Finance
Mainland Chinese investors snap up a record amount of Hong Kong stocks
Hong Kong’s stock exchange reported its highest quarterly profit in nearly four years after China’s stimulus measures boosted trading and listing volume.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BEIJING — Mainland Chinese investors are piling into the Hong Kong stock market at record volumes as its tech-heavy Hang Seng Index trades around three-year highs.
Net mainland Chinese purchases of Hong Kong stocks hit a record 29.62 billion Hong Kong dollars ($3.81 billion) on Monday, according to the Wind Information database.
That was the most since the Hong Kong stock market launched its “connect” program with the mainland, allowing local investors easier access to a select number of stocks traded offshore. The Shanghai Connect launched in November 2014, while the Shenzhen Connect opened in December 2016.
The Hang Seng Index traded around 0.7% lower Tuesday morning following a sharp sell-off in U.S. stocks overnight on worries about the impact of tariffs on global growth.
Net buys via the Shanghai Connect reached nearly 18 billion HKD on Monday, while those from the Shenzhen Connect reached 11.63 billion HKD, the data showed.
Hong Kong-traded shares of Alibaba and Tencent, both of which are not traded in mainland China, saw the largest net purchases, according to Wind data.
China last week affirmed its pro-growth stance by emphasizing plans to support private sector tech innovation, and increasing its fiscal deficit to a rare 4% of gross domestic product — including an expanded consumer subsidies program.
Citi’s global macro strategy team on Monday upgraded its view on Chinese stocks — namely the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index — to overweight, while downgrading the U.S. to neutral.
“One key reason why we have not been focused on Chinese equities is tariff risk,” the analysts said.
“Abstracting from this issue, we believe the case for China tech was clear. A) DeepSeek proved that China tech is at the Western technological frontier (or beyond), despite the export controls. This was followed by the release of Tencent’s Hunyuan (an AI video generator) and Alibaba’s QwQ-32B,” they added.
‘Cheap and under-owned’ stocks
Chinese and foreign institutional investors started piling back into Chinese stocks after Beijing started announcing more forceful stimulus plans in late September. Chinese equities got another boost after the emergence of DeepSeek’s latest model in late January prompted a global tech sell-off. More major tech companies are traded in Hong Kong than in mainland China.
Manishi Raychaudhuri, CEO of Emmer Capital Partners, said investors could soon pour money back into emerging markets, particularly Asian emerging markets, once global stocks emerge from the current rut.
“I would say largely it would still be Greater China, which means largely Hong Kong, China. The stocks are cheap and under-owned,” Raychaudhuri told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Tuesday.
“We have seen some degree of consumption boost in the form of what the policymakers have been doing since January. It is not yet to the full extent that the market would like to have but at least it is a departure from the trend of many years,” he continued.
“So, right on top of my list, it would still be Hong Kong, China, the internet stocks, the large internet platforms and also some of the consumption-related names, mostly in athleisure, the restaurant stocks and other travel and tourism-related names,” Raychaudhuri said.
— CNBC’s Sam Meredith and Anniek Bao contributed to this report.
‘Talk Money to Me’ author Jason Tartick joins ‘The Big Money Show’ to discuss his new book, shedding light on the importance of discussing your finances with your partner.
How people tackle their finances can vary but, according to new research from PYMNTS, there are two ways that are most common.
PYMNTS found just 40% of American consumers are “planners,” meaning their strategy for money had more foresight.
That figure has gone down compared to the roughly half who tackled their personal finances that way in February of last year, according to the outlet.
A couple reviews their finances inside their home. (iStock)
Meanwhile, for 60% of consumers, financial matters are dealt with as they come, earning them the moniker “reactors,” PYMNTS reported.
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For the former, they tended to have at least $2,500 saved and keep their credit card balances below $2,000 on average, as well as make regular payments on their balances, according to the outlet.
The latter typically amassed higher balances and had lower amounts of savings, per PYMNTS. They also reported taking care of their credit card balances less frequently.
The drop in “planners” could mean consumers are feeling more pain in their wallets, according to PYMNTS.
The two groups typically had different priorities when it came to money, with retirement being front of mind for many so-called “planners” and knocking down debt being a focus for “reactors,” per the outlet.
A person puts money into a retirement savings jar. (iStock)
A separate report released earlier this month by Fidelity Investments found the average 401(k) account balance in the first quarter was $127,100, while the balances for IRA and 403(b) accounts averaged $121,983 and $115,424, respectively.
RETIREMENT ACCOUNT BALANCES DIP IN 1ST QUARTER, BUT SAVERS KEEP CONTRIBUTING
Northwestern Mutual found in mid-April that Americans think they need $1.26 million saved to retire “comfortably.”
PYMNTS reported that nearly one-third of financially-reactive consumers reportedly identified reducing their debt as a top priority.
Americans collectively had $18.2 trillion in debt as of the first quarter of the year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
For the other type of consumer, investments and savings accounted for 12% of what they financially allocated for themselves on a monthly basis, PYMNTS also reported.
DEBT CRISIS DEEPENS AS 1 IN 4 AMERICANS FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN BILLS AND BASICS
Additionally, the survey shed light on how different generations stacked up in terms of how they tackled finances, according to the outlet.
For Generation Z, 73% of those within that age group were considered “reactors,” it said.
