After lagging the rest of Asia for most of last week, Chinese shares Monday rebounded and ended up higher after the central bank over the weekend committed to support the equities market by providing liquidity through the state-owned China Securities Finance Corp. The Shanghai Composite Index opened with a feverish nearly 8% jump, but the euphoria soon fizzled out.
It’s actually a concerted effort to bolster the market, with Chinese brokerages pledging to buy multi-billion worth of stocks, while the government’s investment arm said it would continue to purchase ETFs. Joining the fray, China Vanke, a property developer, said it would buy back 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) of its mainland shares.
All of these as the Greek drama continues to unfold. After its citizens rejected the bailout package in a referendum Sunday, its finance minister resigned today, according to CNN. The ongoing drama in Greece has prompted a Manulife subsidiary to delay its planned IPO in Singapore. Read on..
Chinese shares end higher after China’s policy initiatives. The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 2.4%, while the rest of Asia fell. Its closing level though was far off from its opening when the index surged nearly 8%. The Nikkei closed down 2.1%, while the Hang Seng Index was last seen 3.2% lower. CNBC
Chinese developer to buy back mainland shares. China Vanke said it would buy up to 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) worth of shares at 13.70 yuan apiece, the closing price on July 3. It is the first Chinese company to unveil such a plan amid the downturn in Chinese equities. The South China Morning Post (paywall)
China’s investment arm to continue buying ETFs. Central Huijin Investment Co. said it bought ETFs and will continue doing it, though it did not say how much it had purchased and it would buy. Before its admission, some media outlets have reported last week that state-backed institutions infused funds in top Shanghai ETFs to prop up the market. Xinhua
Greek drama derails Manulife Singapore IPO. Manulife Real Estate Management will delay its $465 million IPO citing “increased volatility” in the stock market. The announcement came right after Greece voted “no” to a package of measures needed to convince creditors for another bailout program. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
McDonald’s, KFC set to use mobile phone applications to win more Chinese consumers. McDonald’s and Yum Brands’s KFC are set to use the mobile phone mode of ordering food and paying for them in China as they battle declining sales after they were embroiled in an expired meat scandal in the country last year. The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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