As at Oct 31, the company has spent $99 million to buy back 259.6 million shares, equivalent to 6.6% of the total share base of 3.95 billion shares. This makes YZJFH closing in on the 10% buyback mandate cap allowed in a year under a normal mandate. If the share price stays at this level, and if the company continues buying up to the cap, there will be an estimated $60 million to spare from the $200 million committed.
Ren Yuanlin, executive chairman of Yangzijiang Financial Holding (YZJFH), is miffed that investors are not appreciating the value of his company. The investment company started trading at 69 cents on April 29, after it was spunoff by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings). It has been dropping steadily since to as low as 31 cents on Oct 31, and to close at 34 cents on Nov 9. The share price has been “chopped at the waist”, laments Ren in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
On June 8, YZJFH had announced a commitment to spend up to $200 million to buy back shares. It promptly started doing so on June 9, paying 51 cents for one million shares — only for the share price to slip further.
