About 1 in 4 holders of Singtel discounted shares have sold their shares ahead of CDP transfer

Ahead of the planned transfer of Singtel's Special Discounted Shares (SDS) from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board to holders' Central Depository (CDP) accounts on Nov 21, about one in four holders have sold their shares.

Singtel and the CPF Board said in a joint update issued on Thursday (Sept 17) that about 180 million, or 25 per cent, of all Singtel SDS shares had been sold as at Aug 31.

Around 163,000 of the approximately 615,000 SDS holders, or about a quarter, have sold their shares. Of these, more than 60 per cent did not have an individual CDP account.

Support efforts for SDS holders

Since the transfer was announced in April, more than 117,000 walk-in enquiries and transactions have been processed at 36 SingPost branches.

In addition, the Singtel SDS hotline has received over 15,000 calls.

The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has also conducted more than 11,000 home visits to older SDS holders who may not be digitally savvy.

The CPF board and telecommunications operator also stated that the planned transfer is on track.

What SDS holders need to know

SDS holders who wish to continue holding their shares do not need to take any action.

Those with individual CDP accounts will have their Singtel SDS shares automatically transferred to their CDP accounts, while those without individual CDP accounts will have their shares transferred to a designated account that will be created in their names.

There is also no need for these SDS holders to open an individual CDP account unless they plan to purchase and trade other securities.

Why the SDS scheme was introduced

The SDS scheme was introduced in 1993 as part of the Government's efforts to give Singaporeans a stake in the Republic's economic success through share ownership.

Singtel was the first company to offer SDS shares when it transitioned from a statutory board to a listed company that year, and remains the only company to offer shares under this scheme.

The CPF Board was appointed as trustee to facilitate the share purchase, as share ownership was still a foreign concept among many Singaporeans at the time.

Today, with stock market trading commonplace, the SDS scheme has met its intent and the trustee arrangement to support share ownership is no longer necessary, CPF said in an earlier statement issued in April.

在新加坡电信的特别折扣股份（SDS）计划于 11 月 21 日从中央公积金局（CPF）转移到持有人的中央存托机构（CDP）账户之前，约有四分之一的持有人已经出售了他们的股份。

新加坡电信和中央公积金局在周四（9 月 17 日）发布的联合更新中表示，截至 8 月 31 日，新加坡电信 SDS 股份已售出约 1.8 亿股，占所有股份的 25%。

在约61.5万名SDS持有者中，约有16.3万人（约占四分之一）已出售其持有的股份。其中，超过60%的人没有个人CDP账户。

对SDS持有者的支持工作

自 4 月份宣布转移以来，新加坡邮政 36 家分行已处理了超过 117,000 笔现场查询和交易。

此外，新加坡电信SDS热线已接到超过15000个电话。

综合护理机构 (AIC) 还对 11,000 多名可能不擅长使用数字技术的老年 SDS 持有者进行了家庭访问。

中央公积金局和电信运营商也表示，计划中的转账正在按计划进行。

安全数据表持有者需要了解什么

希望继续持有股份的SDS持有人无需采取任何行动。

拥有个人 CDP 账户的用户，其 Singtel SDS 股份将自动转入其 CDP 账户；而没有个人 CDP 账户的用户，其股份将转入以他们名义创建的指定账户。

除非这些 SDS 持有人计划购买和交易其他证券，否则他们无需开设个人 CDP 账户。

引入SDS方案的原因

新加坡政府于 1993 年推出了 SDS 计划，旨在通过股权投资让新加坡人分享共和国的经济成功。

新加坡电信是当年从法定机构转型为上市公司时第一家发行SDS股份的公司，并且至今仍是唯一一家根据该计划发行股份的公司。

当时，股票所有权对许多新加坡人来说仍然是一个陌生的概念，因此中央公积金局被指定为受托人以促成股票购买。

中央公积金局在4月份发布的一份声明中表示，如今股票市场交易已司空见惯，股票持有计划（SDS）已达到其目的，因此不再需要受托人安排来支持股票所有权。