(Yicai Global) May 26 -- Hong Kong real estate titan The Wharf has sold its shares in US tech titans Amazon and Facebook for USD944 million since the second half of last year, the firm announced yesterday. Its stock price rose over 3 percent this morning on the news.

The Wharf has sold 223,452 Amazon shares for USD1,975 on average and USD441 million in total since August, making up around 0.04 percent of Amazon's total shares, and 2.57 million Facebook shares for USD195 per share on average and USD503 million in total, accounting for about 0.09 percent of Facebook's total shares, the firm announced late yesterday.

The company gained around USD199 million in investment surplus by selling its Amazon shares and USD50 million by selling its Facebook stock, it said. Its shares [HKG:0004] opened higher than its close yesterday on the news and were up 3.85 percent to close at HKD13.50 (USD1.74) at noon, while the Hang Seng Index climbed 1.82 percent in the same period.

These Amazon and Facebook holdings are part of its long-term investment portfolio, the firm said. The stock market trend over the past year has provided a proper opportunity for the firm to benefit from this investment, so it opted to sell the shares, its Board of Directors noted. The announcement omitted to mention its remaining holdings in the two companies after the sale.

The stock prices of Amazon and other tech giants have grown significantly over the past years thanks to a sustained bull run in the US stock market. Amazon’s shares [NASDAQ:AMZN] surged 23 percent last year and continued to soar after the Covid-19 pandemic this year, closing up 32 percent at USD2,436.88 yesterday.

Facebook’s stock [NASDAQ:FB] jumped 56 percent last year and has swelled 14 percent this year. It closed slightly down at USD2,436.88 yesterday.

Editor: Ben Armour