FAST NEWS: Rosefinch fund cuts JL Mag stake for eighth time this year

The Latest: Institutional investor Rosefinch Fund Management disclosed it sold about 850,000 Hong Kong-listed shares of rare earth materials producer JL Mag Rare-Earth Co. Ltd. (6680.HK; 300748.SZ) on April 8 at an average price of HK$6.71, according to a new Hong Kong Stock Exchangefiling.

Looking Up: After the sale, Rosefinch is still the fourth largest holder of JL Mag’s Hong Kong-listed shares. As its shareholding is still above 5%, the fund manager must still publicly report any future increase or decrease in its holdings.

Take Note: Rosefinch has now reduced its stake in JL Mag eight times this year, bringing its stake down from 13.21% to 5.88%.

Digging Deeper: JL Mag is a state-owned producer of high-performance rare earth permanent magnetic materials. It was listed in Shenzhen in 2018 and completed a second listing in Hong Kong early last year. The company’s neodymium iron boron permanent magnetic materials are used in new energy vehicles, wind turbine generators and energy-saving inverter air conditioners. The company’s revenue dropped by 6.7% to 6.69 billion yuan ($925 million) last year, due to fluctuations in rare earth raw material prices and intensified competition, while its net profit also fell by nearly 20% to 564 million yuan.

Market Reaction: JL Mag’s shares were little changed on Thursday morning and closed down 0.1% at HK$6.90 by the midday break. It now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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