Hong Kong-listed companies are expected to buy back up to HK$92.9 billion of stocks this year, which would be 3.9 times the average annual amount in the previous five years, said Hang Seng Indexes Company.
The high stock buyback might reflect that companies believe their Hong Kong-listed shares are undervalued in 2022 and so far this year, it said.
Hong Kong-listed companies repurchased HK$104.9 billion of shares in 2022, surging 175% from a year earlier and 4.4. times the average of HK$23.9 billion in the previous five years.
As of September 15, the companies’ stock buyback reached HK$73.5 billion this year, representing 70% of the full-year amount in 2022.
The stock buyback of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index reached HK$63.6 billion year to date, accouting 87% of the total stock buyback in Hong Kong.