THE savage fall in share prices last month might have rattled small investors, but, for local corporates, it represented the biggest buying signal in Hong Kong's history.
According to stock information company Disclosure Inc, locally listed companies spent $2.65 billion on repurchasing their own shares during October.
That total is more than four times the previous monthly record high - a relatively slender $609.6 million spent in April.
Even more strikingly, it is more than double the amount of money spent on buy-backs during the whole of 1995 or 1996.
The amount spent on share repurchasing last year was just $1.01 billion, and for 1995 was $1.07 billion.
Credit Suisse First Boston investment analyst Geoffrey Palmer said: 'I have never seen levels like this before. Everyone is buying shares back.