Opinion | Retail counters record strong buying

Both buying and selling of their own company shares by directors remained high last week, based on filings made to the stock exchange from May 20 to 24.

A total of 25 companies reported 109 purchases worth HK$456 million, against 10 that posted 42 disposals worth HK$460 million.

In the previous holiday-shortened week's four trading days, there were 20 companies with 91 purchases worth HK$287 million. On the sell side, there were 11 companies with 41 transactions worth a much lower HK$56.6 million.

The surge in the sell value last week was due to options-related deals in casino operator SJM Holdings, dairy products' manufacturer China Mengniu Dairy and internet play Tencent Holdings. Their transactions were worth HK$229 million, HK$109 million and HK$91 million, respectively.

Buying was heavy in retail plays such as Lifestyle International Holdings, Golden Eagle Retail Group, Intime Department Store (Group), Springland International Holdings and Bonjour Holdings.

Lifestyle bought back more shares this month at a lower price, with 1.97 million shares from May 21 to 24 at an average of HK$16.28 each. The trades accounted for 38 per cent of the stock's trading volume.