OpinionDirectors lose appetite for shares

Buying of their own company shares by directors fell for the second straight week, based on filings made with the stock exchange from October 29 to November 2, with 17 companies reporting 73 purchases worth HK$156.7 million.

The number of companies reporting buys and the number of trades were down from the previous week's four-day totals of 23 companies and 86 purchases. The buy value, however, was sharply up from the previous week's purchases worth HK$38.4 million.

The increase was due to large buys in China Precious Metal Resources and Chong Hing Bank worth a combined HK$124 million.

By contrast, insider sales were down, with only 11 companies reporting 58 disposals worth HK$42.3 million, down from the previous week's 16 companies that reported 59 disposals worth HK$137.9 million.

The top buyer last week in terms of value was executive director Chang Yim-yang of gold mining firm China Precious Metal Resources. Chang bought 67.85 million shares for HK$99.6 million on October 25 and October 26 at an average of HK$1.47 each.

The trades increased his holdings by 26 per cent to 327.206 million shares, or 7.52 per cent of the issued capital.

Chang's purchases were made after the stock rebounded from HK$1.10 in July. It closed at HK$1.50 on Friday.