Some elderly S’poreans unsure how to sell their Singtel discounted shares while others cash in early

SINGAPORE – Madam Chung, 90, is keen to sell her Singtel special discounted shares (SDS) after learning about the move to close the scheme run by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board by the year end.

The move, announced on April 7 and approved by Parliament on May 7, will allow Singaporeans who bought these shares in 1993 and 1996 to directly own them.

This means they have the option of either selling the shares fully for cash now, or having them transferred from the CPF Board to their individual Central Depository (CDP) accounts on Nov 21, 2026, to be sold later on.

But much of this detail is lost on Madam Chung, who declined to give her full name.

“I want to sell my Singtel shares because I am old, I don’t want to keep so many things. But I don’t know how to do it,” she told The Straits Times, adding that she did not understand the letter Singtel and the CPF Board had mailed to her home.

The letter, which was seen by ST, had detailed instructions on the options available to SDS holders in the four official languages. But the wordy nature and lack of visual aids have made it difficult for some seniors to understand what to do, ST understands.

Madam Chung is among approximately 615,000 CPF members aged 50 and above who hold these shares.

Other elderly holders who spoke to ST said they are unsure whether to continue holding the shares, while some said they do not fully comprehend the sale process.

Singtel said it plans to reach out to over 20,000 older and less digitally savvy SDS holders who may require greater assistance.

It is partnering the Agency for Integrated Care, which has already begun conducting house visits since last week as part of these outreach efforts.

Meanwhile, some SDS holders who own odd lots are also concerned about not being able to sell their shares in the future, due to current board lot size restrictions, which require shareholders to trade in multiples of 100 shares.

This is the case for 81-year-old Mr Tan Ying, who holds 1,490 shares. “It is very messy to sell the odd lots in the market. The commissions you pay can be more than the sale proceeds you get from the sale of 90 shares,” he said.

But retiree Angela Goh, 65, said she was able to sell 1,490 shares via the Phillip Securities website – she was worried that the queues at the post offices might be too long.

After receiving her letter from Singtel in the post on April 17 and registering her intention to sell, she received an SMS confirmation on the same day.

Ten days later on April 27, she received another SMS from Phillips Securities confirming that her shares were sold successfully and that the money would be credited to her bank account within seven business days. The proceeds, around $7,000 for 1,490 shares, were transferred the very next day.

“The instructions were clear and the online process was very smooth,” she said.

Others told ST that they had already sold the majority of their shares before the changes to the scheme, and were left with small quantities of odd lots that may prove difficult or inconvenient to sell.

Since April 8, SDS holders have been able to visit selected Singapore Post outlets or log on to the website of brokerage firm Phillip Securities to register their intention to sell their shares. They can also choose to sell them via selected Singapore Exchange retail brokers.

Sales of SDS are subject to a 0.24 per cent commission fee charged by Phillip Securities, or a flat $17.95 fee if the transaction is processed in person at a SingPost outlet.

When ST visited several post offices over the past two weeks, elderly people were seen registering for appointments to sell their shares in an orderly manner, with staff at booths available to guide them.

Ms Rebecca See, assistant vice-president for retail at SingPost, said staff will guide SDS holders through the online system to complete the selling process.

SDS holders have full autonomy to keep their shares, sell their shares or make inquiries at the booths, she said.

One of the most common questions from SDS holders is how many shares they own, she said. Staff would then help them access their SDS information through Singpass.

“Some elderly people will come to the post office to find out more about the process before coming down again to carry out their decision,” Ms See said.

The elderly are also not pressured to make their decisions on the spot and can return with their loved ones to make further inquiries, she added.

In a statement on May 7, Singtel said there were around 60,000 walk-in inquiries by SDS holders at the 36 SingPost branches across the country in the past month.

The telco’s dedicated SDS hotline also received some 6,800 calls as at end-April, averaging 300 calls a day.

Author David Soh, 70, said selling his SDS was a “fast” process. He decided to make the move as the telecommunications industry is evolving rapidly, driven by technological shifts, intense competition and the need to overhaul legacy business models to generate sustainable returns.

“With uncertainty ahead, I guess I did the right thing by selling,” he said.

For 63-year-old executive assistant Lee L.K., it is an opportune time to sell her shares for cash as she is not savvy with investments.

“If I can exchange the shares for cash, why not take the cash now? The economy is not very good. Nobody can foresee the market,” she said, adding that she finds the online instructions for selling clear.

She plans to use the funds from about 1,000 SDS she currently holds to help with her day-to-day expenses.

According to Singtel and the CPF Board, the median SDS holder owns around 1,360 shares, which includes both batches and accumulated loyalty shares. They would be worth around $6,300 as at May 8, with the telco’s share price at $4.69.

They would have also received around $5,000 in cumulative dividends since 1993. The CPF Board said this alone would have more than covered both the CPF savings used to purchase the Singtel SDS, and the interest that holders would otherwise have received in their CPF Ordinary Account.

Singtel said some 83,000, or 13 per cent of all SDS holders, have sold their shares since the launch of the transfer exercise.

It added that the selling of its SDS has slowed considerably over the month of April, with daily volumes averaging some 4.5 million shares this week – about 11 per cent of its average daily trading volume.

Some SDS holders who are more financially savvy have opted to keep their shares, seeing them as additional investments.

One of them, Mr Ho C.K., said he is unlikely to sell his shares and will instead hold them for dividend income to build up his retirement funds.

The 62-year-old civil servant, who declined to share his full name, said he had subscribed to both tranches of SDS that were offered to Singaporeans in 1993 and 1996, totalling around 750 shares valued at about $3,400 based on the current share price.

Investors who held on to shares bought in the first tranche in 1993 were rewarded with 10 per cent more shares at four separate qualifying dates – 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1999 – ultimately adding 40 per cent more shares over time.

“It depends if you need the money. If you need the money, you may sell,” Mr Ho said, adding that the value of his SDS is not a substantial amount to him.

Similarly, Mr Yap Tay Soon, 77, said he will continue to keep the shares and collect dividends.

The retiree said there is no loss to holding on to the shares and that he is not worried about share price fluctuations. “As a major government-linked company, I don’t think Singtel’s shares will drop drastically, so it is definitely a better option to just keep them.”

Another shareholder, who wanted to be known only as Mr Liew C.B., said he had transferred his discounted shares to CDP “a long time ago” to combine with his other Singtel shares.

“SDS are few in number, as you know. Selling them is too troublesome,” said the 75-year-old former management professional. The retiree added that he could not recall the exact number of shares he owns but estimated it at 1,337.

Procurement manager Toh Yong Soon, 51, also plans to keep his SDS, given their sentimental value.

They were a memorable 21st birthday gift to himself, as he had met the eligibility criteria to become a shareholder at the time of purchase in 1996.

Since then, he has considered the shares part of his savings and assets. “It’s like Ah Gong’s (grandfather’s) gift to his grandchildren. How can I sell them?”