Tencent, HSBC, AIA top first-half share buy-backs in Hong Kong amid US$123 billion market slump
- A total of 113 companies bought back 2.74 billion of their own shares in the first half of the year, according to data compiled by the Securities Times
- The combined value of stock repurchases was nearly 50 per cent higher than a year earlier and reached US$6.1 billion in the January to June period
Some of the top listed companies in Hong Kong resorted to massive share buy-backs in the first half, taking advantage of a US$123 billion slump in market capitalisation after the China reopening trade fizzled out.
The share buy-backs are a sign that stocks could be close to bottoming out and may offer some clues on how corporate insiders assess the valuation and earnings outlook, according to analysts.
The combined value of stock repurchases jumped nearly 50 per cent year on year to HK$47.9 billion (US$6.1 billion) from January to June, with 113 companies buying back 2.74 billion of their own shares, according to data compiled by the Securities Times. Social-media titan Tencent Holdings, insurer AIA Group and the city’s biggest bank HSBC topped the list of buy-backs, the data showed.
“We are positive on the performance of Hong Kong stocks,” said Xu Tingquan, a fund manager at HSBC Jintrust Fund Management in Shanghai. “The roll-out of a package of domestic supportive policies coupled with an economic recovery will be conducive to stabilising investment sentiment and spurring inflows of overseas capital.”