Vanke shares set to rise as Chinese boardroom battle heats up

[HONG KONG] Shares in China Vanke Co Ltd, the country's biggest home builder, were set to rise 2 per cent on Tuesday after China Evergrande Group raised its stake to nearly 7 per cent, upping the ante in a complex battle for control of Vanke.

Evergrande, ranked second among China's residential property developers, purchased another 2.14 per cent stake in Vanke for 5.46 billion yuan (S$1.1 billion), it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Monday. The move makes Evergrande the third-largest shareholder in Vanke, worth about US$40 billion by market value.

Vanke's Hong Kong-listed shares were indicated to open at HK$20.90 ahead of the start of trading on the bourse, up 2 per cent from their Monday close. Its Shenzhen-listed stock rose by the daily 10 per cent limit on Monday.

Shares in acquisitive Evergrande, increasingly active in buying stakes in other firms, were due to open up 1.4 per cent.

REUTERS