The Jardines group has continued to strengthen its much-criticised cross-shareholding structure by spending a further US$12.6 million on share repurchases.
Jardine Matheson Holdings (JMH) yesterday said it had bought back 2.8 million of its own shares on Friday at US$4.50 each.
The purchase price represented a 2.73 per cent premium to the US$4.38 closing price of the shares in Singapore on Friday.
JMH also filed a substantial shareholder notice advising it had raised its stake in Jardine Strategic Holdings (JSH) to 66.07 per cent from 65.66 per cent.
These are the latest in a series of share buy-backs which will strengthen the group's takeover defence mechanism.
K.Y. Ng, vice-president of research at GK Goh Research, said JMH could raise its holding in JSH to as high as 75 per cent. Under Singapore stock exchange rules, 25 per cent of the shares must be in public hands.
Mr Ng did not think JMH planned to raise its holding to this level, although it would provide a secure defence against a possible takeover.
