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Panda rockets on bourse

By Bi Xiaoning (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-12 11:01

Buoyed by the upcoming National Day celebrations, Panda Fireworks Group Co, the only listed fireworks maker on the mainland, has seen its shares rocket by the maximum daily permissible amount for five straight days.

The company's shares began to surge on July 30. They closed yesterday at 16.42 yuan, up about 40 percent since the beginning of the month.

The meteoric rise was not based on any favorable news released by the company. Industry analysts said the company was likely to win the bid for setting off fireworks during the National Day ceremony, which probably encouraged speculation by institutional investors.

Last year, the company won the bid to set off fireworks during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and the Paralympic Games. The company realized 23.67 million yuan in revenue from setting off fireworks, up 294.88 percent year-on-year.

The company's daily turnover rate of shares has remained at around 20 percent since the end of last month. It jumped to 37.7 percent last Wednesday, marking the highest turnover rate since the company was listed in 2001.

"As the National Day approaches, fireworks makers and defense companies might well be favored by speculators," said Lu Junlong, an analyst with China Finance Online.

Related readings:  Chinese fireworks producers eye London Games  'Bird's Nest' fireworks spark ongoing IPR lawsuit  Zhang Yimou: Fireworks to dazzle on Oct 1

Speculators are always on the lookout for favorable information on China's A-share market.

Last year's Shenzhou VII spaceflight spurred a rally in aviation-related shares for weeks. In May this year, the outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) prompted a spike in some listed pharmaceutical companies.

"Individual investors should avoid speculation and pay more attention to the financial structure of the listed companies," warned Lu.