QFII showed bigger appetite for A-shares in Q3

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-05 20:06

BEIJING -- Qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII) expanded their A-share portfolios in China by 22.92 percent in the third quarter, reflecting greater overseas confidence in the country's equities market, the China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.

QFIIs invested in 133 A-share stocks in the third quarter, buying 2.639 billion shares worth up to 30.1 billion yuan (4.4 billion US dollars), calculated by the closing price on September 26, compared to 2.147 billion shares in 153 stocks valued at at 35.23 billion yuan at the end of the first half.

The paper said insurers, brokers, and QFIIs held a total 10.242 billion A shares from July to September, down 9 percent from midyear.

The worsening financial crisis drove QFIIs to shift focus in the A share market, selling 51 stocks and buying 31 others in the third quarter, according to the Journal.

Guodu Securities analyst Zhang Xiang said QFIIs expanded their stakes or bought new shares in leading industrial enterprises as prices fell.

QFIIs sold shares in cyclical stocks and equities in favor of stocks in property, construction and finance, which were falling due to the world economic downturn, Wang said.

Targets included Vanke, the country's biggest property company, and the Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd., the largest aluminum producer.

He added their shift of investments demonstrated their pursuit of long term value.

Vanke posted its price at 9.01 yuan per share on June 30, but it closed at 6.53 yuan per share on September 26.

QFIIs bought no financial stocks during the second quarter, but purchased Shenzhen Development Bank shares at a lower price in the third quarter, Wang said. The price had fallen from 19.3 yuan per share at the end of June to 14.99 yuan at the end of September.

Cautious in the face of the ongoing economic turmoil, insurers suspended a large number of shares, the paper said.

Through the third quarter, insurers held 6.25 billion shares in 180 equities, with a market value of 62.57 billion yuan, compared with 7.68 billion shares in 199 stocks, worth up to 83.28 billion yuan at the end of June.

Brokers with 1.35 billion shares in 132 equities in the third quarter suspended 73.93 million shares from July to September.