by winston » Mon Sep 29, 2014 7:26 pm
Shanghai-Hong Kong Valuation Gaps Disappear Before Link
Arbitrage opportunities between dual-listed stocks in Hong Kong and Shanghai are disappearing as prices move toward parity before the cities link their bourses.
The Hang Seng China AH Premium index, which measures the weighted average gap between the largest dual-listed shares, rose as much as 2.1 percent to 100.19, signaling the discount on mainland shares had been erased, and closed at 99.18. Readings of 100 show parity. Mainland companies tumbled in Hong Kong amid the biggest police crackdown on protesters since the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The link, which allows a [b]net 23.5 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) of daily cross-border purchases, [/b]will make it easier for investors to move money between the two markets. Morgan Stanley predicted last month that valuation gaps would disappear as the program leads to the creation of a “one-China” market.
“We’ve seen massive inflow” into mainland shares, Wu Kan, a fund manager at Shanghai-based Dragon Life Insurance Co., which oversees about $3.3 billion, said by phone today. “With the exchange connect coming closer, the market is expecting foreign investors” to buy Chinese shares, he said.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of so-called H shares in Hong Kong dropped 1.4 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.4 percent.
While the average gap as measured by the Hang Seng premium index has been erased, there are still many dual-listed stocks with different valuations. Tsingtao Brewery Co. (168)’s mainland shares trade at an 11 percent discount versus Hong Kong counterparts, while Anhui Conch Cement Co. (914) is valued at an 18 percent discount in China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Great Wall Motor Co. (2333) trades at a 25 percent premium on the mainland.
Changing Gap
Hong Kong’s exchange released updated rules for the link on Sept. 26. It will reject bids deemed too far below prevailing share prices as authorities seek to prevent investors from “hogging” the daily quota of buy orders available for cross-border trades.
The link, part of China’s effort to open up its financial system and promote wider use of the yuan, will begin with limits on both daily and aggregate purchases as policy makers seek to maintain some control over capital flows. The quotas may eventually be expanded or removed, Charles Li, the chief executive officer of HKEx, said in a blog posting last month.
The Hang Seng China AH Premium index has traded below 100 since March and fell as low as 88.97 on a closing basis in July. The gauge has had an average reading of about 116 since Bloomberg began compiling the data in 2006 and reached 208.06 near the height of a rally in mainland shares in January 2008
Source: Bloomberg
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