HK Stock Market Move | BANK OF E ASIA (00023) has risen over 4% again. HSBC's guidance points to a significant increase in shareholding ratio recently, due to the attractiveness of high dividend yields.

BANK OF E ASIA (00023) has continued to rise after its earnings report, increasing by more than 4% again this morning. As of this writing, it has risen by 4.91% to HKD 18.36, with trading volume at HKD 52.0623 million. On the news front, BANK OF E ASIA previously released its interim results, reporting interest income of HKD 15.506 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8.23%; profit attributable to shareholders of HKD 2.416 billion, an increase of 0.37% compared to the previous year; and basic earnings per share of HKD 0.91. It proposes to pay an interim dividend of HKD 0.46 per share, with the payout ratio increasing from 45% in the same period last year to 50%. HSBC published a research report stating that BANK OF E ASIA aims to double its per-share dividend by 2028 compared to the 2025 level. Based on the current stock price, the forecast dividend yield for 2026 to 2028 is approximately 5% to 8%. The proportion of shares held by southbound investors has significantly increased recently, rising from 0.18% at the end of July to 0.56%, as the high dividend yield is expected to be attractive to southbound investors. The bank raised its profit forecasts for 2026 to 2028 by 11.6%, 12.9%, and 4.8%, respectively, to reflect higher fee income, better trading gains, and lower operating expenses, increasing the target price from HKD 14.8 to HKD 21.5 and upgrading its rating from "Hold" to "Buy."