihal Kaviratne acquired 152,800 shares of the company at S$1.77 per share and consideration of S$270,456. He maintains a 0.01 per cent direct interest in Olam Group. This followed his acquisition of 133,100 shares at S$1.79 per share on Mar 28.

Kaviratne was previously the chairman and CEO for the Unilever group across Asia, Europe and Latin America. His career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years which also covered senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development. Kaviratne is also a director of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals and StarHub.

From March 15, Olam Group has replaced Olam International as the listed company. Olam Group directly holds Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and Olam Global Holdco which owns Olam Ventures, and Olam Technology and Business Services as separate subsidiaries.

As maintained by the chairman non-executive and independent director, Lim Ah Doo, this structure allows the group to explore the sequential sale, spin-off or IPO of Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and potentially the other businesses of the group.

Hong Fok Corporation

On Apr 1, Hong Fok Corporation executive director and joint-CEO Cheong Sim Eng acquired 80,000 shares of the listed company for a consideration of S$70,400 at an average price of 88.0 cents per share. He maintains a 20.08 per cent total interest in Hong Fok, gradually increasing his total interest in the property developer from 19.06 per cent as at the end of 2018.

His preceding acquisitions were on March 1, with 42,000 shares acquired at 74.0 cents per share and November 20, 2020, with 64,500 shares acquired at an average price of 70.7 cents per share.

Cheong is principally involved in the group's overall operations and management with greater emphasis in Singapore. He has over 37 years of experience in the property development business.

Hong Fok is an investment holding company whose subsidiaries are primarily engaged in property investment, property development and construction, property management, investment trading and investment holding and management. Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the group returned to profitability in FY21 (ended Dec 31).

With tourism arrivals and tourism receipts remaining weak in 2021, revenue from the group's hotel investment property, YOTEL Singapore Orchard Road made only a small contribution to the group's revenue.

However, the group reported an uptick in sales revenue from its residential units in Concourse Skyline. This saw Hong Fok report an attributable net profit of S$38.9 million in FY21 compared to a loss of S$8.7 million in FY20.

Amos Group

Between Mar 30 and 31, Amos Group AMOS Group : 49B 0% executive chairman Kyle Shaw acquired 237,400 shares of the company at an average price of 19.9 cents per share. With a consideration of S$47,156, this increased his deemed interest in the company from 80.77 per cent to 80.90 per cent. This followed his acquisition of 465,000 shares of at an average price of 17.2 cents per share between Mar 28 and 29.

Shaw is the founder and managing partner of ShawKwei &amp; Partners, an international private equity fund manager investing in mid-market industrial and service businesses across Asia, the US, and Europe.

Huationg Global

On Mar 30, Huationg Global executive director and CEO, Patrick Ng Kian Ann acquired 200,000 shares of the Catalist-listed company at an average price of 9.7 cents per share. With a consideration of S$19,400, this increased his total interest in the company from 69.33 per cent to 69.44 per cent.

Ng has 20 years of experience in the civil engineering construction industry and is responsible for the overall management, strategic planning and oversees the business expansion of the group.

Huationg Global is principally engaged in the provision of civil engineering services for infrastructure projects and ancillary inland logistics support services.

On Mar 1, Huationg Global reported the group's FY21 (ended 31 Dec) revenue increased by approximately S$54.4 million or 47.0 per cent to S$170.4 million from S$116.0 million in FY20, mainly due to a higher level of business activities in its business segments after some easing measures from the Circuit Breaker.

The group is also involved in the sale of construction materials such as sand and granite aggregates, recycled concrete aggregate and liquefied soil stabiliser.

Hafary Holdings

On Mar 31, Hafary Holdings non-independent non-executive director Eric Low See Ching acquired 98,400 shares of the company at 19.0 cents per share. With a consideration of S$18,696, this further increased his direct interest in the company from 25.36 per cent to 25.38 per cent.

