Kung Hei Fat Choi

Red lanterns, bright decorations, fireworks and dragon dances…What a festive atmosphere prevailed in Chinese streets last week! People were busy celebrating the Spring Festival which marked the beginning of the Year of The Pig. “Kung Hei Fat Choi”, the traditional Chinese greeting meaning “Best wishes for a prosperous New Year” seemed particularly in order as the pig, the last of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac calendar, is often associated with wealth and abundance.

China stock markets were closed all week and it is therefore too early to know whether the Chinese stock exchange will indeed start the Lunar New Year on a prosperous note. Nevertheless, according to the Western calendar, the Chinese equity market enjoyed a good beginning of the year with stocks staging a solid rebound. Indeed, after suffering a 25% decline in 2018, the CSI Index 300 has gained up to 7.9% since the 1st of January.  

For Ageas, the Spring Festival also started well as on 1 February the Brussels Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Group in the Mandatory Convertible Securities (MCS) case, dismissing all claims initiated by the former MCS holders.

Furthermore, Ageas’ share was also off to a good start to the Year of the Pig. In a busy trading week marked by numerous results publications, Ageas’ share ended the week at EUR 41.1, up 0.1%, outperforming both the Euro Stoxx 50 (-1.1%) and the Stoxx Insurance 600 (-0.6%).