For the five trading sessions from Nov 28 to Dec 4, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, with net institutional outflow of S$78 million, extending the S$$552 million net outflow for the previous week. Institutional Flows Stocks that saw the highest net institutional outflow over the five sessions included DBS Group Holdings, Sembcorp Industries, Singapore Airlines, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, CapitaLand Investment Limited, Singapore Technologies Engineering, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Jardine Matheson Holdings and Keppel DC REIT. Meanwhile, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings, Wilmar International, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, Hongkong Land Holdings, United Overseas Bank, Genting Singapore, DFI Retail Group Holdings, Seatrium, and Yangzijiang Maritime led the net institutional inflow over the five sessions.  Share BuybacksFor the five sessions through to Dec 4, 19 primary-listed companies conducted buybacks with a total consideration of S$61.2 million. Singtel again led the consideration tally, buying back 9,072,500 of its shares at an average price of S$4.72. From Nov 12 through to Dec 4, Singtel has bought back 25,888,500 shares with S$123 million in consideration, at an average price of S$4.75 per share. The filings indicated that the buybacks were pursuant to the Singtel Performance Share Plan 2012, rather than the Value Realisation Share Buyback (VRSB) active capital management strategy announced in May. The latest round of buybacks compares to 12,284,949 shares bought back in December 2024, and 7,903,405 shares bought back in November 2023, and 2,906,612 shares bought back in May 2023. The VRSB programme authorises up to S$2 billion in share repurchases over a period of three years is separate from periodic buybacks for employee share plans, which are not cancelled.Singtel stated that shares will be repurchased from the open market, subject to prevailing market conditions, and subsequently cancelled. This cancellation is intended to deliver a sustained uplift in earnings per share (EPS) and dividends per share (DPS), underscoring the company’s commitment to driving long-term returns on capital. Under the ST28 strategy, the S$2 billion VRSB complements the S$5 billion Variable Return Dividend (VRD) and an additional S$2 billion earmarked for growth opportunities.The VRSB funding is intended to primarily come from excess capital, supported by an accelerated pace and magnitude of asset recycling.  Director TransactionsOver the five trading sessions, more than 80 director interests and substantial shareholdings were filed. Across close to 40 primary-listed stocks, Directors or CEOs reported 12 acquisitions and three disposals, while substantial shareholders recorded eight acquisitions and seven disposals. Q &amp; M Dental GroupBetween Nov 28 and Dec 4, Quan Min Holdings acquired 2,783,100 shares of Q &amp; M Dental Group (Singapore). This increased the total interest of non-independent executive director and group CEO, Ng Chin Siau, from 55.82 per cent to 56.12 per cent. The shares were acquired at an average price of S$0.515 apiece.  Zhongmin Baihui Retail Group  On Dec 1, Executive Director and CEO Chen Kaitong acquired 800,000 shares at an average price of S$0.45 per share. This increased his direct interest from 21.60 per cent to 22.02 per cent. Mr Chen is a founding member of the Group and has served as Director and CEO since December 2008. He also holds directorships across various Group companies. With over 30 years of retail experience in China, Mr Chen has been pivotal in shaping the Group’s growth, strategy, and operations. He oversees corporate planning, business development, and key daily functions. Notably, he played a leading role in establishing the Group’s first modern department store in Anxi and has earned numerous industry awards for his contributions.Zhongmin Baihui Retail Group (ZMBH) operates department stores, supermarkets, and large-scale malls across China, with a strong presence in Fujian and flagship projects in Hunan and Jiangsu. Its retail spaces serve China’s growing middle-income consumers with curated international and domestic brands. For its FY25 (ended June 30), the Group achieved a 79.6 per cent surge in profit after tax from FY24 to RMB 42.8 million, driven by strong outlet mall earnings and a return to profitability in Fujian stores, prompting the Board to propose a S$0.01 dividend per share. This was the strongest profit after tax for the Group since RMB 55.2 million in FY20. Its outlet segment also delivered strong results in FY25, with Changsha Sasseur Outlets contributing RMB 31.4 million profit after tax and Wuxi Yueshang Outlets turning profitable with RMB 4.0 million, supported by high occupancy and robust tenant sales.The Group maintained in October that it will expand its large-mall portfolio with a 52,000 sqm project in Shanxi opening in 2026. This will bring its  total managed Gross Flore Area in large malls to over 700,000 sqm. ZMBH remains focused on selective mall projects and operational efficiency in Fujian stores to drive sustainable growth in China’s competitive retail landscape.ZMBH listed on the Catalist Board in Jan 2011 and subsequently transferred to the SGX Mainboard in Sep 2013.  Frencken GroupOn Dec 4, Frencken Group chairman and non-executive non-independent director Gooi Soon Chai acquired 200,000 shares at S$1.38 apiece. This increased his total interest from 23.75 per cent to 23.79 per cent. On Nov 17, the Group provided a Business Update, highlighting its 3QFY25 (ended Spe 30) revenue rose 6.5 per cent from 3QFY24, to S$211.5 million, driven by Mechatronics and stable sales from its Integrated Manufacturing Solutions Division. Its 3QFY25 gross margin improved to 14.8 per cent from 14.0 per cent on a favorable sales mix. This saw its 3QFY25 PATMI grow 7.5 per cent to S$9.9 million versus S$9.2 million in 3QFY24.  