Mr Low was appointed as the non-independent non-executive director of Hafary Holdings in January 2014. Prior to this appointment, he served in the board as executive director and in the company as CEO. He joined the main subsidiary of the company, Hafary Pte Ltd, in 2000, and rose through the ranks from sales executive to CEO in 2005.

Low is also presently the executive director and deputy CEO of Oxley Holdings and an alternate director of Aspen (Group) Holdings.

Hafary Holdings is a leading building material supplier that has been defining living spaces with premium products. With over 5,000 products sourced from around the world, the group maintains it carries the largest collection of surfacing materials in Singapore.

One of the questions received in connection with the company's Annual Report 2021 pertained to whether the group had been affected by supply chain disruptions, particularly from shipping.

The group replied that as it sources its raw materials from various countries, some of its operations have been affected by such global supply change disruptions, and the group continues to monitor the situation and will make the appropriate announcements in the event that such disruptions are material.  Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



Hong Fok continues buybacks as joint-CEO raises stake

GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk PT / Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>GoTo was initially aiming to raise around US$1.25bn from a local listing. It managed to raise US$960m after downsizing its deal and pricing close to the midpoint.</li>
<li>GoTo, is an Indonesian holding company, was formed in May 2021 as a result of a merger between Gojek, leading player in ride hailing, and Tokopedia, leading e-commerce player.</li>
<li>In this note, we’ll talk about the trading dynamics of the deal.</li>
</ul>


GoTo was initially aiming to raise around US$1.25bn from a local listing. It managed to raise US$960m after downsizing its deal and pricing close to the midpoint.
GoTo, is an Indonesian holding company, was formed in May 2021 as a result of a merger between Gojek, leading player in ride hailing, and Tokopedia, leading e-commerce player.
In this note, we’ll talk about the trading dynamics of the deal.


GoTo IPO Trading - A Test for the Domestic Market

Research and consultancy, Tabbush Report

Daniel Tabbush

Research and consultancy

Tabbush Report

We provide research and consultancy on Asian banks. Our focus is on what we call “Asian bank research, without the noise.” We are interested in the most critical swing-factors for banks, the NPL and credit cycle, and where we believe there is a gap between perception and reality. We often focus on the less studied components of bank financial statements.  Our research is highly thematic, sometimes examining unlisted banks and companies as a window on mainstream banks. 

Being independent allows us to look at smaller banks, often overlooked by others. Analysis of BIS bank guidelines in the context of Asia, is also a focal point, while we also analyze global banks operating in the region. We use what we believe is the most comprehensive, reliable financials database, SNL Financial. S&P Capital IQ augments our database, with corporate data and CEIC, with economics. 

Asian bank research, without the noise.

<ul>
<li>Tsingshan metals has reached an agreement with bankers on nickel trade</li>
<li>There is risk of significant impairments at STAN and other counter-party banks</li>
<li>This comes at a time when STAN's impairment costs are starting off at a low level</li>
</ul>


Tsingshan metals has reached an agreement with bankers on nickel trade
There is risk of significant impairments at STAN and other counter-party banks
This comes at a time when STAN's impairment costs are starting off at a low level


