A-share Photo:VCG

A wave of share buybacks has swept through the A-share market this year, driven by a series of policy incentives and guidance. A total of 2,153 listed companies have carried out buybacks so far in 2024, totaling 165.74 billion yuan ($22.71 billion), economic news site cls.cn reported on Sunday.

During the past week, 26 public companies have disclosed updates on buybacks, share increases, and related refinancing activities, cls.cn reported.

In terms of buyback, 12 listed companies have repurchased over 1 billion yuan each. Video surveillance company Hikvision leads the pack with a buyback totaling 3.02 billion yuan, followed by biotech service providers WuXi AppTec at 3 billion yuan.

Hikvision's recent announcements revealed that the total value of its buyback plan will range from 2 billion to 2.5 billion yuan. The buyback will be carried out through centralized bidding, with a maximum price of 40 yuan per share. The funds will be sourced from the company's own capital and a special loan for share repurchases.

The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, in collaboration with the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, issued a notice on October 18 to establish a stock buyback and share increase refinancing program. This aims to encourage financial institutions to provide loans to eligible listed companies and major shareholders, supporting their buybacks and share increases, according to the notice.

Within three months of the notice's release, 218 A-share companies issued announcements related to the use of the loans, with the maximum loan amount for these activities reaching 49.85 billion yuan, financial service Wind.com revealed.

The financing ratio for the loan has been raised to a maximum of 90 percent, a move that is expected to boost market confidence. This measure serves as a key tool for listed companies to enhance investor confidence, Yang Delong, chief economist at Shenzhen-based First Seafront Fund, told the Global Times on Sunday.

A-share market companies have also significantly increased their dividend payouts throughout the year. On December 19, the Shanghai Stock Exchange revealed that a total of 481 companies listed on the Shanghai bourse have pledged to pay their shareholders the mid-year dividends, marking a sharp rise of 354 percent from last year.

Global Times