Hong Kong company directors step up buy-back of shares after two weeks of declines

Buying activity among Hong Kong directors rebounded sharply after plunging for two straight weeks while selling fell, based on filings to the city’s stock exchange from May 14 to 18.

Buyers outweighed sellers with 42 companies recording 273 purchases worth HK$172 million (US$21.9 million) versus 12 firms posting 41 disposals worth HK$38 million.

The buy figures were sharply up from the previous week’s 31 companies, 181 purchases and HK$93 million. On the selling side, the number of firms and trades fell from the previous week’s 14 companies and 64 disposals. The sell value, however, was up from the previous week’s disposals worth HK$28 million.

Buy-back activity also picked up, with 27 companies posting 140 repurchases worth HK$945 million, based on filings from May 11 to 17 – up from the previous five-day totals of 25 firms, 114 trades and HK$882 million.

Buy-backs took the spotlight last week with rare repurchases in China All Access Holdings, China New City Commercial Development, Nature Home Holding and Fortunet e-Commerce Group. Lastly, Billion Industrial resumed buying back following the sharp rise in its share price.

Wireless data communications services provider China All Access Holdings bought back for the first time since January 2015 with 1.09 million shares bought on May 17 at HK$1.83 each. The trade was made on the back of a 36 per cent drop in the share price since September 2016 from HK$2.88. The group previously acquired 1.13 million shares in January 2015 at HK$2.64 each, 904,000 shares in April 2012 at HK$1.58 each and 10.8 million shares from September to December 2011 at HK$1.34 to HK$1.75 each or an average of HK$1.53 each. The stock closed at HK$1.74 on Friday.