Shares in the Hong Kong-based investment firm HK Asia Holdings Limited nearly doubled in value during trading on Feb. 17 after the firm disclosed it had purchased one Bitcoin.
HK Asia said in a Feb. 16 announcement that it “purchased an aggregate of 1 unit of Bitcoin” for around $96,150 on Feb. 13, “which was financed by the Group’s internal resources.”
The firm’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange closed up by nearly 93% on Monday to 5.50 Hong Kong dollars (71 cents), nearing its June 2019 peak of 6.50 Hong Kong dollars (84 cents), according to Google Finance.
HK Asia said its board had seen the “increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies in the commercial world,” and the firm now joins a number of public companies that have purchased Bitcoin (BTC) in recent months with the hope of bolstering their company coffers.
Last month, the Hong Kong construction firm Ming Shing said its subsidiary Lead Benefit bought 500 BTC at an average price of $94,375 each for a total investment of around $47 million. However, its shares didn’t move on the news and are down nearly 40% so far this year.
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Conversely, the Tokyo, Japan-based investment firm Metaplanet has seen its shares jump over 3,900% in the past 12 months after it started buying Bitcoin in April. It currently holds around 2,031.5 BTC worth $194.7 million after it bought an additional 269.4 BTC on Feb. 17.
HK Asia said its board believes that Bitcoin is “a dependable store of value” amid “uncertainty in the global economy.” It added government stimulus packages and money supply increases are placing “depreciation pressure on the value of fiat currencies.”
It added its one BTC purchase “ is symbolic in scale, and marks a significant step toward aligning with the evolving global financial landscape.”
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