**Cleared Out 21 Tons of Silver Bars Two Months Ago, Made Nearly 250 Million Yuan, Guangzhou Property Company Now "Buys the Dip": Purchasing 2.5 Tons of Silver!**

Fook Life Services (3686.HK) is a small property management company with a managed area of nearly 10.19 million square meters. In the past two months, it has frequently bought and sold precious metals.

On March 23, international precious metals experienced a “Black Monday.” While some investors panicked and exited due to sharp declines in metal prices, Fook Life Services, which previously made over 100 million yuan from “silver trading,” made a large-scale bottom-fishing move.

That evening, Fook Life Services announced its second investment in silver, stating that the company spent approximately HKD 43.2 million (about RMB 38 million) to purchase about 80,300 ounces (about 2.498 tons) of allocated silver bars, paid with proceeds from the sale of unallocated gold worth about RMB 27.3 million and internal resources of about RMB 10.7 million. The investment is expected to be completed by March 25.

“Ounce” refers to the unit of measurement in precious metal trading, approximately 31.10 grams per ounce. “Unallocated gold bars” are stored centrally by banks, recorded only on paper, and do not correspond to specific serial-numbered bars.

Compared to fixed deposits, which may be subject to currency devaluation, Fook Life Services believes that investing in precious metals shows sustained appreciation over the long term and can offer better returns during economic downturns. Under current economic conditions, it can serve as a feasible store of value and risk diversification tool, while also reducing exchange rate and interest rate risks associated with fixed deposits. This aligns with the company’s financial management goals to safeguard resources for future development.

On the same day (March 23), Fook Life Services’ spot gold price dropped over 8% intraday, briefly falling below USD 4,100 per ounce; spot silver fell over 10%, approaching USD 60 per ounce. Both metals hit their lowest levels of the year, making bottom-fishing more attractive with higher “value-for-money” potential.

According to Fook Life Services’ announcement, its “silver trading journey” began in February 2020, generating profits through “buy low, sell high.” The company continuously purchased unallocated silver bars from Standard Chartered Bank over several days, accumulating a position of 800,000 ounces (about 24.88 tons) at a total cost of approximately RMB 102.5 million. In 2022, it sold 500,000 ounces (about 15.55 tons), realizing about RMB 79 million in profit, marking its first high-level gain. In 2024, it again spent HKD 77.9 million to buy 380,000 ounces (about 11.82 tons), restoring its holdings to 680,000 ounces (about 21.15 tons).

In January 2026, the company seized the opportunity when silver prices hit a recent high, liquidating all 680,000 ounces (about 21.15 tons) of unallocated silver bars for approximately RMB 388 million, with total gains of about RMB 247 million. Fook Life Services announced that, considering the current market trend of unallocated silver bars, especially since prices had reached their highest in recent years, it was an appropriate time to realize part of its investments. The proceeds will be used as general operating funds.

This investment has been quite profitable for Fook Life Services. Public information shows that it is a listed property management company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its main businesses include property management and retail. As of mid-2025, it managed about 10.18 million square meters, smaller than leading property companies like Country Garden Services (about 1.063 billion square meters) and Poly Property (about 834 million square meters), classifying it as a “small” property company. Recently, affected by the real estate market, its performance has come under pressure, with annual net profits below RMB 100 million since 2021.

The mid-2025 interim report shows that in the first half of 2025, Fook Life Services’ revenue was RMB 161 million, down 11.56% year-over-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 75 million, up 41.57%. The profit from the silver liquidation in January, which exceeded three times its half-year net profit, sparked public speculation and doubts about whether the company’s main business is “property management” or “asset management.”

Public information indicates that the company’s actual controller, chairman, and general manager is Meng Lihong, who is the wife of Peng Lingji, founder of Fook Group and a major figure in real estate. In the early 1990s, Peng Lingji led Fook Group to pioneer China’s large-scale development model, transforming an abandoned marshland into “China’s First Village,” now known as Fook New Village.

At that time, some investors exclaimed: “The boss’s wife is awesome!” The company’s boss’s wife, who is also the actual controller, chairman, and general manager, is Meng Lihong.

Bai Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, believes that Fook Life Services’ “silver trading” success is essentially an extreme case within the “small and medium-sized property companies’ cash flow—investment” framework, with luck playing a larger role than the model itself. He suggests that for most property companies managing less than 100 million square meters and lacking diversified cash pools, rather than trying to replicate the “silver trading myth,” it’s better to carefully calculate the duration of idle funds and establish solid risk isolation mechanisms, earning certainty through avenues like REITs, community facilities, and green bonds—“medium-low volatility + synergy with core business.”

After liquidating its silver holdings, Fook Life Services shifted funds into gold investments and, between February and March 2026, made multiple purchases of allocated silver bars, starting a new round of precious metal investments.

On March 2, Fook Life Services announced the sale of a total of 1,500 ounces of unallocated gold bars at the end of February and early March.

According to the announcement, the company previously purchased 2,730 ounces of unallocated gold bars, with a total book value of about RMB 98.2 million before the first sale.

The sales were conducted in three tranches.

The first sale was on February 23, 2026, when the company instructed the bank to sell 500 ounces of unallocated gold bars for about HKD 20.3 million, with the transaction matched the same day. By February 25, 2026, the sale was completed, and the company received all proceeds.

The second sale was on February 27, 2026, with an instruction to sell an additional 300 ounces for about HKD 12.2 million, matched the same day. It is expected to settle by March 3, 2026.

The third sale was on March 2, 2026, with an instruction to sell another 700 ounces for about HKD 29 million, matched the same day. Settlement is expected by March 4, 2026.

In total, these sales realized HKD 61.5 million.

Following the sales, Fook Life Services holds a total of 1,230 ounces of unallocated gold bars, about 800 ounces of allocated gold, and approximately 150,000 ounces of allocated silver bars.

The company stated that its policy prioritizes maintaining sufficient liquidity for operations and emergencies, managing operational cash surpluses centrally. Some funds are reserved for operational buffers and dividend payments. Remaining cash after operational and dividend payments is managed strategically, focusing on value preservation and financial risk mitigation, including investments in assets considered suitable for long-term storage, such as previous silver bars and recent strategic investments in gold and silver. All investment and deployment decisions are made within a strict, prudent framework emphasizing safety, liquidity, and capital preservation to ensure the company’s resources for future growth.

As of March 24, the secondary market saw Fook Life Services’ stock surge in late trading, closing at HKD 0.75, with a latest market capitalization of HKD 760 million.

(Disclaimer: The content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors operate at their own risk.)

Editor | Cheng Peng, Du Hengfeng

Proofreader | Chen Kemin

Daily Economic News compiled from the Daily Economic News app (Reporter: Chen Ronghao), Cailian Press, 21st Century Business Herald, Yicai, and public information.