Here's a round up of stake changes among Hong Kong developers

Only 2 developers have increased stakes in their companies.

According to Nomura, as the reporting season comes to an end, the handcuffs on share buyback and stakeholder increases come off. With the Hang Seng Property Index having traded down 12.8% from its recent high, it is always useful to follow the ‘smart money” and see which of the propertycompanies are voting with their own wallets during the current uncertain times. 

Nomura noted that compared with last year, share buybacks and stakeholder increases have been much quieter.

In the following section, Nomura briefly summarise when was the previous time that the various companies either bought back stocks or saw stakeholder increases.

Here's more:

Thus far, only Henderson Land’s Mr. Lee Shau Kee and Midland Holding’s Mr. Freddie Wong have increased their stakes in their companies post results.

While some majority shareholders had opted to take their dividends in scrip form back in 4Q12, many other major stakeholders had not been active since the 2Q/3Q 2012 trough. The following are listed from the most recent to the most distant events.

Stake increases post results:
 Henderson Land: Mr. Lee Shau Kee bought 7.68mn shares in Henderson Land between 26 March and 2 April 2013 at HKD52.94 per share on average. With total consideration of HKD406.6mn, these purchases raised his stake from 62.69% to 63.01%. 

 Midland Holdings: Between 27 and 28 March 2013, Mr. Freddie Wong spent HKD7.1mn to increase his stake in Midland Holdings from 9.96% to 10.26% by purchasing 2.15mn shares at an average price of HKD3.31 per share.

Stake changes in 4Q12
 Champion REIT: Dr. Lo Ka Shui raised his stake in Champion REIT from 57.87% to 58.00% by purchasing 7.2mn units between 10 and 21 December 2012 at an average price of HKD3.64/unit. 

 SHKP: On 11 December 2012, the Kwok family increased their stake in SHKP by 24.021mn shares at an average price of HKD112.04/share. We believe this HKD2,691mn increase represents the family opting for the scrip dividend option and raised the family interest from 42.87% to 43.79%. 

 Sino Land: Mr. Ng Chee Siong opted for scrip dividends and raised his stake in Sino Land by 19.18mn shares on 28 November 2012 at HKD13.51 per share. As a result, his interest in Sino Land rose from 52.83% to 53.15%. 

 Great Eagle: Dr Lo Ka Shui purchased 0.54mn shares in Great Eagle between 19 and 31 October 2012, at an average price of HKD23.35/share. With this purchase, his interest in Great Eagle increased from 53.81% to 53.89%. 

 Swire Properties: John Swire & Sons Limited (JSSHK) sold 216.9mn shares of Swire Properties in a share placement on 4 October 2012 at a sales price of HKD22.51 per share. Post the placement, JSSHK’s stake in Swire Properties decreased from 85.7% to 82%, which would only be via Swire Pacific which continued to hold 82% of Swire Properties. 

Stake changes in 2Q/3Q 2012
 HKR: Mr. Victor Cha bought 0.02mn shares in HKR on 22 August 2012 at an average price of HKD2.85/share with his interest in the company at 46.70%. 

 Wharf: Wheelock and Company Limited purchased 0.2mn shares in Wharf on 14 June 2012 at an average price of HKD42.20/share. This raised its interest in Wharf from 50.99% to 51.00%. 

 Cheung Kong: Mr. Li Ka Shing increased his interest in Cheung Kong from 43.29% to 43.32% by buying 0.710mn shares between 15 and 16 May 2012. The average price was HKD94.8/share.