Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital and other forgotten media groups get a second fleeting lease on life as speculators, supporters binge on stocks

Social media gives some penny stocks and dying industries a second, fleeting lease on life

Turnover in Next Digital, other media shares was extraordinary

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“Stir frying” stocks is popular in Hong Kong, in which traders gamble on getting in and out of a rapidly rising stock without getting burned. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Published: 7:00am, 17 Aug 2020Updated: 7:27pm, 18 Aug 2020

When media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s Next Digital surged more than 1,100 per cent over two days last week, it had become, as the Chinese expression goes, “salted fish” that lives twice – the lucky recipient of a second life.

Supporters of the Apple Daily newspaper owner responded to a rallying cry on Facebook and other social media to buy Next Digital’s stock to make a statement against Lai’s arrest on suspicion of violating Hong Kong’s new national security law.

Some Lai fans also shook salt on a pair of other often lifeless stocks of Hong Kong media companies, Most Kwai Chung and Oriental Press Group, giving them a brief respite as well amid questions now hanging over journalism coverage under the new law.

“Those people bought the shares … as an expression of support for the company,” Lai told Bloomberg TV in an interview Friday of the stock-buying frenzy that he warned against for fear people would lose money. “They knew that they would drop back … people just wanted to support us.”

Trading turnover in Lai’s stock last Monday climbed more than 140,000 per cent from Friday. Meanwhile, the share price of Most Kwai Chung, owner of the satirical 100Most magazine and video platform TVMost, rocketed up 204 per cent over last Monday and Tuesday. The share price of Oriental Press Group, owner of the Oriental Daily News, rose far less, about 11 per cent over the two days.

Like Most Kwai Chung and Next Digital, it saw a huge explosion in stock turnover at a time media stocks had been getting scant attention.

Salted fish inspired the Chinese expression “a salted fish would live twice”, meaning a comeback or second life. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Jimmy Lai’s Next Digital and other forgotten media groups get a second fleeting lease on life as speculators, supporters binge on stocks

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Social media gives some penny stocks and dying industries a second, fleeting lease on life Turnover in Next Digital, other media shares was extraordinary

Social media gives some penny stocks and dying industries a second, fleeting lease on life

Turnover in Next Digital, other media shares was extraordinary