On May 18, Keppel announced that one of its largest monetisation plans, that of the sale of M1 to Simba for $1 billion, had not been approved by IMDA. If M1’s sale had materialised, shareholders would have received up to 15% of the $1.4 billion in completed monetisations in 2026.
In the past few years, analysts, in particular, have been pressuring banks to return capital to investors through share buybacks. The pressure increased to the point that some analysts suggested that S-REITs, which are always in debt, begin executing unit buybacks. Some S-REITs whose units are trading below net asset value or at yields higher than their net property income (NPI) yields have done just that.
One of the most generous returns on capital is Keppel. In FY2025, Keppel’s group CEO Loh Chin Hua announced that it had a monetisation target and that, from this target, which currently stands at $13.5 billion, it will return 10%–15% to shareholders. Keppel also pays an ordinary dividend to shareholders, funded by its net profit.
