New | Hanergy biggest loser in Hong Kong market; Paladin preferred shares jump
Shares of solar panel maker Hanergy Thin Film Power Group was the biggest loser on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday while preferred shares of property and trading company Paladin soared over 600 per cent.
The share price of Hanergy slid 47 per cent to HK$3.91 before it was suspended at 10.40 AM on Wednesday, pending an announcement by the company. The suspension came in just as Hanenergy’s annual general meeting began at 10 AM on Wednesday.
Hanergy was the fourth most heavily traded stock on Wednesday, with HK$1.05 billion worth of shares being traded. Investors lost more than HK$270 billion of value in Hanergy as its share price fell.
“It is not a stock that is valued on fundamentals,” said Hong Kong corporate governance activist David Webb.
On the other hand, Paladin’s preferred share price leapt 623 per cent to HK$2.24 by Wednesday noon, while its ordinary shares rose by a more modest 2.6 per cent to 80 Hong Kong cents. Paladin has a market capitalisation of HK$843 million.
Preferred shareholders get paid ahead of ordinary shareholders in receiving dividends. In the event of a bankruptcy, a preferred shareholder also gets priority over ordinary shareholders but they rank behind creditors. Paladin’s preferred shares are convertible and redeemable.
Paladin had announced on May 5 that it was seeking to redevelop and boost the value of a property on Peak Road.
The second biggest loser in the market was the Synergy Group, an energy savings solutions provider listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). Its share price dropped 24.8 per cent to HK$3.40 by Wednesday noon. Synergy’s share price jumped from HK$3.00 on May 18 to HK$4.52 on Tuesday, before falling to HK$3.40 on Wednesday morning.
“The trading volume is thin. When there is a big selling order, it is easy to push down the share price. There is a lot of profit taking pressure,” said Kenny Tang Sing-hing, chief executive officer of Junyang Securities.
The trading volume of Synergy shares was 19.26 million shares on Wednesday morning, while it has 500 million outstanding shares.
The second biggest winner was Oriental Explorer Holdings, which manufactures electronic products. Oriental Explorer’s share price jumped 48.9 per cent to 35 Hong Kong cents by Wednesday noon.
Given that Oriental Explorer’s market capitalisation is quite small at HK$837 million, it is easy to push its share price up, said Tang.
