Hong Kong stocks jump as Alibaba, tech peers drive market to five-week high while banks advance on Wealth Connect push

Hang Seng Index jumped for a third day to the highest level since September 13 with tech, banks attracting buyers

Alibaba surged on reports it would launch a new home-grown server chip to bolster China’s self-sufficiency push, and investment in Unigroup

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A bull sculpture seen outside the Exchange Square in Central, Hong Kong in May 2019. Photo: Warton Li

Published: 10:36am, 19 Oct 2021Updated: 4:58pm, 19 Oct 2021

Hong Kong stocks climbed to a five-week high, fuelled by gains in Alibaba Group Holding and tech peers while financial stocks advanced on cross-border wealth management potentials.

The Hang Seng Index closed 1.5 per cent higher at 25,787.21 on Tuesday, a level not seen since September 13. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.7 per cent to a three-week high of 3,593.15.

A 12 per cent rally in Bilibili and a 9.5 per cent gain in Kuaishou Technology helped propel the Hang Seng Tech Index to a 1.5 per cent gain. Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, jumped 1.2 per cent on media reports it was launching a new server chip and planning a strategic investment in distressed chip maker Tsinghua Unigroup.

Banks rallied as Hong Kong approved 19 lenders to offer wealth management products from Tuesday, following the official launch of the cross-border Connect scheme with Macau and mainland markets last month. China Merchants Bank rose 3.2 per cent while Citic added 1.4 per cent. AIA and Ping An Insurance rose by more than 2 per cent.

“Wealth Management Connect opens up unprecedented market opportunities for the financial industry in this area as consumer wealth continues to grow,” said Lawrence Lam, consumer business manager for Citigroup in Hong Kong. The US lender is teaming up with China Guangfa Bank to serve clients.

Xiaomi jumped 5.4 per cent after the smartphone maker’s founder Lei Jun said it will start mass production of electric cars in the first half of 2024, saying in a Weibo tweet that progress in the carmaking [project] has been faster than expected.

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