Singapore telco firm Circles Life is buying back US$5 million worth of stocks held by employees.
This development comes as the company prepares to go public soon. However, Circles Life told Tech in Asia that the ESOP buyback is part of a routine activity conducted by the firm and is not related to its IPO.
Full-time personnel are awarded two months’ worth of their basic salary in stock options per year as part of the company’s employee stock ownership plan. Top performers, meanwhile, get an an additional six months on top of their annual allocation.
A hackathon at the Circles Life office, before the pandemic struck / Photo credit: Circles Life
This liquidity event, which the company conducts every 18 months, lets employees cash in on the stocks they hold. This year’s buyback value is the biggest in Southeast Asia, the firm claims.
“Some employees stand to earn up to six figures in cash from this exercise after working just a few years with us, and it’s important to continue giving them the opportunity to see the benefits of ownership now, and not just in five or 10 years’ time,” Rameez Ansar, co-founder of Circles Life told Tech in Asia.
See also: The key contenders in Singapore’s competitive digital telco race
The telco firm reiterated that it can scale up growth with minimal capital.
“Given the current market conditions, we’re actively reviewing various strategic options but can’t comment on specific plans. We don’t have immediate funding needs as we’re very well capitalized to continue growing and scaling the business,” explained Ansar.
Editing by Collin Furtado and Eileen C. Ang
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