Directors' buying of shares in Hong Kong flat for third consecutive week
Big insider trades recorded at Bank of East Asia and Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine
Buying was flat for the third consecutive week while selling among directors rose based on exchange filings last week.
Forty-five companies recorded 229 purchases worth HK$472 million versus 16 firms with 54 disposals worth HK$173 million.
The number of companies and trades on the buying side were consistent with the previous week's three-day totals of 42 firms and 186 purchases. The buy value, however, was sharply up from the previous week's HK$246 million.
On the selling side, the number of companies and trades were sharply up from the previous week's 10 firms and 23 disposals with value down to HK$215 million.
There were several significant insider trades last week with rare purchases in Bank of East Asia and Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine. Meanwhile, there were bearish signals in Comba Telecom Systems and Glory Flame Holdings, with directors unloading shares following sharp falls in their prices.
Vice-chairman and non-executive director Arthur Li Kwok-cheung recorded his first on-market trade in blue-chip banking and financial services provider Bank of East Asia since his appointment in January 2008, with 109,000 shares bought on September 29 at HK$25.06 each. The trade increased his holdings to 37.177 million shares or 1.41 per cent of the issued capital.
The acquisition was made on the back of a 30 per cent drop in the share price since May from HK$35.65. The stock closed at HK$28.15 on Friday.
Chief executive Ding Yongling and chief financial officer Lin Man recorded their first on-market trades in medicine maker Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine since May last year with a combined 80,000 shares bought on September 30 at an average of HK$8.54 each.
The acquisitions were made on the back of a 10 per cent rebound in the share price since August from HK$7.77. Despite the rebound, the counter is still down from April's HK$14.
Ding bought 50,000 shares on September 30 at HK$8.57 each, which increased her holdings by 25 per cent to 250,000 shares or 0.02 per cent of the issued capital.
Lin bought 30,000 shares on September 30 at HK$8.49 each, which boosted her stake by 16 per cent to 220,000 shares or 0.02 per cent. The stock closed at HK$9.43 on Friday.
Executive director Wilson Tong Chak-wai unloaded shares in wireless coverage solutions provider Comba Telecom Systems at a price sharply lower than his acquisition price in November, with 1.5 million shares sold from October 2 to 5 at an average of HK$1.65 each. The trades reduced his holdings by 12 per cent to 11.014 million shares or 0.59 per cent of the issued capital.
The disposals were made on the back of a 41 per cent drop in the share price since April from HK$2.82. He previously acquired 600,000 shares on November 27, 2014 at HK$3.18 each. The counter closed at HK$1.71 on Friday.
Chairman and chief executive Pei Wingfu resumed selling shares of concrete demolition services provider Glory Flame at a lower price with 85 million shares sold from September 29 to October 2 at HK$1.80 to HK$1.57 each or an average of HK$1.72 each.
The trades, which accounted for 95 per cent of the stock's trading volume, reduced his holdings by 25 per cent to 250.539 million shares or 40.41 per cent of the issued capital.
The disposals were made after the stock fell by as much as 32 per cent from HK$2.32 in August. Despite the fall, the counter is still up since July from HK$1.35. The stock closed at HK$1.45 on Friday.