<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2022-04/Capture_0.PNG' alt='Share buyback' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>Share buyback</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Mar 25 to 31, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent, while the FTSE China A50 Index dipped 0.1 per cent, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 0.6 per cent. 
Overall, institutions were net sellers over the 5 sessions with S$143 million of net outflow. DBS Group Holdings, UOB, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Keppel Corporation and Wilmar International led the net institutional outflows for the 5 sessions through to Mar 31. 
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, City Developments, SATS, SIA Engineering Company and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions.  
For Q1 2022, Singapore stocks received S$1.12 billion of net institutional inflows, with Singapore Telecommunications,  OCBC,  UOB, Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust and Wilmar International drawing the most net institutional inflows. Share buybacks 
There were 18 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions with a total consideration of S$11.9 million, down from S$15.7 million for the preceding week. 
OCBC, Raffles Medical Group and Hong Fok Corporation led the buyback consideration tally. OCBC paid an average price of S$12.40 per share, while Raffles Medical Group paid S$1.17 per share. 
For Q1 2022, Keppel led the buyback consideration tally for primary-listed stocks buying back 27.3 million shares, with a consideration of S$164.2 million, at an average price of S$6.02 per share. 
On Jan 27, Keppel announced the establishment of a S$500 million share buyback programme, pursuant to the share purchase mandate granted by its shareholders at the company's previous AGM. The company noted that shares repurchased will be held as treasury shares which will be used in part for the annual vesting of employee share plans, but also as possible currency for future merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) activities. 
For the quarter, OCBC bought back 3.5 million shares at an average price of S$12.05, while Raffles Medical Group bought back 13.2 million shares at an average price of S$1.18 per share. Director and substantial shareholder transactions 
The 5 trading sessions saw almost 100 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for 40 primary-listed stocks. 
This included 14 company director acquisitions with 3 disposals filed, while substantial shareholders reported 11 acquisitions and 3 disposals. HRnetGroup 
On Mar 25, Simco acquired 4,204,300 shares of HRnetGroup HRnetGroup : CHZ 0% for a consideration of S$3,254,969, at 77.4 Singapore cents per share. This increased Simco's direct interest in HRnetGroup from 77.61 per cent to 78.03 per cent, while increasing the deemed interests of founding chairman Peter Sim, executive director and chief executive officer of Recruit Express JS Sim, and executive director and chief legal officer Adeline Sim. 
Peter Sim founded the company in 1992 and has more than 40 years of expertise in social work, human resource management, and talent acquisition. 
HRnetGroup has since grown its business to over 900 consultants spread across 13 Asian cities. 
On Feb 25, HRnetGroup reported that its FY21 (ended Dec 31) revenue increased 36.4 per cent from FY20, with net profit growing 41.1 per cent to S$70.3 million. This was another record-breaking year in revenue for the company with the S$590.5 million revenue in FY21, following S$433.0 million revenue in FY20 and S$423.1 million revenue in FY19. 
The company added that revenue continues to be generated from diverse sources across multiple sectors and specialisations and it is not dependent on any single sector, with its top 10 clients contributing 26.6 per cent to its FY21 revenue. 
In FY21, the company facilitated 7,794 permanent job placements while placing 54,448 unique contractor headcounts for the year. 
On Dec 30, 2021, the board of directors of HRnetGroup announced that Adeline Sim had been appointed by the Minister for Education to the boards of SkillsFuture Singapore and of the Lifelong Learning Institute. 
Effective Jan 1, Wallace Gao Yong was appointed as an independent director of HRnetGroup. He is based in Beijing and is the chairman at Beijing Career International, the first HR service enterprise that was listed on China's A-share market. Olam Group 
On Mar 28, Olam Group Olam Intl : O32 0% independent non-executive director Nihal Kaviratne acquired 133,100 shares of the company at an average price of S$1.79 per share. With a consideration of S$237,985, this increased his direct interest in Olam Group to 0.1 per cent. 
Kaviratne was previously the chairman and CEO for the Unilever Group across Asia, Europe and Latin America. His career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years which also covered senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development. 
Olam Group has now completed the first 3 of 4 steps of its transformational re-organisation plan to re-organise its diverse business portfolio into 3 distinct operating groups - Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and Olam. Olam Food Ingredients intends to seek a primary listing in London, and a concurrent secondary listing in Singapore. 
On Mar 25, Olam Group announced that in the light of current market conditions, and as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it did not expect the IPO of Olam Food Ingredients to take place during Q2 2022, as was previously planned. Amos Group 
Between Mar 28 and 29, Amos Group executive chairman Kyle Shaw acquired 465,000 shares of the company at an average price of 17.2 cents per share. With a consideration of S$80,081, this increased his deemed interest in the company from 80.51 per cent to 80.77 per cent. 
Shaw is the founder and managing partner of ShawKwei &amp; Partners, an international private equity fund manager investing in mid-market industrial and service businesses across Asia, the United States, and Europe. 
The Amos Group serves multinational customers in the marine and energy industries across a network of facilities spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The group supplies customers with technical services and supply solutions across 4 of the most vibrant oil and gas production zones on earth and through 4 of the world's busiest ports - Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Busan. The group is expected to report its FY22 (ended Mar 31) results at the end of May. Tai Sin Electric 
On Mar 23, Tai Sin Electric executive director and CEO Bernard Lim Boon Hock acquired 115,300 shares of the company at an average price of 39.0 cents per share. With a consideration of S$44,967, this took his total interest in Tai Sin Electric from 17.35 per cent to 17.38 per cent. 
Lim has gradually increased his total interest in Tai Sin Electric from 14.82 per cent at the end of 2019 and he has been an executive director of the company since September 1997. Challenger Technologies 
Between Mar 23 and 29, Digileap Capital acquired 50,400 shares of Challenger Technologies Challenger : 573 0% at 58.0 cents per share. This took the deemed interest of non-executive non-independent director Tan Keng Soon in the Singapore-focused multi-brand IT retailer from 15.03 per cent to 15.04 per cent. Tan is the co-founder and manager partner of Dymon Asia Capital and was recently appointed to the board of Challenger Technologies, on Nov 29, 2021. Tye Soon 
On Mar 29, Tye Soon managing director David Chong Tek Yew acquired 55,000 shares of the company for a consideration of S$21,900 at an average price of 39.8 cents per share. This followed on from Wong Huay Shien, the Chong's spouse, also acquiring 30,200 shares of Tye Soon on Mar 30 at 39.5 cents per share. 
The 3 transactions took Chong's total interest in the independent automotive parts distributor from 3.25 per cent to 3.35 per cent. 
Joining as group general manager/executive director in 1998, Chong was appointed deputy managing director in 2002, before being appointed managing director in February 2014. 
On Feb 23, Tye Soon reported that profit after tax totalled S$4.5 million for its FY21 (ended Dec 31), up from S$1.3 million in FY20. 
Partnering its principals mostly from Europe, Japan and Korea, the group has one of the largest portfolios of top-tier global brands of automotive parts. LHT Holdings 
On Mar 25, LHT Holdings managing director, Yap Mui Kee, acquired 52,100 shares of the company for a consideration of S$36,991. At 71.0 cents per share, this took her total interest in the manufacturer of high-quality wooden pallets, boxes, and crates from 14.79 per cent to 14.89 per cent. 
This followed her acquisitions of 17,700 shares at 70.0 cents per share on Mar 18 and 24,600 shares of at 69.1 cents per share on Mar 7.

