The annual buyback scale of Hong Kong stocks has exceeded HKD 20 billion.

Securities Daily Reporter: Mao Yirong

According to data from Wind Information, as of March 24, a total of 146 Hong Kong-listed companies have initiated share buybacks this year, with a total buyback amount reaching HKD 22.121 billion and a total of 904 million shares repurchased. In just two days on March 23 and 24, 28 companies have acted, with buyback amounts exceeding HKD 1 billion.

Behind this data is the firm confidence of the management of listed companies in their own value. Liu Jingfeng, an analyst at Zheshang International, believes that the wave of buybacks in Hong Kong usually occurs during market downturns, indicating that companies believe their stock prices are severely undervalued. Buybacks help stabilize stock prices and enhance investor confidence. Historical data shows that since 2008, the Hong Kong stock market has experienced five waves of buybacks, with each wave followed by a market uptrend.

From Liu Jingfeng’s perspective, recent data from the past week (March 16 to March 22) shows a dual-track characteristic in industry distribution, with “value driven by technology and quantity driven by consumption.” The information technology sector ranks at the top for both buyback amounts and company numbers, reflecting the funding strength and valuation correction demands of tech firms; meanwhile, consumer discretionary leads in buyback activity with a larger number of companies, indicating that more small and medium-sized consumer enterprises are signaling value through buybacks.

This year, the Hong Kong buyback market has shown significant concentration among leading companies. Data indicates that Tencent Holdings, Xiaomi Group, ZTO Express, Geely Automobile, and Sunny Optical Technology are among the top in buyback amounts, with respective buyback amounts of HKD 6.357 billion, HKD 4.776 billion, HKD 3.269 billion, HKD 1.491 billion, and HKD 1.016 billion, each surpassing HKD 1 billion in buyback scale this year.

Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi Group are the two companies with the largest buyback amounts, repurchasing HKD 6.357 billion and HKD 4.776 billion, respectively, accounting for nearly 60% of the total buybacks by the top ten companies. Tencent Holdings, dubbed the “buyback king” of the year, has cumulatively repurchased 10.205 million shares, with the highest buyback price during this period being HKD 638 per share. Tencent has been consistently executing centralized auction buybacks for several days in January 2026, with an average daily buyback amount stabilizing around HKD 635 million, demonstrating the continuity and stability of its buyback plan.

Additionally, tech and internet companies are ramping up buybacks. Among the top ten companies in terms of buyback amounts, Tencent Holdings, Xiaomi Group, ZTO Express, Kuaishou, NetEase Cloud Music, and Pop Mart dominate, representing tech and new consumption sectors.

Hui Sheng International Capital Limited President Huang Lichong told Securities Daily reporters that these companies generally have abundant cash flow and their stock prices have undergone adjustments, with buybacks intended to convey confidence and enhance earnings per share.

Besides tech stocks, pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms such as Senmiao Pharmaceutical and Chuanxin Bio are also actively repurchasing; in the consumer sector, companies like Jiumaojiu and Zhou Hei Ya are making buybacks; in the real estate service sector, companies like Country Garden Services and Wanwu Cloud have also initiated buybacks this year.

At the same time, many small and mid-cap companies are participating in buybacks, but the amounts are generally below HKD 100 million. Huang Lichong believes this reflects that companies across various industries in the Hong Kong stock market are choosing to enhance shareholder returns through buybacks at current low valuations. For these companies, buybacks are more about stabilizing stock prices and conveying management confidence, with the supportive effect on stock prices being more psychological.

Huang Lichong stated that from the actions of leading companies during the buyback period, stock prices generally show a trend of stabilizing or slightly rebounding, indicating that buybacks have played a supporting role to some extent. However, for companies with smaller buyback amounts and lower liquidity, the substantive impact of buybacks on stock prices is limited.

Qianhai Kaiyuan Fund Chief Economist Yang Delong pointed out that since the adjustment in the Hong Kong stock market, many companies believe their stocks are undervalued, and thus use buybacks to boost investor confidence and signal positivity. The underlying trend is that during market downturns or significant declines, the number of companies engaging in buybacks in the Hong Kong stock market noticeably increases.