Hong Kong stocks rise, extending last week’s gain, as Beijing signals support for property developers’ financing efforts

Chinese regulators said they would support financing activities by property developers, adding to optimism about a stabilisation of economic growth

Alibaba rebounded after Jack Ma’s office clarified his shares divestment plan

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The Hang Seng Index rallied 1.5 per cent last week. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 10:30am, 20 Nov 2023Updated: 4:30pm, 20 Nov 2023

Hong Kong stocks rose, extending last week’s gain, after Chinese regulators said they would support the financing activities of property developers, adding to optimism about a stabilisation of economic growth.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.9 per cent to 17,778.07 at the close on Monday. The Hang Seng Tech Index gained 2.5 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.5 per cent.

Developer Longfor Group Holdings advanced 1.9 per cent to HK$13.02 and China Resources Land, one of its peers, gained 3.3 per cent to HK$29.95 after China’s financial regulators said they would support property developers in receiving loans, issuing bonds and obtaining reasonable equity financing from capital markets.

“Market risk appetite is expected to pick up as ramped-up policy support is set to improve the economic outlook,” said Zhang Xia, an analyst at China Merchants Securities. “Meanwhile, the external headwinds will wane as well, with the Federal Reserve expected to end its rate-hiking cycle.”

Alibaba Group Holding, which owns this newspaper, rebounded 1.6 per cent to HK$74.45 after the office of founder Jack Ma said he remained positive about the company in a clarification of his shares disposal plan. Online game operator NetEase advanced 2.1 per cent to HK$183.20 after Morningstar said the company would launch a slew of blockbuster titles next year, while Tencent Holdings added 3.6 per cent to HK$326.60.

The Hang Seng Index rallied 1.5 per cent last week as better-than-expected China economic data, a softening of US inflation and a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden lifted sentiment. The gains were tempered by Alibaba’s decision to scrap the spin-off of its cloud computing business and founder Jack Ma’s share divestment plan.