Shares of Standard Chartered surged as much as 4.43 per cent in Hong Kong yesterday on news that its GBP1.779 billion (HK$20.83 billion) worth of rights shares will be offered at a steep discount.
The stock, which hit an intraday high of HK$91.90, closed 2.61 per cent higher at HK$90.30 yesterday. Its London-listed shares soared 20.34 per cent in the afternoon, recouping the 4.54 per cent loss on Monday.
Louis Tse Ming-kwong, a director at VC Brokerage, said the shares rose partly because of the bailout plan for Citigroup unveiled by the United States government.
Mr Tse said the pricing of the rights shares was reasonable and expected minority shareholders to participate.
The lender said its shareholders could buy 30 new shares for every 91 held for GBP3.90 a share, a 48.65 per cent discount to the London closing on Friday.
'The bank may still have to face some asset deterioration in countries like South Korea, but its business outlook is not too bad,' Mr Tse said.
