Hong Kong and China shares posted solid gains on Wednesday, with the Chinese financial and telecom sectors strong as investors cheered comments made by policymakers at the country's annual parliamentary meetings.
ZTE surged on news reports that the world's fourth-biggest handset maker had entered a strategic collaboration with Intel for a new platform that could enhance performance of ZTE's next generation of smartphones.
The Hang Seng Index climbed 1% to 22,777.8, still some way off chart resistance at about 23,000, the top end of a narrow 500-point range the benchmark has traded in for more than two weeks.
The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong gained 1.7%. The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen listings rose 1%, while the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.9%. Shanghai volume was robust.
Onshore indexes have now erased more than 80% of sharp losses on Monday that were the CSI300's heaviest in more than two years. The losses stemmed from the introduction of more curbs on the mainland housing market.
China Unicom climbed 1.7% and China Telecom 2% after the official China Securities Journal reported that the country may issue licenses for 4G network licenses this year, expanding on a trial conducted by China Mobile.
ZTE jumped 8.9% in Hong Kong, its biggest one-day gain since in more than four years, and the Shenzhen listing surged the maximum-allowed 10%.
The Chinese banking sector rose after state media reported that the China Banking Regulatory Commission said it is researching the possibility of raising or replacing the loan-to-deposit ratio capped on the country's lenders, now at 75%.
Mid-sized lender China Minsheng Bank climbed 2.8% in Hong Kong, while gaining 3.4% in Shanghai. In Hong Kong, the "Big Four" Chinese banks each posted gains of more than 2%.
The Chinese property sector rebounded strongly after the country's top economic planning agency said guidelines for urbanisation will be launched by July. China plans to spend 40 trln yuan ($6.4 trln) to bring 400 mln people to cities over the next decade.
Fresh curbs on the housing market announced late last Friday sent stocks reeling. But on Wednesday, China Vanke jumped 2.4% in Shenzhen, while China Resources Land rose 1.9%.
EARNINGS IN FOCUS
Snack maker Want Want China Holdings underperformed, inching up 0.2% despite posting a 32% rise in 2012 net profit on Tuesday. The increase was largely in line with market expectation.
On Wednesday, its shares were hit by a UBS downgrade from "neutral" to "sell". The brokerage said the company's revenue guidance for 2013 appeared aggressive given that volume growth was only 7% in 2012 and management did not plan price increases for 2013.
Tencent Holdings rose 1.2%, while Belle jumped 3.6% after the index manager announced they would become FTSE China 25 components, effective after markets close on March 15.
The two stocks will replace Yanzhou Coal and Zijin Mining in the benchmark. On Wednesday, Yanzhou Coal was up 0.4% and Zijin Mining down 2.3%.
