Buying by directors surges for second straight week
China Traditional Chinese Medicine buys back for first time since 1995
Buying by directors surged for a second straight week, with 38 companies recording 161 purchases worth HK$330 million based on exchange filings from April 4 to 8. The figures were sharply up from the previous week’s 21 firms, 113 purchases and HK$238 million.
Sales, on the other hand, fell, with eight companies recording 42 disposals worth HK$83 million. The figures were down from the previous week’s 11 firms, 47 trades and HK$247 million.
Meanwhile, buyback activity rose for a third straight week, with 24 companies posting 90 repurchases worth HK$176 million. The number of firms and trades were up from the previous week’s 20 companies and 81 repurchases. The value, however, was down from the previous week’s turnover of HK$222 million.
There were several rare buybacks and director purchases last week, with repurchases in China Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hsin Chong Construction and China Metal International and insider buys in C Cheng Holdings and Kerry Logistics.
Pharmaceutical products manufacturer China Traditional Chinese Medicine bought back for the first time since 1995 with 22.1 million shares purchased from March 29 to April 8 at HK$3.44 to HK$3.80 or an average of HK$3.57 each. The trades, which accounted for 13 per cent of the stock’s trading volume, were made after the stock fell by as much as 36 per cent from HK$5.36 in December. The counter is also sharply down since May 2015 from HK$6.98. Despite the fall in the share price, the counter is still up since October 2011 from HK$0.99. The group previously acquired nearly 3 million shares from April to November 1995 at HK$1.07 to HK$0.78 each or an average of HK$0.90 each. The stock closed at HK$3.63 on Friday.
Construction play Hsin Chong Construction bought back for the first time since 2005 with 12.7 million shares purchased from April 5 to 7 at an average of HK$0.525 each. The trades, which accounted for 26 per cent of the stock’s trading volume, were made on the back of a 46 per cent drop in the share price since September from HK$0.97. The stock is also sharply down since February 2013 from HK$1.41. The company previously acquired 662,000 shares in December 2005 and 43 million shares from September 1999 to October 2001 at an average of HK$0.51 each. The counter closed at HK$0.51 on Friday.