New year share sales net $14b

Issuers took advantage of Asian stocks hitting fresh highs on Monday to sell around HK$14 billion worth of stock in five block trades which were all increased in size, in a new year frenzy highlighting bullish sentiment in Hong Kong.

The flurry of share sales came in a narrow window before the Georgia Senate runoffs in the United States yesterday, which could prolong the uncertainty from the US presidential election of 2020.

The parent of Chinese pharmaceutical firm Wuxi Biologics Cayman (2269) raised HK$9.8 billion in a placement, selling 20 million additional shares in the biotech company.

Warburg Pincus netted HK$1.2 billion from the sale of mainland vitro fertilization service provider Jinxin Fertility (1951) shares, which was also upsized.

Shareholders sold stakes on Monday in three other firms: biotech firm Hygeia Healthcare (6078), vocational training company China East Education (0667), and laminates maker Kingboard Laminates (1888).

"There's definitely lots of bullish sentiment right now, particularly when it comes to the Chinese market with the interest to hunt for returns at the start of the year," said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia.

Apart from buoyant markets, the short window before the holidays is also spurring the boom in share sales. January is often a busy time for additional equity sales in Hong Kong, as the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday tends to make the period too short to carry out initial public offerings.