Shares of bank stocks lifted Hong Kong markets Thursday as China’s sovereign fund went on a bank buying spree.
State-owned fund Central Huijin Investment Ltd. snapped up $65.7 million in Bank of China Ltd. (OTC: BACHY), China Construction Bank Corp (OTC: CICHY), Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. (OTC: ACGBF) and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (OTC: IDCBY). The fund said that it would continue with the purchases over the next 6 months, although declined to specify to what extent.
Huijin raised its stake in each bank by ten basis points. The investment fund now owns 64.03% of Bank of China, 40.04% of Agricultural Bank of China, 57.12% of China Construction Bank and 34.72% of ICBC, according to Caixin. All the four banks were up between 4-5% in Hong Kong trading.
With Chinese dividend yields currently near historic highs, share purchases of stocks by DChinese state funds are expected to be highly profitable over the medium term, according to the region’s investment managers.
More measures are being taken by Beijing to lift flagging confidence in the Chinese mainland. The Chinese government is now expected to raise the deficit as it puts in 1 trillion RMB ($137 billion) to shore ...