Aberdeen extends Clint deemed interest to 6%

OVER the five trading sessions from Jul 11 to 17, institutions were net buyers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional inflow of S$113 million adding to the S$94 million net inflow for the preceding five sessions. This further reduces the net institutional outflow for the 2025 year through to Jul 17 to S$1.65 billion.

Institutional flows 

Over the five trading sessions through to Jul 17, the stocks that saw the highest net institutional inflow included Singtel, Keppel, City Developments Ltd, Singapore Airlines, Seatrium, Sembcorp Industries, OCBC, Frasers Hospitality Trust, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit, and Singapore Exchange.  

Meanwhile, DBS, UOB, NTT DC Reit, PSC Corporation, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mapletree Industrial Trust, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, ComfortDelGro, CapitaLand Investment, and Mapletree Logistics Trust led the net institutional outflow over the five sessions.

From a sector perspective, industrials and telecommunications booked the highest net institutional inflow, while financial services and materials & resources saw the most net institutional outflow for the five sessions. Industrials and telecommunications have also led the net institutional inflow for the year to Jul 17, while financial services has led the net outflow.

CapitaLand India Trust 

On Jul 15, an acquisition of just over 2.5 million units of CapitaLand India Trust (Clint) at S$1.126 apiece increased the deemed interest of Aberdeen Group from 5.96 per cent to 6.15 per cent. This followed the group emerging as a substantial unitholder of Clint with its deemed interest crossing above the 5 per cent threshold on Jun 30. 

Clint is a Singapore-listed business trust that owns and manages income-generating real estate in India, including IT parks, industrial facilities, and logistics assets. Its portfolio spans major Indian cities such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Mumbai, with a strong focus on technology and software development sectors. The properties serve a wide range of tenants, including global and Indian companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Amazon, and Applied Materials.

The trust grows its portfolio through acquisitions, forward purchases, and developments, including IT parks and data centres. The manager of Clint also maintains a disciplined capital management strategy, with a significant portion of its debt on fixed rates. It distributes most of its income available for distribution and repatriates income regularly from India to Singapore. Clint’s development pipeline includes future projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The trust benefits from India’s resilient economy and rising demand for commercial real estate, especially in tech-driven sectors.

For its FY2024 (ended Dec 31), Clint reported improved performance, with higher distributions and stronger income. The increase was driven by contributions from newly acquired properties, higher rental income from existing assets, and positive rent reversions. Clint is scheduled to report its H1 FY2025 results after the Jul 30 close.

Share buybacks

The five sessions through to Jul 17 saw eight primary-listed companies make buybacks with a total consideration of S$53.5 million. UOB led the consideration tally, buying back one million of its shares at an average price of S$36.80. On its current buyback mandate, UOB has bought back 0.6 per cent of its outstanding shares as at Jul 17. DBS also bought back 350,000 shares at an average price of S$46.18 per share.

Secondary-listed Hongkong Land Holdings also continued to conduct share repurchases, buying back 950,000 shares at an average price of US$6.27. Since Apr 24, the company has bought back US$121 million of its shares.

Director transactions

Over the five trading sessions leading up to Jul 17, a total of 55 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed. Across more than 25 primary-listed stocks, directors or CEOs reported five acquisitions and no disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded eight acquisitions and six disposals. This included director or CEO acquisitions in Asian Pay Television Trust (APTT), Stamford Land Corporation, Aims Apac Reit and Singapore Shipping Corporation. 

Both share buybacks and director filings were fewer than the usual quota, as the local market nears a busy few weeks of financial reporting.  

Singapore Shipping Corporation

On Jul 9, Singapore Shipping executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat acquired 2.5 million shares at an average price of S$0.275 apiece. This increased his total interest from 43.77 per cent to 44.39 per cent. The married deal was a significant step-up in pace compared to the 161,100 shares at the same price between Jul 3 and Jul 8. Ow has been gradually increasing the interest from 42.97 per cent in May 2024.

For its FY2025 (ended Mar 31), Singapore Shipping achieved a net profit of US$11.4 million, which grew 24.6 per cent from FY2024. The group also maintains a net cash position of US$56.1 million and maintains that it ensures cash flow resilience with fixed-rate borrowings below prevailing deposit rates, insulating from rising interest rate risks.

On the current industry outlook, Ow says that the global trade environment is becoming increasingly fragmented and uncertain due to rising tariffs, shifting geopolitical alliances, and new policy threats, such as potential US punitive fees on Chinese-built ships, which risk deeper economic dislocation.

Despite these challenges, he notes that Singapore Shipping has remained steady, with its ship-owning segment delivering resilient earnings through long-term charters and the renewal of a five-year time charter for the mv Boheme with a blue-chip partner. Ow also adds that Singapore Shipping’s agency and logistics business has swiftly adapted to the changing trade landscape, helping clients realign their supply chains and respond to new trading routes with greater confidence.

Asian Pay Television Trust

Between Jul 14 and 15, Lu Fang-Ming, non-executive director and vice-chair of the trustee-manager of APTT, acquired 417,100 units of the business trust for a consideration of S$38,230 at an average price of S$0.092 per unit. This increased his total interest from 1.25 per cent to 1.28 per cent.

This followed his purchases of 400,000 units in June, 263,600 units in May and 319,400 units in April. APTT is Asia’s first listed business trust focused on pay-TV and broadband. It invests in mature, cash-generative businesses in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore, aiming for operational ownership and control.

Food Empire Holdings 

On Jul 15, independent director Adrian Chan exercised 105,000 share options at S$0.802 apiece. He is also head of corporate at the law firm, Lee & Lee, and has been in legal practice for over three decades. He was first appointed to the board of Food Empire Holdings in January 2022. This took his direct interest in the multinational food and beverage manufacturing and distribution group to 0.02 per cent.

Food Empire owns proprietary brands such as MacCoffee, CafePHO, and Kracks, with MacCoffee leading in core markets through localised, innovative brand-building. 

In its Q1 FY2025 (ended Mar 31) business update, the group reported a 16.3 per cent increase in topline revenue from Q1 FY2024 to US$136.6 million. Food Empire has long identified Asia as a key growth region, with South-east Asia – led by Vietnam – now its largest revenue contributor, and recent investments including a coffee-mix facility in Kazakhstan set to complete by end-2025.

On Jul 9, Food Empire announced that it will invest US$37 million to expand its coffee facility in India, boosting capacity by 60 per cent. The project, part of its vertical integration strategy, begins in Q4 2025 and completes by end-2027.

The group remain cautiously optimistic about sustaining strong top-line growth, backed by brand building and market leadership. Its Asia-focused strategy and robust expansion pipeline positions it well for emerging market demand.

At the same time, it maintains it continues to monitor macro risks – such as climate-driven coffee price volatility and trade tensions – and will adjust strategies to mitigate potential impacts. The group also remains confident that its strong brand equity will provide resilience against the direct impact of tariffs in the geographical segments where it operates.

With a return on equity of 17.8 per cent, the stock’s P/E ratio has increased from 7x to 17x this year, while average daily trading turnover at S$1.21 million in the 2025 year to Jul 17 has almost doubled the S$670,000 in 2024.

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