Law passed to allow Singtel special discounted shares to be transferred to holders’ CDP accounts

Mr Dinesh said the special discounted shares scheme has already achieved its intent of building up the assets of CPF members.

“This move also reflects how far we have come since the scheme’s inception,” he added.

“With the transfer, SDS (special discounted shares) holders will benefit from greater control, and those who do not wish to participate in the transfer can also choose to realise the capital gains that they have made over the decades.”

After the parliamentary session, Singtel Group CFO Arthur Lang said the passing of the Bill provides clarity and certainty for holders of special discounted shares.

“This marks the end of a positive chapter, and we are pleased that the Singtel SDS scheme launched over 30 years ago has served its purpose in encouraging Singaporeans to have a stake in the economic success of the country,” he added. 

“Going forward, our commitment is to work with the CPF Board, CDP and our other partners to complete this exercise in a way that is orderly, well-supported and firmly in the best interests of all our shareholders.”

Singtel said that over the past month, there have been about 60,000 walk-ins to the 36 SingPost branches across the country. 

The SDS hotline run by Singtel also received about 6,800 calls as of end-April, with 300 calls daily on average. Wait times for both SingPost and the SDS hotline have been well within the set service quality standards, the telco added.

“An exercise of this scale is a significant and complex logistical undertaking, with preparations months in the making,” said Mr Lang.

“Together with the CPF Board, CDP and our other stakeholders, we took every care to ensure that systems and service levels would cope with the potential crowd so that SDS holders would be well supported, whatever avenue they turn to for assistance.”