Members of the Baby Boomer generation, meanwhile, were more likely to be “planners,” with the survey pegging the share in that generation at 54%.
Couple working on their finances (iStock)
When it comes to income, more of those taking home big bucks have started seeing themselves as “reactors” as inflation and other factors weigh on them.
Approximately 52% of high-income consumers labeled themselves as “reactors” in the survey.
The proportion of earners characterized as “planners” posted a 25% drop between February of last year and January of this year, according to PYMNTS.
The real median income for American households was over $80,600 in 2023, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Finance
Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Jabil, JetBlue, Sunrun, Valero, Verve Therapeutics and more
Hong Kong Skyline
Nikada | E+ | Getty Images
Regencell Bioscience Holdings, an early-stage, Hong Kong-based bioscience company with no revenue, is the latest speculative overseas stock to attract an unusual surge in trading demand.
Shares of Regencell, which says it develops traditional Chinese herb treatments to treat childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, more than tripled on Monday — soaring more than 280% by the close. A 38-for-1 split declared on June 2 took effect on Monday.
The company’s year to date performance is off the charts too, having risen 46,000% in 2025. By Monday’s close, Regencell, founded in 2014 and traded on Nasdaq under the ticker ‘RGC’ since 2021, had a total market capitalization of $29.7 billion, according to S&P Capital IQ.
Regencell CEO Yat-Gai Au controls 86.24% of the total number of shares outstanding, according to FactSet data.
Regencell Bioscience Holdings in 2025.
Regencell is the latest example of a speculative international stock attracting attention during summer trading. In August, 2022, for example, AMTD Digital, a Hong Kong-based fintech company, climbed 126%, briefly giving it a market value greater than Coca-Cola and Bank of America.
Regencell’s market value is now about equal with Nasdaq-traded Lululemon and tops Super Micro Computer and Fifth Third Bancorp.
Earlier this month, Regencell explained the stock split as designed solely “to enhance liquidity in the market for the company’s ordinary shares and make the shares more accessible to investors.” Stock splits do not change anything fundamentally about a company.
Regencell’s surge also came amid an increased focus on alternative medicines after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in February. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has taken steps to discourage routine immunizations in the U.S., last week removing all of the members of a panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines.
Regencell’s stock often makes huge one-day swings. For example, shares jumped roughly 30% on March 21, before dropping 30% the following trading day.
Obscure treatments, zero revenue
In spite of the wild spike in the stock, little is known about the efficacy and commercialization of the Regencell’s treatments for ADHD and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Regencell’s business centers on a proprietary Traditional Chinese Medicine formula (TCM) developed in a partnership with TCM practitioner Sik-Kee Au using his “Sik-Kee Au TCM Brain Theory.” Sik-Kee Au is the father of the Regencell chief executive officer Yat-Gai Au, the company said in a 2022 statement.
Three liquid-based, orally TCM formulae candidates claim to address mild, moderate and severe conditions and only contain natural ingredients such as so-called “detoxication herbs,” blood circulation herbs and digestion herbs.
“These TCM formulae form the basis of our TCM product candidates, which we intend to develop and commercialize for the treatment of ADHD and ASD,” Regencell’s website reads.
In its latest annual report filed last October, Regencell said that it had not generated any revenue, nor filed for any regulatory approvals of its TCM formulas. For the fiscal years ended June 2024 and 2023, Regencell incurred total net losses of $4.36 million and $6.06 million, respectively, according to a 20F filing to the SEC.
“We have not generated revenue from any TCM formulae candidates or applied for any regulatory approvals, nor have distribution capabilities or experience or any granted patents or pending patent applications and may never be profitable,” read the filing.
Regencell has not responded to a CNBC request for comment.
Regencell’s latest patient case study, dated Nov. 15, 2023, said 28 patients were given the treatment over a period of three months in a second efficacy trial and showed an improvement in symptoms of ADHD and ASD, according to the company’s webpage.
In an earlier case, Regencell said in a 2021 news release that it treated a dozen patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 cases, using a modified version of Au’s modified proprietary cold and flu TCM formula. What was described as an improvement of Covid conditions led Regencell to form a joint venture with Honor Epic Enterprises Limited in Sept. 2021 to conduct further tests and commercialize the company’s Covid treatment in ASEAN countries, according to the statement.
Online buzz
The stock has attracted little chatter on social media over the past few years. Those comments that have been made suggest both retail trader enthusiasm — and skepticism.
One user on the Reddit page “r/Shortsqueeze” wrote on Monday that Regencell is “trading like a meme coin. Bought a little to see what happens and it dropped 50% right after lol.” Another user said in a post made three months ago, “I scalp RGC everyday for a bit of profit.” The stock jumped 1,360% in May alone.
On LinkedIn in May, one investor said he “can’t stop laughing,” after reading the company description. Another post from a user in the pharmaceutical industry, according to his profile, last week said Regencell has become the “stock to watch” after its spike in May on “no official news or catalysts.” Another LinkedIn user last month commented on Regencell, saying, “China based, low volume and no official news, bizarro.”
On X, one user wrote in a Monday post said, “for #CompleteBullsh__CompanyOfTheYear I nominate regencell.”
— CNBC’s Scott Schnipper contributed reporting.
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