Massage therapist makes a fortune on stocks

Liu Junling, a blind massage therapist, made enough money to start his own business by investing in one blue-chip company before the stock market crash.

In a remarkable story that has astonished traders and fund managers, Liu made 130,000 yuan ($20,900) in nine months after investing 720,000 yuan in Bank of Communications Ltd shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

At first, he invested 270,000 yuan of his savings in the stock when it was trading at just 4.5 yuan back in October last year.

As his shares started to rise, he borrowed another 450,000 yuan on the strength of his investment before selling his stock holdings at 8.3 yuan a share on June 5.

"I always had a dream to open my own massage parlor in my hometown in Wuhu, Anhui province, and now I can do that," said Liu, who is planning to quit his job as a massage therapist in Beijing.

Before Liu decided to invest in the market, one of his customers, He Junkai, a manager at Guoyuan Securities Co Ltd, told him investing in bank stocks would be less risky.

This fitted into his investment strategy as he was keen to buy shares in Bank of Communications because he thought it was an omen after listening to a radio news program.

"I was listening to the radio and I heard about the country's Belt and Road Initiative. This will focus on infrastructure in Asia, especially related to transportation construction."

Since the literal meaning of Bank of Communications' Chinese name is "bank of transportation", Liu decided it was a lucky coincidence and invested in the company.

"I also heard on the news that major shareholders had increased their holdings of the stock," he said.

Different from other investors who relied on stock K lines on computer screens, Liu got information from a special voice software on his smartphone. News on the radio also helped him know the changes in the market.

Last year, Liu was voted one of the best employees at the Mang Bing Massage parlor.

"I love my job and I only spend my spare time checking on my stocks," he said. "My investment principles are not to chase the rise, not to sell at the fall and not to buy until the stock price is right."