Thirty-seven executives, including five vice-presidents, spent a combined 52.3 million yuan (US$7.3 million) to buy 488,200 Shenzhen-listed shares to “display their continued optimism about the investment value of the company”, BYD said in filings to the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges on Wednesday evening. The shares accounted for 0.027 per cent of the company, the statement added.
The five vice-presidents – Luo Hongbin, Zhou Yalin, Yang Dongsheng, Luo Zhongliang and Li Wei – bought 221,800 shares between September 1 and 9 for a total of 23.6 million yuan. Zhou is also the chief financial officer of the dual-listed carmaker. The other 32 executives, who were not identified, spent 28.7 million yuan to buy 266,400 shares in the same period, the statement said.
BYD’s A shares rose 0.2 per cent to 105.43 yuan on Thursday, paring the losses to 23.4 per cent since hitting a peak of 137.67 yuan on May 23. Its H shares fell 0.3 per cent to HK$105.30, a decline of 31.4 per cent from the all-time high of HK$153.6 on May 23.
“Worries about the sales drop and profitability knocked BYD shares down recently, but the company’s senior executives appear to be bullish about its outlook,” said Ding Haifeng, a consultant at financial advisory firm Integrity in Shanghai. “The market is expected to react in a lukewarm manner until its top bosses take similar action.”
