Opinion | Directors active despite HK market holiday
Buyers outnumber sellers in the market and buy-back action also is high, with 33 dealings
The trading by directors remained high last week, with 152 transactions worth HK$296.7 million, based on filings on the exchange for the holiday-shortened week of October 3 to 5.
Buyers outweighed sellers with 30 companies that recorded 89 purchases worth HK$149.2 million against 10 firms with 63 disposals worth HK$147.5 million.
Buy-back activity among listed firms also was high with 11 posting 33 repurchases worth HK$76.8 million.
Among them was building materials trader and industrial products manufacturer Van Shung Chong Holdings with 406,000 shares bought from October 3 to 5 at an average of 49.9 HK cents each. The trades, which accounted for 68 per cent of the stock's trading volume, followed a 31 per cent price rebound since June from HK38 cents. Despite the rebound, it is still down from 96 HK cents in November 2010.
The recent trades were significant as they were the first buy-backs since 2003. The group previously acquired 57.4 million shares from November 1999 to April 2003 at HK$1.95 to 93 HK cents each or an average of HK$1.02 each. It closed at 50 HK cents on Friday.
There were few trades by top executives last week with purchases in China Environmental Technology and Hysan Development and first-time sales by the chief executives of China State Construction and TCL Multimedia Technology.
Chairman Xu Zhongping recorded his first on-market trade in technical services provider and industrial parts and equipment trader China Environmental Technology since the stock was listed in March 2002 with 3.2 million shares bought on September 28 at 14 HK cents each. The trade raised his holdings to 1.25 billion shares or 50.13 per cent of the issued capital.