Hong Kong stocks extend best run since January as Alibaba, Cathay Pacific plans fuel advance while China’s markets erase gains
- Hang Seng Index climbed after China’s stock regulators granted approved Ant Group IPO for listing review in Hong Kong
- China’s national output, factory production and retail sales data dump signals stronger rebound in world’s second-largest economy
Alibaba Group Holding dominated news with its purchase of China’s largest hypermarket operator, while its affiliate Ant Group’s stock offering plan in Hong Kong is deliberated on Monday.
“The markets opened higher because Chinese regulatory bodies have allowed Ant Group to be listed in China” and Hong Kong, said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of Wealthy Securities. “Now it’s up to the Hong Kong stock exchange to arrange” the second leg of the IPO in the city, he added.
Market sentiment was also lifted by hopes that the US could introduce more economic measures soon, said Stanley Chan, director of research at Emperor Securities. However, economic data from China “was a bit weaker than market expectations, leading to a drop in the mainland markets,” he said.
“China’s return to economic dynamism at a pace faster than its peers is the first step towards a global recovery,” China Renaissance analysts led by Bruce Pang said in a note on Monday. China will act as an “important engine and vital stabilizer” of the global economy as other major economies struggle with the pandemic, they said.
Fintech giant Ant Group wins approval from China’s securities regulator for jumbo IPO in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, financials led gains with ICBC rising 3.6 per cent while HSBC gained 2.5 per cent. AAC Technologies, which derives 40 per cent of its revenues from Apple, rose 2.5 per cent.
Alibaba, the owner of this newspaper, gained 1.1 per cent to HK$297.20, after earlier hitting an intraday record of HK$299.40. Its affiliate Ant Group has won approval from China’s top securities regulator for a review of its jumbo initial public offering plan in Hong Kong.
Cathay Pacific ‘optimistically’ predicts flying less than a quarter of pre-coronavirus flights for next eight months
Cathay Pacific rallied as much as 2.6 per cent before paring gains to 0.3 per cent to HK$5.80, bringing its three-day upturn to 9.2 per cent.
Employees will learn their fate before Friday but the Hong Kong government, which extended a bailout to Cathay Pacific in June, is trying to pressure the company to offer more generous exit packages to the laid-off workers, multiple sources told the Post.
01:43
Hong Kong, Singapore announce plans for quarantine-free travel bubble
One stock traded for the first time in Hong Kong, while two made their debuts in mainland China.
Property services firm Excellence Commercial Property & Facilities gained 3 per cent to HK$11 from its IPO price of HK$10.68.
In Shanghai, household appliance manufacturer Zhejiang Sanfer Electric Co Ltd rose 44 per cent to 34.98 yuan from its offer price of 24.29 yuan.
In Shenzhen, Guangdong Dongpeng Holdings, which manufactures ceramic tile products, rose 44 per cent to 16.34 yuan from its IPO price of 11.35 yuan.