Yap has over 35 years of experience in sales and marketing and plays a key role in exploring opportunities in new markets. Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/green-shoots-for-retail-and-hospitality-s-reits-amid-new-pandemic-phase"> </a><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hrnetgroups-largest-shareholder-raises-stake-1">read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    Share buyback


For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Mar 25 to 31, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent, while the FTSE China A50 Index dipped 0.1 per cent, the Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 per cent and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 0.6 per cent.  
Overall, institutions were net sellers over the 5 sessions with S$143 million of net outflow. DBS Group Holdings, UOB, Mapletree Commercial Trust, Keppel Corporation and Wilmar International led the net institutional outflows for the 5 sessions through to Mar 31.  
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, City Developments, SATS, SIA Engineering Company and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust received the highest net institutional inflows for the 5 sessions.   
For Q1 2022, Singapore stocks received S$1.12 billion of net institutional inflows, with Singapore Telecommunications,  OCBC,  UOB, Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust and Wilmar International drawing the most net institutional inflows.  Share buybacks  
There were 18 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the 5 sessions with a total consideration of S$11.9 million, down from S$15.7 million for the preceding week.  
OCBC, Raffles Medical Group and Hong Fok Corporation led the buyback consideration tally. OCBC paid an average price of S$12.40 per share, while Raffles Medical Group paid S$1.17 per share.  
For Q1 2022, Keppel led the buyback consideration tally for primary-listed stocks buying back 27.3 million shares, with a consideration of S$164.2 million, at an average price of S$6.02 per share.  
On Jan 27, Keppel announced the establishment of a S$500 million share buyback programme, pursuant to the share purchase mandate granted by its shareholders at the company's previous AGM. The company noted that shares repurchased will be held as treasury shares which will be used in part for the annual vesting of employee share plans, but also as possible currency for future merger and acquisition (M&amp;A) activities.  
For the quarter, OCBC bought back 3.5 million shares at an average price of S$12.05, while Raffles Medical Group bought back 13.2 million shares at an average price of S$1.18 per share.  Director and substantial shareholder transactions  
The 5 trading sessions saw almost 100 changes to director interests and substantial shareholdings filed for 40 primary-listed stocks.  
This included 14 company director acquisitions with 3 disposals filed, while substantial shareholders reported 11 acquisitions and 3 disposals.  HRnetGroup  
On Mar 25, Simco acquired 4,204,300 shares of HRnetGroup HRnetGroup : CHZ 0% for a consideration of S$3,254,969, at 77.4 Singapore cents per share. This increased Simco's direct interest in HRnetGroup from 77.61 per cent to 78.03 per cent, while increasing the deemed interests of founding chairman Peter Sim, executive director and chief executive officer of Recruit Express JS Sim, and executive director and chief legal officer Adeline Sim.  
Peter Sim founded the company in 1992 and has more than 40 years of expertise in social work, human resource management, and talent acquisition.  
HRnetGroup has since grown its business to over 900 consultants spread across 13 Asian cities.  
On Feb 25, HRnetGroup reported that its FY21 (ended Dec 31) revenue increased 36.4 per cent from FY20, with net profit growing 41.1 per cent to S$70.3 million. This was another record-breaking year in revenue for the company with the S$590.5 million revenue in FY21, following S$433.0 million revenue in FY20 and S$423.1 million revenue in FY19.  
The company added that revenue continues to be generated from diverse sources across multiple sectors and specialisations and it is not dependent on any single sector, with its top 10 clients contributing 26.6 per cent to its FY21 revenue.  
In FY21, the company facilitated 7,794 permanent job placements while placing 54,448 unique contractor headcounts for the year.  
On Dec 30, 2021, the board of directors of HRnetGroup announced that Adeline Sim had been appointed by the Minister for Education to the boards of SkillsFuture Singapore and of the Lifelong Learning Institute.  
