China’s top dairy maker Yili Group sees shares rocket 10pc on reappearance of chairman Pan Gang

Shares of China’s top dairy maker Yili Group jumped by 10 per cent on Thursday, after video footage showing the company’s chairman and CEO Pan Gang attending its annual shareholder meeting in his first high-profile public appearance recently, squashing rumours that the chairman had been taken away for investigation.

In a short video posted Thursday by Chinese media Sina Finance on Weibo – China’s equivalent of Twitter- Pan was seen stepping on stage in a black suit and white shirt- the executive’s most common public attire- amid thunderous applause from shareholders.

“Distinguished shareholders, good afternoon! Thanks very much for attending this meeting,” said Pan in the 16 second video.

Despite the short clip, investors’ confidence in Yili appeared to have been boosted, with shares in the company jumping by the daily 10 per cent limit in Shanghai on Thursday to reach the highest close in one month.

With 80 per cent of participants in China’s stock markets being retail investors, share prices can fluctuate dramatically on releases of even very vague company information or national policies about a certain industry. Companies base in Hainan, China’s southernmost province, surged in April when Beijing announced a milestone initiative to transform the island into a free-trade zone.

Similarly, Yili saw its shares plunge at the end of March, eviscerating nearly 6.1 billion yuan (US$959.6 million) in market value, when rumours that Pan had been taken into custody for investigation circulated on Chinese social media platforms, including WeChat.