AccrelistBetween Accrelist executive chairman and managing director Terence Tea Yeok Kian acquired 2,177,800 shares at S$0.044 per share. With a consideration of S$96,349, this increased his direct interest in the Catalist-listed company from 28.23 per cent to 28.91 per cent. Since Accrelist reported its 1HFY26 (ended Sep 30) results on Nov 14, Dr Tea has increased his total interest from 27.90 per cent. The Group posted S$7.4 million revenue for 1HFY26, down S$1.8 million from 1HFY25, mainly due to the disposal of MBU-WTE. The Accrelist Medical Aesthetics group of companies maintained revenue of S$7.1 million in 1HFY26, with gross profit increasing 42 per cent to S$3.3 million on margins improving from 32.6 per cent to 46.5 per cent, through strict cost controls. Other business segments grew revenue by 86.7 per cent to S$0.3 million, lifting overall Group gross profit to S$3.5 million. This saw the 1HFY26 net loss narrow to S$0.7 million from S$1.1 million in 1HFY25.Accrelist is expanding its presence in medical aesthetics through A.M Aesthetics clinics in Singapore and Malaysia and A.M Skincare, which develops and sells clinical skincare products. Additionally, it holds a 52.5 per cent stake in Jubilee Industries, offering precision plastic injection moulding and tooling services for automotive, medical, and consumer sectors with production facilities in Indonesia. MetaOpticsOn Dec 1,  MetaOptics announced plans to raise S$4.85 million via a placement of 6.69 million new shares at S$0.7255 each. The funds are intended to strengthen the balance sheet and expand capital base to support a growing pipeline of global orders. The secondary fundraising follows S$6.00 million raised through 30 million shares at S$0.20 each at its September Catalist IPO. MetaOptics highlighted that proceeds will reinforce supply-chain readiness and accelerate scaling of MetaOptics’ glass-based metalens solutions. It adds that demand is rising across consumer devices, automotive systems, and industrial applications. Investors include new participants and existing shareholders who have tracked MetaOptics since its listing.MetaOptics builds flat, glass-based metalenses using the same processes as semiconductor chips. Applications of the metalenses include non-contact fingerprint scanners, optical AI chips, and flat glass-based computational cameras. At its debut, the company was valued S$47 million, with market capitalisation since increasing to S$290 million. In October, won the “Startup Innovation Award” at the 2025 Taiwan Weeks Asia Innovation Cup Demo Day in Taipei, recognising its pioneering metalens technology and cross-border growth potential.Executive Chairman Thng Chong Kim relayed that MetaOptics is seeing strong commercial momentum as adoption of metalens technology increases across multiple high-growth markets. He added that the placement’s capital injection strengthens its ability to serve customers, execute on delivery commitments and advance our product roadmap.<table><tbody><tr><td>Share Buybacks by Primary-listed Companies by way of Market Acquisition (Nov 28 to Dec 2)</td><td>Number of Shares/Units Purchased </td><td>Buyback Consideration (incl stamp duties &amp; clearing charges) S$   </td><td>Avg price paid per share S$</td></tr><tr><td>SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS </td><td>9,072,500</td><td>42,793,304.90</td><td>4.72</td></tr><tr><td>UNITED OVERSEAS BANK </td><td>176,000</td><td>5,995,472.60</td><td>34.07</td></tr><tr><td>SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING </td><td>500,000</td><td>4,129,043.73</td><td>8.26</td></tr><tr><td>RAFFLES MEDICAL GROUP </td><td>2,932,000</td><td>2,889,171.49</td><td>0.99</td></tr><tr><td>KEPPEL </td><td>250,000</td><td>2,564,505.26</td><td>10.26</td></tr><tr><td>SATS </td><td>312,000</td><td>1,060,260.13</td><td>3.40</td></tr><tr><td>AEM HOLDINGS </td><td>250,000</td><td>418,592.57</td><td>1.67</td></tr><tr><td>17LIVE GROUP </td><td>300,000</td><td>328,648.26</td><td>1.10</td></tr><tr><td>FRASER AND NEAVE </td><td>147,500</td><td>218,020.40</td><td>1.48</td></tr><tr><td>HONG FOK CORPORATION </td><td>242,400</td><td>190,886.27</td><td>0.79</td></tr><tr><td>ZHENENG JINJIANG ENVIRONMENT HOLDING COMPANY </td><td>301,600</td><td>136,795.67</td><td>0.45</td></tr><tr><td>ANCHUN INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS </td><td>329,100</td><td>136,266.91</td><td>0.41</td></tr><tr><td>HONG LAI HUAT GROUP </td><td>2,200,000</td><td>125,598.15</td><td>0.06</td></tr><tr><td>THE HOUR GLASS </td><td>50,300</td><td>112,435.34</td><td>2.24</td></tr><tr><td>INTRACO </td><td>76,400</td><td>28,693.74</td><td>0.38</td></tr><tr><td>A-SONIC AEROSPACE </td><td>50,000</td><td>17,938.05</td><td>0.36</td></tr><tr><td>SARINE TECHNOLOGIES </td><td>40,000</td><td>10,930.85</td><td>0.27</td></tr><tr><td>GHY CULTURE &amp; MEDIA HOLDING CO </td><td>39,600</td><td>6,049.46</td><td>0.15</td></tr><tr><td>TREK 2000 INTERNATIONAL </td><td>29,100</td><td>2,786.29</td><td>0.10</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>17,298,500</td><td>61,165,400.07</td><td> </td></tr></tbody></table> 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>

During Nov 28 to Dec 4, institutions were net sellers of Singapore stocks, with a S$78 million outflow. Directors of Q&M Dental, Zhongmin Baihui Retail, and others increased their stakes. Q&M's Ng Chin Siau raised his stake to 56.12%, while Zhongmin's Chen Kaitong increased his to 22.02%. Singtel led share buybacks, purchasing 9,072,500 shares. Zhongmin Baihui Retail reported a 79.6% profit surge for FY25, driven by strong outlet mall earnings.

Stake Additions by Q&M Dental, Frencken, Zhongmin Baihui Retail, and Accrelist directors