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Bocom jumps 5.5 pct on broker upgrade

Mon Jun 29, 2009 10:49pm EDT

Stocks

   

HONG KONG, June 30 (Reuters) - Shares in Bank of Communications (Bocom) (3328.HK), the country's fifth-largest lender, jumped 5.5 percent following a broker upgrade on Tuesday.

By 0241 GMT, the stock had risen 4.8 percent to HK$8.8, pulling back slightly from an earlier high of HK$8.86 after Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the stock to buy from underperform, saying it had underperformed peers in 2008 and so far this year.

"As the focus shifts to earnings growth, we believe it (Bocom) could enjoy strong re-rating given its emerging leadership in the credit card market, the potential NIM expansion from the shortening of deposit maturity, and the reduced credit cost expectations," said analysts with the brokerage in a note to investors.

Merrill Lynch set a target price of HK$9.52 for the stock.

(Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Ken Wills)



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