Effective Jan 1, Wallace Gao Yong was appointed as an independent director of HRnetGroup. He is based in Beijing and is the chairman at Beijing Career International, the first HR service enterprise that was listed on China's A-share market.  Olam Group  
On Mar 28, Olam Group Olam Intl : O32 0% independent non-executive director Nihal Kaviratne acquired 133,100 shares of the company at an average price of S$1.79 per share. With a consideration of S$237,985, this increased his direct interest in Olam Group to 0.1 per cent.  
Kaviratne was previously the chairman and CEO for the Unilever Group across Asia, Europe and Latin America. His career with the Unilever Group spanned 40 years which also covered senior level management positions in sales, marketing, brand and strategic planning and development.  
Olam Group has now completed the first 3 of 4 steps of its transformational re-organisation plan to re-organise its diverse business portfolio into 3 distinct operating groups - Olam Food Ingredients, Olam Agri and Olam. Olam Food Ingredients intends to seek a primary listing in London, and a concurrent secondary listing in Singapore.  
On Mar 25, Olam Group announced that in the light of current market conditions, and as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, it did not expect the IPO of Olam Food Ingredients to take place during Q2 2022, as was previously planned.  Amos Group  
Between Mar 28 and 29, Amos Group executive chairman Kyle Shaw acquired 465,000 shares of the company at an average price of 17.2 cents per share. With a consideration of S$80,081, this increased his deemed interest in the company from 80.51 per cent to 80.77 per cent.  
Shaw is the founder and managing partner of ShawKwei &amp; Partners, an international private equity fund manager investing in mid-market industrial and service businesses across Asia, the United States, and Europe.  
The Amos Group serves multinational customers in the marine and energy industries across a network of facilities spanning Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The group supplies customers with technical services and supply solutions across 4 of the most vibrant oil and gas production zones on earth and through 4 of the world's busiest ports - Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Busan. The group is expected to report its FY22 (ended Mar 31) results at the end of May.  Tai Sin Electric  
On Mar 23, Tai Sin Electric executive director and CEO Bernard Lim Boon Hock acquired 115,300 shares of the company at an average price of 39.0 cents per share. With a consideration of S$44,967, this took his total interest in Tai Sin Electric from 17.35 per cent to 17.38 per cent.  
Lim has gradually increased his total interest in Tai Sin Electric from 14.82 per cent at the end of 2019 and he has been an executive director of the company since September 1997.  Challenger Technologies  
Between Mar 23 and 29, Digileap Capital acquired 50,400 shares of Challenger Technologies Challenger : 573 0% at 58.0 cents per share. This took the deemed interest of non-executive non-independent director Tan Keng Soon in the Singapore-focused multi-brand IT retailer from 15.03 per cent to 15.04 per cent. Tan is the co-founder and manager partner of Dymon Asia Capital and was recently appointed to the board of Challenger Technologies, on Nov 29, 2021.  Tye Soon  
On Mar 29, Tye Soon managing director David Chong Tek Yew acquired 55,000 shares of the company for a consideration of S$21,900 at an average price of 39.8 cents per share. This followed on from Wong Huay Shien, the Chong's spouse, also acquiring 30,200 shares of Tye Soon on Mar 30 at 39.5 cents per share.  
The 3 transactions took Chong's total interest in the independent automotive parts distributor from 3.25 per cent to 3.35 per cent.  
Joining as group general manager/executive director in 1998, Chong was appointed deputy managing director in 2002, before being appointed managing director in February 2014.  
On Feb 23, Tye Soon reported that profit after tax totalled S$4.5 million for its FY21 (ended Dec 31), up from S$1.3 million in FY20.  
Partnering its principals mostly from Europe, Japan and Korea, the group has one of the largest portfolios of top-tier global brands of automotive parts.  LHT Holdings  
On Mar 25, LHT Holdings managing director, Yap Mui Kee, acquired 52,100 shares of the company for a consideration of S$36,991. At 71.0 cents per share, this took her total interest in the manufacturer of high-quality wooden pallets, boxes, and crates from 14.79 per cent to 14.89 per cent.  
This followed her acquisitions of 17,700 shares at 70.0 cents per share on Mar 18 and 24,600 shares of at 69.1 cents per share on Mar 7.

