Main reference: Story in Sinafinance
THE YEAR of the Dragon has passed the baton to the Snake.
So which five Chinese shares did the best during the Dragon, which five lost the most?
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index – China’s chief tracker of A- and B-shares listed on the country’s two exchanges – hit a high of 2,479 as the Year of the Dragon kicked off in early 2012.
But the year turned decidedly bearish, with the index plummeting to a historically significant low of 1,949 before beginning its steady recent winter recovery.
As for the top five performers in the Year of the Dragon, two brokerages made the standings, further evidence that many Chinese brokerages have figured out how to protect themselves from the vagaries of the overall stock market.
On the other side of the coin, three of the worst five performers were exposed to the solar sector and took heavy hits from silicon inventory writedowns, weakening ASP performance and cutthroat competition in China’s photovoltaic sector.
Wasu Media (+1,762.3%)
Zhejiang-based DTV and IPTV operator Wasu Media Holding (SZA: 000156) announced late last year that controlling shareholder Wasu Digital TV signed equity transfer agreements with Shanghai Zhongguang Sitong Media Investment and Stone Group Corp, in compliance with the requirements of Zhejiang's "one province, one network" media integration plans.
Wasu Digital acquired the two companies' shares in China Cable Network – a major media operator in Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Zhoushan and other prosperous cities in Zhejiang.
Wasu’s aggressive expansion into China’s fast-growing media market, especially the more booming maritime regions, cheered investors for much of the Year of the Dragon, pushing its share price up by quadruple digits.
Avic Investment (+274.3%)
Avic Investment Holdings (SHA: 600705) made all the right choices during the Year of the Dragon on the financial front.
It securities consulting and brokering services as well as fund management activities all served to attract both a growing list of clientele as well as shareholders to its Shanghai-listed shares for much of the past 12-month period.
Taifu (+250.6%)
Taifu Industry Co Ltd (SZA: 000409) said it expects its full-year 2012 net profit to soar nearly 15-fold to up to 82 million yuan.
That sent the firm’s shares even higher and was enough to put this chemicals trading firm at No.3 among the biggest Dragon Year gainers.
Shenzhen O-Film (+226.0%)
Precision optoelectronic thin-film component play Shenzhen O-Film Tech Co Ltd (SZA: 002456) sells products with applications in mobile phone, digital camera, video camera, projectors and medical device manufacturing.
It expects its 2012 bottom line to be as high as 345 million yuan, or up 1,566%.
Publicized local government subsidies also sent O-Film’s shares skyrocketing this past lunar year.
Solar Stuck in Shade
Competition, anti-dumping worries, silicon inventory writedowns and weaker average selling prices put a big burden on Chinese solar plays.
Huasheng Tianlong (-58.2%)
Jiangsu Huasheng Tianlong Photoelectric Co Ltd (SZA: 300029) manufactures and distributes solar cell silicon material processing and producing equipment.
With such a highly capital-intensive production model dependent on demand for a product currently in oversupply, investors took flight in the Year of the Dragon, sending Tianlong’s Shenzhen-listed shares down by well over a half of their value.
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