The JSE had a spectacular trading session on Wednesday after Naspers- and Prosus-linked Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings’ shares leapt more than 20% in Asian trading.
That also sent shares in Naspers soaring 21% in Johannesburg, a record daily change. The JSE All Share Index rose 4%, while the Top40 Index rose by 4.2%.
The surge in Tencent’s share price saw it at one point trading almost 25% higher in Hong Kong on Wednesday. It closed up more than 23%. This snapped a losing streak that began last week that sapped the value of both Naspers and its spinoff, Prosus — which holds 28.9% of Tencent — and came after China vowed policies to boost strained financial markets. Prosus closed up more than 23% in Amsterdam trading.
China said it would move to increase economic growth as it attempted to ease investor fears on risks from the property market, overseas listings and Internet companies.
Monetary policy will be proactive to respond to the need to boost the economy in the first quarter and new loans will grow appropriately, a Wednesday meeting of top economic leaders concluded, according to a Xinhua report. The Financial Stability and Development Committee meeting was chaired by vice Premier Liu He, who’s in charge of overall economic policy and dealing with financial risks.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index jumped 8.8% in Hong Kong, the most since 2008. The gauge plunged 26% this year through Tuesday to its lowest level since 2008. The CSI 300 Index of mainland shares climbed 3.7%.
The statement also called for new policies to handle property developers’ risks, with the meeting called for studying and introducing an effective plan to prevent and resolve risks around the companies, as well as rolling out policies to help China transform to a new development model.
Regulation
China’s government continues to support all kinds of companies to be listed in overseas markets, the meeting said. Regulators in China and the US have achieved positive progress on the issue of Chinese stocks listed in US markets, and are working to formulate a detailed cooperation plan, according to the report.
Authorities should push forward and complete the rectification of major Internet platform companies as soon as possible, and implement “standardised, transparent and predictable” regulation, according to the report. The meeting called for facilitating the stable and healthy development of the platform economy and enhancing its global competitiveness. — (c) 2022 NewsCentral Media with additional reporting (c) 2022 Bloomberg LP
