Ahead of the final session of February, SGX-listed stocks have been averaging S$1.7 billion in average daily turnover over the first two months of 2026.Institutions have been net buyers across the Industrials, Real Estate (excluding REITs), Telecommunications, Consumer Cyclicals, Technology (hardware and software), Consumer Non‑Cyclicals, and Materials &amp; Resources sectors. Meanwhile retail has been net buying the Financial Services, REITs, Utilities, Healthcare and Energy/Oil &amp; Gas sectors. Across recent SGX corporate actions and results last week, Valuemax Group has broadened its institutional investor base via a 34.8 million share block trade, CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT) has executed a S$150 million placement (2.6x covered) to fund Bangalore developments, and Marco Polo Marine has received SGX approval for an equity placement and operational momentum to support growth. iX Biopharma also completed a placement on Feb 24, issuing 75.8 million new shares to raise gross proceeds of S$15 million. The placement was undertaken to strengthen liquidity and fund upfront working capital requirements for a newly secured US Government contract, bridging the timing gap between project expenditures and reimbursement receipts to reduce execution risk. The placement was conducted via an exempt offering to institutional and accredited investors, with no participation from directors or substantial shareholders.Last week’s beachheads also illustrate how issuers are pairing shareholder‑base initiatives with balance‑sheet funding and earnings delivery.Valuemax Controlling Shareholder Block Trade to Broaden Institutional OwnershipValuemax Group’s Executive Chairman and his spouse sold 34.8 million existing shares via a block trade at S$1.16 per share, representing a 6.5 per cent discount to the previous closing price. This reduces their total intertest to 81.53 per cent.The sale attracted strong participation from long‑only institutional investors and was handled by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation as placement agent. Following the transaction, the vendors still control about 81.5 per cent of the company and have committed to a 90‑day moratorium on further share sales, signalling continued commitment. The block trade was undertaken to diversify and institutionalise the shareholder base, improve free float and trading liquidity, and support potential index inclusion, with no dilution since no new shares were issued. Long‑only institutional investors that participated in the block trade included abrdn Asia Limited, Amova Asset Management Asia Limited, Avanda Investment Management Pte. Ltd., and ICH Synergrowth Fund. Valuemax Group is one of Singapore’s largest pawnbroking and jewellery retail chains, complemented by a substantial secured and unsecured moneylending business and gold trading operations across Singapore and Malaysia. The Group delivered record financial performance in FY24 (ended Dec 31) and then again in FY25 with profit after tax surpassing S$100 million for the first time at S$103.6 million. This was driven by strong growth across its pawnbroking, jewellery retail and moneylending businesses. Reflecting the improved earnings, the Board proposed a total dividend of 3.88 cents per share, a 44.8 per cent per cent increase year‑on‑year, alongside a strengthened balance sheet with net assets of S$611.8 million and a conservative 1.43x debt‑to‑equity ratio. The average daily turnover of the stock has grown from 39k in 2024 to S$190k in 2025 to S$799k in 1Q26 to Feb 25.Despite over S$17 million of net institutional outflows from Singapore‑listed Consumer Cyclical stocks in January, Valuemax Group was one of three gold‑linked financial retailers bucked the trend, attracting a combined S$8.5 million of inflows. CLINT’s Underwritten Placement; Proceeds to Support Bangalore ProjectsPon Feb 24, CLINT announced a fully underwritten private placement, that subsequently raised about S$150 million through a private placement of 124.2 million new units at S$1.208 each, which was around 2.6 times covered, reflecting strong institutional demand. The issue price represented a modest discount to market VWAP, balancing investor appeal with capital discipline.On an illustrative historical pro forma basis, the trustee-manager expects the placement to be DPU-accretive by 5.1 per cent and to reduce gearing to 36.8 per cent after deployment of proceeds, while also potentially improving trading liquidity through a larger unitholder base. For FY25 (ended Dec 31), CLINT’s DPU increased 15 per cent from FY24, to 7.87 Singapore cents, while 2HFY25 DPU rose 22 per cent to 3.90 cents, supported by improved operating performance and higher interest income from forward purchase assets under development. The valuations as at Dec 31 reported a 19 per cent year on year increase in CLINT’s portfolio property value to INR 266.4 billion (S$3.8 billion) on a like-for-like basis, excluding the divestments of CyberVale, Chennai and CyberPearl, Hyderabad. Management said disciplined capital recycling, a visible development pipeline and balance‑sheet optimisation position the trust to support