Phoenix Media shares soar by the most in at least a decade amid report of reshuffling and China’s management takeover

Phoenix shares jumped by 31.5 per cent to 71 Hong Kong cents in Hong Kong, outpacing the 1.9 per cent advance in the benchmark Hang Seng Index, with the trading volume jumping to more than 10 times its 20-day average

Stoking the speculation was a report by the Chinese-language newspaper HK01 that founder Liu Changle would be replaced by a new management hand-picked by the Chinese government in Beijing

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Phonenix Media Investment’s newsroom at the Tai Po Industrial Estate in Hong Kong on March 28, 2011. Photo: SCMP

Published: 3:02pm, 10 Feb 2021Updated: 7:25pm, 10 Feb 2021

Shares of Phoenix Media Investment soared by the most in at least a decade, amid a potential reshuffle in its top ranks, raising speculation that China’s government will step in to take over the management of the unprofitable operator of six namesake television channels.

Phoenix shares jumped by 31.5 per cent to 71 Hong Kong cents in Hong Kong, outpacing the 2 per cent advance in the benchmark Hang Seng Index, with the trading volume jumping to more than 10 times its 20-day average. The company’s market value ballooned to HK$3.5 billion (US$457.3 million), bigger than Hong Kong’s largest terrestrial broadcaster TVB.

The company, founded in 1996 by former Shanghai journalist Liu Changle, is considering a reshuffle to separate the role of chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) and may name a new person as CEO, Phoenix said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

“No decision has been made at the date of this announcement and the change may or may not happen,” the company said. “The company is not aware of any other insider information.”

Liu Changle, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Phoenix Media Investment, during a meeting with the then candidate for the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s job Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, on February 15, 2017 in Wan Chai. Photo: Edward Wong

Stoking the speculation was a report by the Chinese-language newspaper HK01 that Liu would be replaced by a new management hand-picked by the Chinese government in Beijing. The chairman’s role will be assumed by Xu Wei, the Communist Party chief of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, while Sun Yusheng, a deputy chief of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV), will take over the CEO’s post, according to the report, which did not cite a source for its information.