Soho China, Swire draw buyers in holiday week
Low volumes across the board suggest directors happy to take a breather
Buying and selling of their own company shares by directors were down for the holiday-shortened week of April 29 to May 3.
Buyers outweighed sellers, with 23 companies reporting 75 purchases worth HK$45.7 million, compared with 11 companies reporting 47 disposals worth HK$34.4 million.
The activity was well below the previous week's five-day totals of 34 companies, 163 purchases and HK$172.8 million on the buying side, and 15 companies, 58 trades and HK$128.5 million on the selling side.
Buy-backs were also down, with 11 companies filing 41 deals worth HK$168.7 million, against the previous week's 14 companies that reported 71 trades worth HK$193.9 million.
Trading was spread across all sectors, with significant purchases in Soho China and Swire group, and sales in Li Ning.
Mainland commercial property developer Soho has been buying back heavily in the past two weeks, with 11.38 million shares bought from April 25 to May 2 at an average of HK$6.68 each.
The trades accounted for 36 per cent of the stock's trading volume.
The shares closed at HK$6.83 on Friday.
The latest week also saw positive activity in Swire, with acquisitions by John Swire & Sons in Swire Pacific A, and by independent non-executive director Lee Chien in Swire Pacific B.
John Swire & Sons reported a purchase on April 26 of 150,000 A shares at HK$98.39 each. The trade increased its holdings to 271.715 million shares or 30 per cent of the company's issued capital.
Lee made his first trade in the B shares since September 2011, with 50,000 shares bought on April 17 at HK$18.20 each. His stake rose to 22.455 million shares or 0.74 per cent.
Swire A and B shares closed on Friday at HK$98.80 and HK$18.86, respectively.
Executive director Zhang Zhiyong recorded his first sales in garment and footwear manufacturer and retailer Li Ning since the stock was listed in 2004. He sold 1.742 million shares from April 16 to 29 at an average of HK$4.01 each.
The stock closed at HK$3.96 on Friday.
