HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Chinese shares listed in Hong
Kong extended gains in Monday afternoon trade, outperforming
mainland markets, as foreign investors cheered the most sweeping
economic and social reforms that Beijing has announced in nearly
three decades.
At 0531 GMT, the China Enterprises Index of the top
Chinese listings in Hong Kong was up 5.1 percent at 11,247.8
points, its highest since May. The MSCI China was up
3.6 percent, while the Hang Seng Index climbed 2.5
percent.
The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen
A-share listings rose 2.1 percent, while the Shanghai Composite
Index gained 1.8 percent. H-shares are now trading at
their biggest premium over A-shares since January
2011.
Gains came in strong volumes as UBS Asia equity strategists
upgraded their view on China H-shares to overweight from
neutral, and did the reverse for India.
They believe a Chinese re-rating is likely to steal the
limelight after Beijing surprised on the scope and tone of the
document containing details of reforms agreed at the recent
party plenum.
The document, released on Friday, relaxed China’s one-child
policy and further frees up markets in order to put the world’s
second-largest economy on a more stable footing.
