Share buying activity by Hong Kong companies surges for first time in six weeks

The buying rose for the first time in six weeks based on filings on the Hong Kong exchange in the third week of August with 22 companies that recorded 80 purchases worth HK$200 million. The figures were sharply up from the previous week’s seven firms, 26 purchases and HK$21 million.

The sales, on the other hand, plunged with five companies that recorded 13 disposals worth HK$35 million. The number of firms was not far off from the previous week’s six companies but the number of trades and value were sharply down from the previous week’s 49 disposals worth HK$196 million.

Meanwhile, the buyback activity rose for the second straight week with seven companies that posted 42 repurchases worth HK$611 million. The figures were up from the previous week’s four firms, 36 trades and HK$410 million.

With the surge in the buying last week, the bulk of the significant trades were acquisitions with initial buybacks by Hua Han Bio-Pharmaceutical Holdings and insider buys in CK Hutchison Holdings, China Assurance Finance Group and Sinosoft Technology.

Pharmaceutical products manufacturer Hua Han Bio-Pharmaceutical bought back for the first time since listing in December 2002 with 137 million shares purchased on August 18 at HK$0.572 each. The trade was made on the back of the 52 per cent drop in the share price since December 2015 from HK$1.18. The counter is also down since April 2015 from HK$2.15. The counter closed at HK$0.59 on Friday.

Co-managing director Canning Fok Kin Ning recorded his first on-market trade in conglomerate CK Hutchison based on filings on the exchange since 1993 with 1 million shares purchased on August 12 at HK$95.37 each. The trade increased his holdings by 24 per cent to 5.111 million shares or 0.13 per cent of the issued capital. The acquisition was made on the back of the 16 per cent rebound in the share price since July from HK$81.90. Despite the rebound in the share price, the stock is still down since May 2015 from HK$117.76. Also positive this year is non-executive director George Colin Magnus with 2,000 shares purchased on April 7 at HK$99.15 each, which boosted his stake to 0.936 million shares or 0.02 per cent. He previously acquired 234,000 shares from March 1998 to September 2001 at HK$36.00 to HK$70.00 each or an average of HK$45.85 each. The stock closed at HK$97.25 on Friday.

Chairman Nixon Pang Man Kin resumed buying shares of financial services provider China Assurance Finance Group at higher than his acquisition prices earlier this year with 5.2 million shares purchased from August 12 to 16 at HK$1.28 to HK$1.10 each or an average of HK$1.19 each. The trades, which accounted for 31 per cent of the stock’s trading volume, increased his holdings to 1.050 billion shares or 62.57 per cent of the issued capital. The purchases were made on the back of the 33 per cent rise in share price since the second half of July from HK$0.90.

He previously acquired 1.9 million shares from April 5 to May 16 at HK$0.98 each and 2.2 million shares from January 11 to 12 at an average of HK$0.835 each. Prior to his purchases this year, the chairman acquired 20.76 million shares from August to October 2015 at HK$0.87 to HK$1.20 each or an average of HK$1.06 each and 17.5 million shares from May to July 2013 at an average of HK$1.16 each. Pang was appointed to the board in March 2011. The stock closed at HK$1.25 on Friday.

Chairman and CEO Xin Ying Mei recorded her first on-market trades in application software products provider Sinosoft Technology since November 2015 with 2.4 million shares purchased from August 15 to 16 at HK$4.20 each. The trades increased her holdings to 474.945 million shares or 46.01 per cent of the issued capital. The purchases were made after the stock fell by 11 per cent from HK$4.70 on August 8. She previously acquired 1.02 million shares in November 2015 at HK$4.16 each, 1.9 million shares in September 2015 at an average of HK$3.57 each and 2 million shares in August 2015 at an average of HK$4.32 each.

Prior to her purchases since August 2015, Xin sold 24.8 million shares in April 2015 at an average of HK$5.36 each and 9.4 million shares in March 2014 at an average of HK$3.47 each. Prior to those disposals, the chairman acquired 7.17 million shares in November 2013 at an average of HK$1.83 each. The stock closed at HK$4.16 on Friday.

Robert Halili is managing director of Asia Insider