Wilmar leads first quarter buyback tally

The agribusiness giant bought back more than 8 million shares on the Singapore Exchange.

A total of 37 primary-listed firms in the Singapore Exchange (SGX) conducted buybacks over the first quarter of 2021.

Wilmar International led the tally when it bought back 8,141,700 shares in the quarter, with an average $5.29 price per unit. This amounted to 0.83% of its issued shares.

Last year, the agribusiness giant bought back 44.7m of its ordinary shares, at a price of $4.25 per unit, second only to DBS Group Holdings when it came to buyback considerations.

Global Investments bought back a large parcel of its issued shares, at 4.71% as of end-March.

"Motivations for share buybacks can include employee compensation plans (such as share option schemes or employee share purchase plans) or long term capital management. Buybacks can pick up amidst market declines that are driven by broader moves on international macroeconomic developments," the SGX said in a statement.

For the first quarter, 37 SGX primary-listed stocks conducted buybacks with a total consideration of $134 m. Broken down, $71.8m was bought back by 37 firms in March, $49.7m was bought back by 17 firms in February, and $12.4m bought back by 20 firms in January.