Vanke denies leaking info about Evergrande’s purchase

China Vanke, China’s largest home builder, has refuted reports that it leaked information about Evergrande Group’s purchase of its shares.

Evergrande Group, another real estate conglomerate, announced Thursday it had purchased nearly 5 percent of the issued shares of China Vanke. Rumors have swirled around that Vanke revealed the purchase to some media outlets in advance. A journalist claims to have found traces of Evergrande’s purchase after he checked Vanke’s list of shareholders.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a notice to Vanke on Friday, asking for an explanation.

In a Friday announcement, Vanke said it had followed the rules of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges. It denied rumors of leaking information about the Evergrande share purchase. Vanke said it has sent a letter to Evergrande to explain the situation.

Vanke’s shares rose more than 6.5 percent Friday, after they climbed by the daily limit of 10 percent on Thursday. Shares of China Calxon Group, mostly owned by Evergrande, rose 9.98 percent.

Evergrande Acquisitions

Evergrande earlier on Thursday denied a media report saying that the developer had purchased a stake in Vanke. The A-shares of Vanke surged by the 10 percent daily limit on Thursday, advancing for a fourth day, to close at 19.67 yuan on the Shenzhen exchange. That was the biggest increase since trading resumed July 4 after a six-month suspension.

Evergrande, based in Guangzhou in southern China, has been one of the most acquisitive developers in the country. It paid 3.6 billion yuan earlier this year for a stake in Shenzhen-listed China Calxon Group Co. and acquired Mass Mutual Tower in Hong Kong last year, as well as agreeing to buy assets from New World China Land Ltd.

The company’s buying spree went beyond real estate. In April, Evergrande boosted its stake in Shengjing Bank Co. In November, it bought a 50 percent stake in Great Eastern Life Assurance Co.’s Chinese joint venture for 3.9 billion yuan.