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BusinessToday
27-07-2025
- Business
- BusinessToday
Weekly Recap: Hong Kong Stocks Rally On Trade, Stimulus Hopes
The Hong Kong stock market posted a strong performance for the week ended July 25, with the Hang Seng Index rising 2.27% to close at 25,388, marking its third consecutive weekly gain. Investor sentiment was lifted by optimism over potential US-China trade progress and expectations of fresh economic stimulus from Beijing. The rally was driven by gains in property, technology and electric vehicle (EV) sectors, as traders bet on additional measures by Chinese authorities to support growth amid ongoing structural economic challenges. Property stocks led the charge, with the Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index climbing 3.7% during the week. Notable performers included Longfor Group and Shimao Group, each advancing over 4.5%, buoyed by speculation that Beijing may roll out targeted support to stabilise the real estate sector. Technology and EV shares also saw renewed investor interest. Market heavyweight Tencent jumped 6.1%, while Baidu gained 3%. Among EV makers, BYD and Geely Auto posted weekly gains of between 2% and 2.8%, as growth-focused investors returned to risk assets. Traders were encouraged by signs of upcoming US-China trade engagement and Beijing's willingness to deploy further stimulus to safeguard its GDP targets. Recent resilience in China's trade and economic data further supported the bullish tone. However, analysts cautioned that policy momentum will be key to sustaining the rally. Despite lingering macro uncertainties, sentiment has clearly turned more constructive, as institutional and retail investors position ahead of policy moves and upcoming earnings from major Chinese firms. Related
South China Morning Post
05-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese developer Longfor's bonds sink deeper into junk territory as home sales sputter
Beijing-based Longfor Group is the latest firm to see its bonds downgraded further into junk territory, as weakening sales plague China's beleaguered property developers despite the central government's recent support measures to revive confidence. Advertisement S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday downgraded Longfor's long-term issuer credit rating to BB from BB+ and its senior unsecured notes to BB- from BB, citing concerns that the company's contracted sales could remain under pressure through next year due to a further depletion of saleable resources. The company's contracted sales could decline a further 13 per cent this year to 89 billion yuan (US$12.3 billion), the ratings agency said. Longfor's gross profit margin from property development was expected to remain suppressed at 5 to 6 per cent, down from 11 per cent in 2023, as its focus on clearing inventory continued to weigh on profitability, S&P said. 'While we believe the company will be able to reduce adjusted debt of about 10 billion yuan each year in 2025 [and] 2026 using its growing rental and service income, weakness in property development will partially offset this,' wrote S&P analysts Wilson Ling and Edward Chan. The downgrade comes as China's developers continue to struggle with lacklustre sentiment among homebuyers. The property market crisis is now in its fourth year after Beijing introduced measures in late 2020 to deleverage developers and deflate a housing bubble. Advertisement
