Mo Yan's Nobel Prize win sees Chinese publishing stocks rise
The awarding of the Nobel Prize for literature to Chinese novelist Mo Yan gave media and culture sector stocks a boost on the A-share market.
Xinhua Media, a Shanghai-based company engaged in book publishing and newspaper management, rose 10.1 per cent, the maximum increase allowed in a single day, closing at 6.23 yuan, while the Shanghai composite index remained stable.
Other media and culture-related stocks that performed well included Hubei's Changjiang Publishing and Media, up 6.3 per cent, Time Publishing and Media, up 3.9 per cent, and Northern United Publishing & Media Group, up 2.7 per cent.
"I can only say that Chinese investors are good at associating," said Li Daxiao , director of Shenzhen-based Yingda Securities. "At best, Mo's triumph will increase investors' attention towards a culture industry that has remained a pond of dead water."
Li said that the real impact of Mo Yan's Nobel Prize win would be the cultural confidence and national pride that it brought to the nation, as well as a wave of enthusiasm and interest among readers of contemporary Chinese literature.
Qiao Mu , director of the International Communication Research Centre at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the surge in the stock market was bound to be temporary.
"The mainland stock market likes speculation and so called 'news'," Qiao said. "The assumption of a bigger platform for Chinese culture overseas prompted the rise in the stock market. But this is a short-term stimulus and is unsustainable. Perhaps it will fall next week."
Beijing Genuine and Profound Culture Development, which has the sole publishing rights to Mo Yan's works on the mainland, said its steps towards an initial public offering had been accelerated by his win.