Yap has over 35 years of experience in sales and marketing and plays a key role in exploring opportunities in new markets.  Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



HRnetGroup's largest shareholder raises stake

Singapore

DBS Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries provide a variety of financial services.  The Company offers services including mortgage financing, lease and hire purchase financing, nominee and trustee, funds management, corporate advisory and brokerage .  DBS Group also acts as the primary dealer in Singapore government securities.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

DBS (DBS SP)

ECM Weekly (2nd May 22) - LIC, Shieldus, One Store, Campus, Rainbow, Kakao Pay, Uju, GoTo, Zhongyuan

Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that were covered by the team recently along with updates for upcoming IPOs.

Sumeet Singh

Hong Fok continues buybacks as joint-CEO raises stake

For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Apr 1 to 7, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 0.1 per cent, with the FTSE China...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

GoTo IPO Trading - A Test for the Domestic Market

GoTo was initially aiming to raise around US$1.25bn from a local listing. It managed to raise US$960m after downsizing its deal and pricing close...

Sumeet Singh

Standard Chartered - Nickel and Dimes

The surge in nickel prices and the wrong-way trade(s) will mean bank counter-party risk, with STAN being highlighted in reports. ROA risk can be...

Daniel Tabbush

HRnetGroup's largest shareholder raises stake

For the 5 trading sessions that spanned Mar 25 to 31, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 0.3 per cent, while the FTSE China...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)