iFast books S$50.3 million net institutional inflow in five sessions

[SINGAPORE] Over the five trading sessions from Jul 25 to 31, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks. The net institutional outflow of S$351 million was a reversal from the S$334 million net inflow in the preceding five sessions. This took the net institutional outflow for the 2025 year till Jul 31 to S$1.67 billion.

Institutional flows

Over the five trading sessions till Jul 31, the stocks that saw the highest net institutional outflow included Singapore Airlines, Singtel, OCBC, UOB, DBS, Singapore Post, Sembcorp Industries, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Keppel.

Meanwhile, iFast Corp, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, City Developments Ltd, ComfortDelGro Corp, Yangzijiang Financial Holding, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Venture Corp, Haw Par Corp, UOB-Kay Hian Holdings and StarHub led the net institutional inflow over the five sessions.

This saw financial services leading the net institutional outflow over the five sessions, while technology booked the highest net institutional inflow.

A notable divergence in net institutional flows was that, over the five sessions, the 20 stocks with the highest net outflows had an average market capitalisation of S$25.4 billion, while those with the highest net inflows averaged just S$3.7 billion.

Among the stocks with sub-S$4 billion market capitalisation that were attracting the most net institutional inflows were Venture Corp, Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), Yangzijiang Financial Holding, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, ComfortDelGro Corp, Haw Par Corp, iFast Corp, UOB-Kay Hian Holdings, Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, StarHub, CapitaLand India Trust, Frencken Group, Samudera Shipping Line, and CSE Global.

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iFast Corp

iFast Corp saw S$50.3 million of net institutional inflow over the five sessions, turning around its 2025 year-to-date net institutional outflow of S$8.6 million to net institutional inflow of S$42.9 million.

On Jul 25, iFast Corp reported that its net profit for the first half of the 2025 financial year ended Jun 30 increased 34.7 per cent from H1 FY2024 to S$41.1 million, with expectations for stronger H2 FY2025 performance. The global digital banking and wealth management platform also reported that its second-quarter dividend per share (DPS) rose 33.3 per cent from that in Q2 FY2024, and that the FY2025 DPS is projected to grow at least 35.6 per cent from the previous year. Key revenue drivers included strong growth in the Hong Kong ePension business, a turnaround at iFast Global Bank, and record assets under administration of S$27.2 billion, with a record quarterly inflow of S$1.29 billion in the latest Q2.

In Q2, the Hong Kong segment saw a 33.4 per cent gross revenue increase to S$45.6 million from the corresponding period in the prior year. Following its first profitable quarter in the fourth quarter of FY2024, iFast Global Bank posted a S$0.7 million net profit in Q2 FY2025, and a 124.2 per cent growth in customer deposits to S$1.45 billion from the previous corresponding quarter.

The group’s return on equity (ROE) in H1 stood at 24.6 per cent. The group expects its ROE to remain at healthy levels, supported by the ongoing growth of the core wealth management platform and the continued progress of iFast Global Bank, as both fee-based and net interest income scale with business expansion.

Raffles Medical led share buybacks

The five sessions through to Jul 31 saw six primary-listed companies file buybacks with a total consideration of S$4.7 million.

Raffles Medical Group led the consideration tally, buying back 3.3 million of its shares at an average price of S$1.02 apiece. It also reported its results for H1 FY2025, ended Jun 30, last week.

Its H1 profit after tax increased 5 per cent to S$32.5 million, supported by stable performance across core segments. At the same time, revenue rose 3.5 per cent to S$378.4 million, with hospital services contributing S$174 million and healthcare services, S$142.2 million.

The group also reiterated that, reflecting its disciplined capital management and strong operating cash flow, it had revised its dividend policy in February to distribute at least 50 per cent of sustainable earnings annually and to buy back up to 100 million ordinary shares over the next two years.

Keppel announces share buyback programme

Keppel bought back 100,000 of its shares at an average price of S$8.56 each. Along with reporting its results for H1 ended Jun 30 last week, Keppel announced a S$500 million share buyback programme. It maintained that shares repurchased will be held as treasury shares that will be used in part for the annual vesting of employee share plans, as well as currency for future merger and acquisition (M&A) activities.

