West China Cement shares drop by one third in single day’s trading

Hong Kong-listed West China Cement (WCC) has seen its shares fall by 32.7 per cent in a single day, wiping US$350m off the value of the company, Bloomberg reports.

At one point, the company’s shares were trading 46 per cent down on their opening value, before recovering slightly to close at HKD1.07 (US$0.14).

In May West China Cement reached an agreement with Anhui Conch that would see the latter company acquire the former. However, the deal has yet to be finalised and requires official permission to proceed. While no announcement has yet been made either way, the sharp fall in WCC’s share price – driven by short-selling – suggests that there is at least the belief that such permission will not be forthcoming.

For its part, WCC insists that it remains committed to the deal with Anhui Conch and will issue a further statement on or before 30 June. Neither company has commented on the events surrounding the fall in share prices.