steady and resilient growth into FY26 and beyond. Marco Polo Marine Bolsters Balance SheetOn Feb 24, Marco Polo Marine announced a proposed placement of up to 144.9 million new shares at S$0.145 apiece, raising up to about S$21 million in gross proceeds. With Maybank Securities as placement agent, the new shares represent about 3.9 per cent of existing issued share capital. Net proceeds are intended to be used entirely for capex tied to business expansion, including but not limited to fleet expansion and renewal, and the placement also aims to broaden the shareholder base to potentially improve liquidity; it is offered to institutional and accredited investors and excludes directors and substantial shareholders.Marco Polo Marine highlight that the placement has a positive impact on Net Tangible Assets (NTA) per share, as the new equity is being raised at a premium to existing net assets. With the S$0.145 placement price sitting well above the 6.36 cents NTA per share, the issuance lifts NTA per share to 6.64 cents on a pro forma basis. As a result, the equity injection more than offsets dilution, lifting net tangible assets per share even as earnings are diluted, and strengthening the balance sheet ahead of planned fleet expansion.Note that as of Sep 30, the group was already in a net cash position of S$9.3 million, providing balance‑sheet flexibility even before the placement. On Feb 16, Marco Polo Marine reported a strong start to its FY26 (ended Dec 31), with 1QFY26 revenue rising 27 per cent, from 1QFY25, to S$32.8 million. This was primarily driven by a sharp expansion in its ship chartering operations following recent fleet additions. Gross profit for the quarter increased 32 per cent to S$14.0 million, with gross margin improving by two percentage points to 43 per cent. The Group noted that this reflected a more favourable revenue mix with a higher contribution from chartering, which carries structurally higher margins than shipyard activities. Moreover, the Ship Chartering segment drove 1QFY26 growth, with revenue rising 53 per cent year on year to S$23.2 million, supported by the deployment of the CSOV MP Wind Archer flagship and three additional crew transfer vessels, lifting fleet utilisation to around 76 per cent from 71 per cent amid sustained offshore wind demand. In February, the CSOV MP Wind Archer won the Offshore Energy Vessel of the Year Award 2026, at the Annual Offshore Support Journal (OSJ) Conference, Awards &amp; Exhibition in London.Marco Polo Marine also maintains that FY26 will see a full‑year contribution from the CSOV and three Crew Transfer Vessels, compared with partial contributions in FY25, supporting stronger topline and earnings momentum. The Group also expects two new Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels to join the fleet in 2026, expanding capacity and optionality across O&amp;G and offshore wind. Marco Polo Marine’s pivot from shipbuilding and repair to ship chartering has more than doubled the latter’s contribution to the topline over the past decade. The 1QFY26 revenue mix of 71 per cent chartering and 29 per cent shipyard compared with less than 40 per cent and more than 60 per cent respectively in FY16, underscoring the structural shift in the business. Even so, the shipbuilding segment remains meaningful, anchored by a ~S$198 million (NT$4.678 billion) contract to build a 4,000‑GT oceanographic research vessel for Taiwan’s National Academy of Marine Research, the largest shipbuilding project undertaken by the group to date.On Feb 19, Maybank Research also maintained its buy call on the stock  with a S$0.20 target price, citing a multi‑year growth phase from FY26 to FY30 driven by fleet expansion, offshore wind exposure and potential shipbuilding wins. Maybank’s Head of Small-Mid Caps Research, Jarick Seet, sees 1QFY26 as the start of a seasonal uptrend, with 2QFY26 expected to beat 1QFY26 and 3QFY26 likely the peak given seasonality and rising utilisation, before a typical softening in 4Q. The average daily turnover of the stock has grown from 467k in 1H25 to S$3.2 million in 2H25 to S$6.4 million in 1Q26 to Feb 25. Inside Insights is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.Enjoying this read?<ul><li>Subscribe now to our SGX My Gateway newsletter for a compilation of latest market news, sector performances, new product release updates, and research reports on SGX-listed companies.</li><li>Stay up-to-date with our SGX Invest Telegram channel.</li></ul>

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SGX-listed stocks have seen an average daily turnover of S$1.7 billion in early 2026, with institutions net buying across various sectors. Valuemax Group broadened its institutional base through a 34.8 million share block trade, while CapitaLand India Trust raised S$150 million for developments. iX Biopharma issued 75.8 million shares to strengthen liquidity for a US Government contract. Valuemax reported record profits and increased dividends, while CLINT's placement is expected to enhance DPU and reduce gearing, supporting growth into FY26.

Liquidity & Capital: Institutional Participation Continues to Broaden across SGX