Oriental Press Group made an appearance at the top of the leaders board yesterday, rising 22.5 cents, or 8.33 per cent, to $2.925.
While unable to give a definite reason for the gains, analysts suspected that the sudden turnaround could have been sparked by the belief that Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's rival Next Media Group has failed in its bid to list on the stock exchange.
'A listing [by Next] could put a large amount of cash into Jimmy Lai's piggy bank, which could be threatening to Oriental Press,' said one analyst, who asked not to be named.
Next's listing plans were stymied when a string of brokerage houses declined to underwrite the issue out of fear they would incur the wrath of the Chinese Government.
Mr Lai has been out of favour with Beijing since he published an article critical of the mainland leadership in Next magazine in 1994.
A rumour circulating in the market yesterday was that Sun Hung Kai Securities was again considering helping Next list.
Sun Hung Kai Securities did not return calls on the subject yesterday.
