China’s sovereign wealth fund snapped up shares in the nation’s Big Four lenders and said it plans to continue the purchases, a move apparently aimed at boosting the stocks.

State-owned Central Huijin Investment said in filings to the Shanghai stock exchange on Wednesday (Oct 11) night that it raised its stakes in Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. It added that it would continue the purchases over the next six months, without saying to what extent.

The move may boost the lenders’ shares when trading starts on Thursday morning. Shares in Agricultural Bank, ICBC and Bank of China jumped in 2011 after Huijin bought their stock on the open market. 

China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index has retreated more than 5 per cent this year even as hopes of fresh economic stimulus bolstered equities on Wednesday. The financials subgauge is down 1.5 per cent in 2023, in line for a third year of losses. Previous measures to support growth and the property market failed to lift investor sentiment. 

In 2015, Huijin acquired billions of yuan in the lenders’ shares in transfers from China Securities Finance Corp. as the government orchestrated a market bailout. BLOOMBERG