HK Stock Market Move | LYGEND RESOURCE (02245) rises over 4% as controlling shareholder plans to increase H-share holdings by no less than RMB100 million; the company is expected to benefit from the return of profitability in hydrometallurgical nickel.

LYGEND RESOURCE (02245) rose over 4% intraday, up 3.39% as of press time at HK$17.99, with turnover of HK$86.5478 million. On the news front, LYGEND RESOURCE recently announced that Matrix Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of its controlling shareholder Liqin Investment, used its own funds totaling approximately RMB22.7481 million to increase its holdings of the company's H shares by a total of 1,547,200 shares through the Shanghai Stock Exchange's Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect system via centralized bidding, accounting for approximately 0.09% of the company's total issued shares. Based on firm confidence in the company's future development and high recognition of its long-term investment value, and to enhance investor confidence, Matrix Resources plans to continue increasing its holdings of the company's H shares within 6 months from this increase, with cumulative increases of no less than RMB100 million (including the portion already increased this time). Changjiang issued a research report stating that Indonesia's floor nickel price center has already risen, and under Indonesia's policy constraints, nickel prices are expected to remain range-bound between US$16,000-20,000 per metal ton, with nickel industry profits tilting toward the mining end in the long term; investors should look for companies with cost advantages at the mining end. The bank noted that LYGEND RESOURCE has become a leading enterprise in the nickel industry with both capacity and cost advantages, and the company has currently formed a total of 418,000 tons of nickel smelting capacity. The company is among Indonesia's first batch of leading enterprises to put hydrometallurgical operations into production, and is currently significantly constrained by sulfur prices at historical highs weighing on profitability; the bank is optimistic about the profit repair elasticity from hydrometallurgy in the coming two years as sulfur prices fall back from extreme levels.