Asia Insider

Asia Insider notes that director buying stayed low, although selling fell during the holiday-shortened week ending 6 May.

Purchases: Six companies had nine purchases worth $0.56m versus. five companies with nine acquisitions worth $0.48m the prior week.

Sales: One firm saw a single disposal worth $0.01m against four firms with four sales worth $0.63m the week before.

Buybacks: Three companies made eight repurchases worth $7.22m compared to five companies with 12 transactions worth $0.24m the previous week.

Notable transactions:
OCBC: Resumed buyback of 600,000 shares from 3-5 May at average price of $8.54. The bank had previously acquired 5.58m shares from 22 Feb - 13 Apr at $8.73. These trades were made on the back of a rebound in share price from $7.45.

SGX: Picked up 250,000 shares from 5-6 Mar at average price of $7.41. The group had previously acquired 864,000 shares from 10-25 Feb at $6.99. The repurchases followed a share price recovery from its Jan low of $6.60.

Venture: Recorded its first buyback since Nov '13, snapping up 30,000 shares on 6 May at $7.98 each. This was made on the hells of a 10% rebound in share price since Jan.

Micro-mechanics: Independent director Girija Prasad Pande recorded his first on-market trade since Nov '10, buying 63,000 shares on 5 May at $0.80 each, raising his stake to by 46% to 0.14%. This came on the back of a 39% surge in share price since Aug '15.

Matex: Executive Director Tan Guan Liang made his first on-market trade since Feb '14, with 80,000 shares purchased on 4 May at $0.029 each. This increased his holdings by 16% to 22%.

City Developments: Aberdeen Asset Managers disposed another 435,400 shares at $8.20, reducing its holdings to 7.97%, down from 11% since the mid Feb.