(Yicai Global) Nov. 19 -- HSBC has upped its stake in Chinese industrial vehicle maker Anhui Heli by 1.9 million or 0.3 percent of total shares to 38.1 million shares, accounting for 5.1 percent stake.

The move reflects a trend of foreign capitals and Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors stepping up their investments in A-share listed players amid choppy market rebounds in the market.

The London-based commercial lender picked up the shares through on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, according to a statement.

HSBC's QFII undertakes equity changes based on its investment plan, and the possibility of change in equity interest over the next 12 months cannot be ruled out, the statement added.

The investment bank did not appear on the list of Anhui Heli's top 10 shareholders last year, however. A QFII fund under HSBC Group, consisting of HSBC, Guotai Junan Securities and China Construction Bank, was one of the firm's top 10 shareholders based on the first quarter report, with a 2.3 percent stake, which was unchanged as of the third quarter.

HSBC is now the second largest shareholder in the company the Anhui-based company by far with Anhui Forklift Group being the key shareholder.

It is not common to see QFII increase shares in A-share listed companies with China CYTS Tours Holding and Nanning Sugar Industry the exceptions. These stocks are mostly blue chips, and QFII has a relatively long history of ownership.

It is worth noting that the investment bank are optimizing their stakes in Chinese listed firms according to their investment guideline reports for the fourth quarter. HSBC recommends consumer staples, energy, finance and other sectors along with nine stocks. HSBC also put forward state-owned-enterprises and supply-side reform, innovation and manufacturing upgrading, and urbanization and consumption as key investment themes for the fourth quarter.

Anhui Heli specializes in manufacturing, which fits the fourth-quarter investment theme. In fact, various brokerages including Haitong Securities, Shenwan Hongyuan Securities and Zhongtai Securities are bullish on the machinery manufacturing sector and have strengthened recommendations since October.

Net profits attributable to the parent owner increased 29 percent to CNY445 million (USD64.1 million) over the first nine months, while operating revenues grew 17.5 percent to CNY7.4 billion (USD1 billion) during the same period. Basic earnings per share were CNY0.6 in the period, which is 27.66 percent higher over the year-ago period.