Singapore Banks Buy Back Shares

Singapore banks were among 32 primary-listed stocks conducting share buybacks over the five sessions ended 12 March 12, with a total consideration of S$169.6 million.

DBS Group Holdings led the consideration tally, with 6.65 million shares bought back at an average price of S$21.272 per share, according to a report by the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

As of March 12, the lender had bought back 0.5492 percent of its issued shares (excluding treasury shares) as of the approval date of the current buyback mandate.

For the five trading sessions spanning March 6 to 12, the Straits Times Index (STI) declined 11.3 percent with the Nikkei 225 Index, Hang Seng Index and S&P/ASX 200 Index averaging a 12.5 percent decline.

In the same period, UOB and OCBC bought back 360,000 and 600,000 shares respectively, amounting to S$7.8 million and S$5.7 million respectively.