Buyback consideration hit $29.9m in January

OCBC bought back 750,000 shares for $8.25m.

Sixteen listed companies bought back 37 million of their shares in January, for a total consideration of $29.9m, according to an SGX report.

This figure is only less than half compared to the $70.1m buyback value recorded in December 2019, but is slightly higher than the $26m posted in January 2019.

OCBC led the pack as it bought back 750,000 shares for $8.25m, followed by Sembcorp Industries with 2.87 million shares for $6.6m. Silverlake Axis nabbed third spot as it bought back 13.11 million shares for $5.21m. Singapore Technologies Engineering bought back 800,000 shares for $3.21m and Stamford Land Corporation bought back 4.23 million shares for $2.11m.

The Straits Times Index (STI) declined 2.1% in January, which followed a total return of 9.4% in 2019.