Opinion | Directors pull back on share purchases after buying spree

Buying of their own company shares by directors plunged last week after heavy purchases for four consecutive weeks, with 16 companies reporting 58 acquisitions worth HK$85.9 million.

The figures were sharply down from the previous week's 31 companies with 139 purchases worth HK$145 million.

Selling was flat, with 11 companies reporting 29 disposals worth HK$56.3 million. The figures were not far off the previous week's 11 companies that reported 36 trades worth HK$60.4 million.

Buy-back activity also fell, with seven companies posting 30 transactions worth HK$60.6 million. The figures were down from the previous week's nine companies with 41 purchases valued at HK$87 million.

The bulk of the significant trades last week were acquisitions, with buy-backs in Johnson Electric and insider purchases in Changmao Biochemical Engineering, Merry Garden and Esprit.

Electronic components manufacturer Johnson Electric resumed buying back its shares a day after announcing its interim results. It bought 53,000 shares on Friday at HK$5.80 each after posting a 29 per cent gain in first-half profit to US$110 million. The group had acquired 2.4 million shares from August 16 to 29 at an average of HK$4.93 each.