During the week, Keppel chief executive officer Loh Chin Hua relayed that the M&A activity will include phase two of the acquisition of European real estate manager Aermont Capital that is due in 2028. The group also detailed the role of the previous buyback programme in its initial 50 per cent acquisition of Aermont in April 2024. Keppel tendered treasury shares at S$7.16 apiece that had an average cost of S$5.80. This cost was based on the average purchase price of the treasury shares of approximately S$6.65, less the FY2022 and FY2023 cash dividends and dividend in-specie of Keppel Reit units paid to shareholders amounting to S$0.84 apiece.

Loh added that while buyback timing details remain undisclosed, the company prefers buybacks over issuing new shares to avoid dilution, especially as it anticipates a re-rating and continued share-price performance.

Hongkong Land Holdings continues buybacks

Secondary-listed Hongkong Land Holdings also continued to conduct share repurchases, acquiring 1,193,000 shares at US$6.26 each. This takes its cumulative buyback consideration to US$137 million since Apr 24.

It reported on Jul 29 that its underlying profit for H1, ended Jun 30, rose 11 per cent on the year to US$320 million, excluding China provisions. Meanwhile contributions from Hong Kong declined due to lower office rents and ongoing renovations at the commercial complex Landmark. It highlighted that capital recycling reached US$1.3 billion – 33 per cent of its 2027 target – highlighted by a landmark transaction with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.

Director transactions

Over the five trading sessions, more than 40 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed. Across 25 primary-listed stocks, directors or CEOs filed seven acquisitions and five disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded five acquisitions and three disposals.

This included director or CEO acquisitions in iWow Technology, Japan Foods Holding, Jason Marine Group, Micro-Mechanics (Holdings), Stamford Land Corp and SunMoon Food Company.

Share buybacks and director filings remained below typical levels, as the local market remained in a busy stretch of financial reporting.

iWow Technology

On Jul 25, iWow Technology’s lead independent director Ang Swee Tian acquired 111,100 shares at S$0.188 apiece. This took his direct interest to 0.04 per cent. The past president of Singapore Exchange and the former Singapore International Monetary Exchange also currently serves as the lead independent director of Zheneng Jinjiang Environment Holding Company.

The name iWow is an acronym for “Inspiring the World Of Wireless”. The provider of integrated wireless Internet of Things and telecommunications infrastructure solutions delivers end-to-end services from hardware/software design to connectivity and operations. Its competitive edge lies in turnkey capabilities, enabling full-scale deployments through in-house research and development (R&D), proven manufacturing, and robust infrastructure.

The group has been strengthening its core growth pillars with continued investment in scalable R&D. Following the success of the Buddy of Parents (BOP) Button introduced by its wholly owned subsidiary BOP Pte Ltd, the group has expanded its suite of agetech – hardware and software to address challenges of old age – with BOP Presence and BOP Monitor, while enhancing its electronic monitoring solutions for regional compatibility. As reported by The Business Times in May, the BOP Button is a wall-mounted emergency device designed for seniors living alone or without full-time care. With one press, it connects them to a 24/7 response centre. In June, the group also announced that BOP Pte Ltd had won the prestigious DBS Foundation Impact Beyond Award, securing a S$1 million grant to advance innovation in agetech and support seniors in ageing well at home.

Japan Foods Holding

On Jul 24, Japan Foods Holding non-executive vice-chairman Eugene Wong acquired 60,000 shares at S$0.19 apiece. This increased his total interest from 5.63 per cent to 5.66 per cent. His preceding acquisition was on Jun 24, with 38,000 shares acquired at S$0.26 per share.

Japan Foods Holding is one of the leading Japanese restaurant chains in Singapore. Its franchised brands include Ajisen Ramen, Kageyama and Konjiki Hototogisu. The group currently sees Singapore’s food and beverage sector shifting from expansion to profit recovery, thus prompting tighter monitoring of outlet performance and a focus on innovation and consumer needs. It has also been actively identifying and extending brands that enjoy greater customer loyalty and have stronger identity than others, while pruning any underperforming brand that may be draining resources.

In addition, Wong acquired 9,900 shares in Jason Marine Group at S$0.15 apiece on Jul 24, where he also serves as deputy non-executive chairman.

Stamford Land Corp

Stamford Land Corp executive chairman Ow Chio Kiat bought 35,000 shares at S$0.435 each. This followed his acquisition of 41,000 shares over the preceding week. He maintains a total interest of 46.18 per cent in the independent owner-operator of luxury hotels in Australia and established real estate developer and investor.

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

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