Bank of East Asia Ltd, Hong Kong’s fifth-ranked lender, won support from its chairman and, according to media reports, Hong Kong’s richest man, who both bought shares after rumours about its financial stability had knocked its stock down more than 11 percent.

“Somebody is attacking BEA. I will buy Bank of East Asia shares tomorrow. People are doing this because they want to pummel the stock,” David Li, BEA chairman and chief executive, said in televised comments made late on Wednesday.

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing bought BEA shares on Wednesday to show his confidence in the bank’s future, a source close to the bank was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong Economic Times.

The South China Morning Post, citing an unnamed senior banking source, said the billionaire chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings had “bought the shares heavily”.

BEA stock was quoted up 3.4 percent in early Thursday trade after closing down 6.9 percent on Wednesday.

Nobody at BEA was immediately available to comment on Thursday, but a half-page advertisement published by the bank in the Post sought to reassure its customers, noting the bank had the full support of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, whose chief has called the rumours “unfounded”.

“The business of the bank remains normal and all BEA branches continue to operate as usual,” the advertisement said.

BEA, which last week revised down already-reported first-half earnings by almost 12 percent after unearthing losses hidden by one of its traders, was hit on Wednesday as rumours spread about liquidity problems, prompting thousands of BEA customers to withdraw cash at its branches.

Central bank and government officials scrambled to reassure the affluent city of 7 million that the territory’s banking system, one of the world’s most open, remained sound.

BEA, in which Spain’s Criteria Caixacorp owns a stake of more than 9 percent, said the police were investigating the rumours.

Source -Reuters