Over the four trading sessions from June 13 to June 18, institutions were net net sellers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional outflow of S$42 million following the S$80 million net outflow for the preceding five sessions. This takes the net institutional outflow for the 2025 year to June 18 at S$1.88 billion. 

Institutional Flows 

Over the four trading sessions through to June 18, the stocks that saw the highest net institutional outflow were DBS Group Holdings, Singapore Airlines, Wilmar International, Singtel, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, SATS, Mapletree Industrial Trust, UOL Group, Riverstone Holdings, and DFI Retail Group Holdings. 

Meanwhile Keppel, Singapore Exchange, Singapore Technologies Engineering, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, Jardine Matheson Holdings, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Rex International Holding, Hongkong Land Holdings, and Seatrium led the net institutional inflow over the four sessions.

From a Sector perspective, Financial Services and Consumer Non-Cyclicals experienced the highest net institutional outflow, while Industrials and REITs saw the most net institutional inflow. 

Singapore Telecommunications Led Net Institutional Inflows in 2Q25

Institutions were net sellers for much of 2Q25, but sector flows were mixed, with Financial Services and REITs seeing the largest outflows, while Telecommunications and Industrials—led by Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Airlines, Keppel, and Singapore Technologies Engineering—recorded notable inflows. 

From end-2023 to June 18, Singapore Telecommunications led net institutional inflows into the local market with S$1.6 billion, while its Straits Times Index weight has risen from 6 per cent to 8 per cent, and its total return ranking as the second-best performer in the Dow Jones Sector Titans Telecommunication Index.

Earlier this month, Mr Gerald Wong, founder of Beansprout, interviewed Mr Arthur Lang, Group CFO of Singapore Telecommunications, to discuss the company’s recent momentum. Mr Lang shared that profit growth in FY25 was driven by strong execution across core business units, with Optus and NCS achieving EBIT growth of 55 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively. He highlighted the Singtel28 strategy’s focus on lifting business performance by strengthening its core connectivity businesses, and scaling growth areas such as IT services and digital infrastructure. For instance, Nxera, the data centre arm, is expanding rapidly with support from a partnership with KKR, enabling regional growth with partial funding from external capital. Mr Lang also highlighted that long-standing regional partnerships and active capital management to fund growth and boost shareholder returns continue to position Singapore Telecommunications for long-term resilience.

Share Buybacks

The four sessions through to June 18 saw 15 primary-listed companies make buybacks with a total consideration of S$61.8 million. DBS Group Holdings, United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation again led the consideration tally, collectively buying back S$58.9 million of shares.

On their current buyback mandates, United Overseas Bank has bought back 0.35 per cent of its outstanding shares, DBS Group Holdings has bought back 0.22 per cent and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation has bought back 0.06 per cent (as of June 18).

Secondary-listed Hongkong Land Holdings also continued to conducted share repurchases on each of the four sessions 

Director Transactions

The four trading sessions spanning June 13 through to June 18 saw a bit of a pause in director interests and substantial shareholdings filings. With less than 40 filings, for 20 primary-listed stocks, Directors or CEOs again filed six acquisitions, and two disposals, while substantial shareholders filed one acquisition and two disposals. This included director or CEO acquisitions in Cosmosteel Holdings, Hyphens Pharma International, Mencast Holdings and SunMoon Food Company. 

CosmoSteel Holdings

On June 13, CosmoSteel Holdings executive director and CEO Jack Ong acquired 2 million shares at an average price of S$0.220 apiece, further increasing his direct interest from 17.39 per cent to 18.15 per cent.

On May 15, Evolve Capital Advisory, on behalf of 3HA Capital, announced a voluntary conditional cash offer for all issued and paid-up ordinary shares of CosmoSteel Holdings at S$0.20 apiece. The Offer has drawn scrutiny from the Ong Family, who have requested clarifications. Mr Ong has also increased his direct interest from 14.50 per cent prior to the development. 

