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Luk Fook executive director Wong Hau Yeung sold 50,000 shares on January 16 for HK$28.57 each, versus the HK$23.21 average price paid. Photo: May Tse
Opinion
The Insider
by Robert Halili
The Insider
by Robert Halili

Director share dealings drop sharply in Hong Kong as buybacks stay steady

Trades include buybacks in Want Want China and China E-Learning, plus insider buys in CW

Directors' share dealings in Hong Kong fell sharply last week, with total trades down by a third and their value down more than 60 per cent.

Some 45 companies recorded 195 trades worth HK$235 million based on filings to the stock exchange from January 19 to 23, against the previous week's 64 firms, 299 transactions and HK$609 million in value.

Buyback activity, however, remained high with 18 firms making 101 repurchases worth HK$156 million. The number of firms and value were consistent with the previous week's 19 companies making 89 repurchases worth HK$159 million.

Food and beverage producer Want Want China made its first buyback since May 2014, buying 1.68 million shares on January 23 at HK$9.05 each. The trade was made after a 14 per cent drop in the share price since November 2014 from HK$10.58.

Want Want previously acquired 16.2 million shares in May 2014 at an average of HK$10.91 each and 10.98 million shares in January 2014 at an average of HK$10.77 each. Before that, the company acquired 564,000 shares in December 2013 at HK$10.64 each. The stock closed at HK$9.14 on Friday.

Online educational services provider China E-Learning Group recorded its first buybacks since October 2011 with 39.4 million shares purchased over January 22 and 23 at an average of 49 HK cents each. The purchases came after a 30 per cent drop in the share price since November 2014 from 70 HK cents. Despite that fall, the stock is still up considerably from December 2013's 8.5 HK cents. The stock closed at 52 HK cents on Friday.

Chief executive William Wong Koon Lup and chief operating officer Sam Wong Mun Sum recorded the first insider trades in machine tools manufacturer and distributor CW Group since the stock was listed in April 2012, with a combined 1.35 million shares purchased on January 22 at an average of HK$2.18 each.

The purchases follow a 28 per cent drop in the share price since October 2014 from HK$3.04, though it remains far above December 2012's HK$1.27. The directors' purchase price was sharply higher than the offering price of HK$1.33. The stock closed at HK$2.18 on Friday.

Luk Fook Holdings executive director Wong Hau-yeung unloaded shares of the gold jewellery retailer at a premium to her acquisition price in June 2014. Wong's 50,000 shares sold on January 16 went for HK$28.57 each, versus the HK$23.21 average price she paid for them.

The trade reduced her holdings by 83 per cent to 10,000 shares. The sale follows a 32 per cent rally in the stock since the last week of September 2014 from HK$21.70. Before her trades since 2014, Wong unloaded 110,000 shares in January 2013 at an average of HK$28.97 each. The stock sank 41 per cent over the months following that disposal to hit HK$17.00 in June 2013. The stock closed at HK$28.20 on Friday.

The first trades by directors of chemical fertilisers maker Ko Yo Chemical Group since the stock was listed in July 2003 were made by executive directors Li Sheng Di and Yuan Bai.

The sales followed a fall in the share price from November's HK$2.78 to Friday's close of HK$1.91. The stock is still up handily from June 2014's 35.5 HK cents. Li sold one million shares on January 20 at HK$2.04 each, reducing his holdings by 20 per cent to leave him with about 0.1 per cent of the firm's equity.

Yuan Bai sold one million shares on December 30, 2014 and a further one million shares on January 8 at HK$2.13 each. The trades lowered his stake in the company to 1.92 per cent.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Director dealings drop sharply as buybacks steady
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