A Hong Kong-listed maker of silicon and rubber keypads yesterday surged the most on record after saying it won an order to make masks for Beijing.
Ta Yang Group Holdings Ltd (大洋集團) soared as much as 129 percent to HK$0.63, the highest since November 2018, and was up 35 percent as of the midday break. About 62 million shares changed hands, 275 times Ta Yang’s three-month daily average.
The company said in an exchange filing late on Thursday that it received an order from China’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission to make 5 million masks.
Ta Yang, which was not a mask maker before the COVID-19 outbreak in China, added it would be collaborating with a technology firm in Shenzhen to produce the masks and is seeking more orders while exploring the market for personal protective equipment.
Ta Yang, which generates most of its revenue from silicone rubber products and has posted annual losses from 2012 through 2018, is the latest stock in Hong Kong this week to benefit from the global shortage of masks due to the coronavirus.
Moody Technology Holdings Ltd (宏太控股) surged 220 percent on Tuesday after saying it would make masks. Ladies’ apparel producer Veeko International Holdings Ltd (威高國際) and toymaker Kin Yat Holdings Ltd (建溢集團) jumped 79 percent and 18 percent respectively on Thursday after saying they would transform their facilities to make masks.
Hong Kong Television Network Ltd, which operates an online shopping mall that sells masks, has surged 42 percent this year.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
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