Hong Kong Firms Boost Stock Buybacks Amid $3.2 Trillion Selloff
- Hang Seng members spent $17 billion in 2023 to purchase shares
- Buybacks are likely to continue for structural reasons: BNP
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Companies listed in Hong Kong are increasingly turning to share buybacks to prop up their stock prices, a tactic that hasn’t been working amid pessimism over China’s economic outlook.
Members of the benchmark Hang Seng Index spent $17 billion last year to buy back shares listed in Hong Kong and other stock exchanges, the highest in at least six years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The momentum continued in the new year, with total buybacks in the first six trading days exceeding the full-year value in 2020, the figures showed.