CAUTION paid off for Hong Kong stock investors last year, with safe haven, steady-earning utility counters cushioning the 20 per cent drop on the Hang Seng Index.
Among the Hang Seng Index constituents, Hongkong Telecom, China Light & Power (CLP), Hong Kong and China Gas and Hongkong Electric respectively took the top slots in terms of share price rise in 1997, as investors sought refuge from market volatility and put their money in more conservative investments in the second half.
Only HSBC Holdings, in fourth place on a 15.41 per cent rise, broke the grouping of the utility stocks at the top of the performance table.
Cheung Kong Infrastructure, in sixth place with a 6.83 per cent price rise, was the only other index constituent out of the 33 stocks in the benchmark to make headway last year.
Hongkong Telecom headed the pack, its shares ending the year with a 28.11 per cent increase. Investors also bet the company would benefit from its closer links with the mainland when British parent Cable & Wireless sold off an initial 5.5 per cent stake in Telecom to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications shortly after the handover.
The second best performing blue chip was CLP, which gained 25 per cent, followed by Hong Kong Gas, up 22.32 per cent. Hongkong Electric gained 14.59 per cent.