SunMoon Food Company 

Between June 13 and 18, SunMoon Food Company Executive Director and CEO Zhang Ye acquired 3,099,100 shares at S$0.16 apiece. This increased his total interest from 51.77 per cent to 52.12 per cent. Mr Zhang has gradually increased his total interest from 51.57 per cent since the Group reported its FY24/25 (ended Mar 31) results on May 27. Mr Zhang was appointed CEO and Executive Director in December 2018. As a serial entrepreneur, he founded Yiguo—China’s first fresh food e-commerce platform—and previously established Enmore Group, now a leading player in China’s bulk chemical services sector. For its FY24/25 the group reported revenue of S$33.83 million, up from $27.06 million the previous year, driven by stronger sales of fruits, aquatic foods, and non-hazardous chemical products. The group generated 93 per cent of its FY24/25 revenue from China, with the remainder booked to ASEAN. Its gross profit for FY24/25 remained steady at S$821,000, though the margin declined to 2.43 per cent from 3.03 per cent in FY23/24, mainly due to the clearance of slow-moving inventory sold at minimal or negative margins. The group noted that it is working to enhance profitability by expanding its non-hazardous chemical segment through strategic partnerships. It also remains focused on growing cross-border trade—exporting food products from China to Southeast Asia and importing Basha fish into China.

Hyphens Pharma International 

On June 16, Hyphens Pharma International Non-Executive Director Tan Kia King acquired 33,600 shares at S$0.30 apiece. This incremented Dr Tan’s total interest from 28.13 per cent to 28.14 per cent. The open market purchase follows his acquisition of 100,000 shares in May and 88,000 shares in April, with both transactions at S$0.285 apiece. Appointed in December 2017, Dr Tan brings over 30 years of medical and leadership experience to the group, including roles as Managing Director of Westpoint Family Hospital and Chairman of Taka Jewellery Holdings.

Hyphens Pharma International is headquartered in Singapore with direct operations across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Its foundations date back to 1998 when Current Chairman and CEO Lim See Wah invested in Pan-Malayan Pharmaceuticals, laying the foundation for a regional healthcare platform. Pan-Malayan is Singapore’s longest-established pharmaceutical wholesaler since the 1940’s, with a rich history of supplying clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, nursing homes and trade partners. The 2002 acquisition of Hyphens Pharma unlocked ASEAN expansion and proprietary innovation, including the launch of Ceradan and strategic R&D with A*STAR. With its 2018 SGX Catalist listing and growing footprint across Southeast Asia, Hyphens Pharma continues to champion Asia’s role in healthcare innovation.

Its mission sees the group currently comprise five key entities – Hyphens Pharma, DocMed Technology, Ocean Health, Novem and Ardence Pharma. These entities advance the three core segments of Specialty Pharmaceutical Principals, Proprietary Brands, in addition to Medical Hypermart and Digital. In FY24 (ended Dec 31), the group reported record revenue of S$195.4 million and a net profit after tax of S$10.9 million. The Group remain focused on scaling the core segments, with proprietary brands expanding regionally and specialty pharma advancing through new launches and exclusive rights. It is also continuing to strategically enhance long-standing assets like Pan-Malayan and POM, with a focus on building high-traffic digital platforms to unlock greater value. POM is DocMed Technology’s online business-to-business pharmaceutical marketplace that now operates across Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. 

Listed on the Catalist board,  Hyphens Pharma International maintains a market capitalisation of close to S$100 million, with a Return on Equity ratio of 15.2 per cent, dividend yield of 4.8 per cent and Price to Earnings ratio of 9.6x as of last week. The stock is also among the 10 SGX-listed Healthcare stocks that have booked the highest net institutional inflow in the first half of 2025.  In April, Evolve Capital initiated coverage on Hyphens Pharma International with a target price of S$0.365. It noted that despite Hyphen’s Pharma International’s smaller scale, the stock maintains decent margins, a net cash position, and consistent revenue growth, making its low valuation unjustified. While near-term growth may moderate, Evolve Capital expects continued portfolio expansion across the Specialty Pharma and Proprietary Brands.

Note that buybacks and director transactions for June 19 will be included next week. 

Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.

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