The Insider | Hong Kong company directors’ share buying rises for a second week

Buying among company directors rose while the selling fell for the second straight week, based on filings on the Hong Kong stock exchange in the last week of September.

A total of 51 companies recorded 314 purchases worth HK$480 million versus seven firms with 24 disposals worth HK$400 million. The number of companies on the buying side was not far off the previous week’s 53 firms, while the number of purchases and buying value were up from the previous week’s 285 acquisitions worth HK$251 million. On the selling side, the number of companies and trades were sharply down from the previous week’s 22 firms and 87 disposals. The sell value, however, was sharply up from the previous week’s disposals worth HK$192 million. The huge sell value was mainly due to sales worth HK$346 million by executive director Martin Lau Chi-ping in blue chip Tencent Holdings.

Aside from directors, the buy-back activity rose with 30 companies posting 147 repurchases worth HK$914 million based on filings from September 22 to 28. The number of firms and trades were up from the previous five-day totals of 27 companies and 116 transactions. The value, however, was down from the previous week’s turnover of HK$1.284 billion.

Directors of blue chip property stocks led the buying last week with purchases in blue chips Sun Hung Kai Properties, New World Development and Hang Lung Properties. Aside from these three firms, there were also significant insider buys in property plays Longfor Properties and KWG Property Holding.

Independent non-executive director Richard Wong Yue-chim purchased 5,000 shares of Sun Hung Kai Properties from September 21 to 22 at an average of HK$130.94 each. The trades increased his holdings by 500 per cent to 0.006 million shares. The stock closed at HK$126.90 on Friday. The purchases are Wong’s first on-market trades since his appointment in 2005 and were made on the back of the 35 per cent rebound in the share price since the last week of December 2016, from HK$97.15

New World Development (NWD) bought back 4 million shares from September 22 to 26 at an average of HK$11.12 each. The group previously acquired 37.65 million shares from April to May 2000 at HK$10.60 to HK$7.75 each or an average of HK$9.65 each. Investors should note that there were sales by non-executive vice-chairman William Doo Wai-hoi, non-executive director Chen Guanzhan and executive directors Au Tak-cheong and Leonie Ki Man-fung earlier this year with a combined 30 million shares sold from January 3 to July 14 at HK$8.42 to HK$10.74 each or an average of HK$9.77 each. The stock closed at HK$11.22 on Friday.