Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings (HKG: 1563) shares are up 38% on the day. We have a certain problem here in that there is absolutely no news – in English – which tells us why this has happened. We are, as with so many smaller China Mainland stocks, therefore somewhat in the dark. We do know that something important has happened – just look at that share price. We also have another measure, which is that trading volume is up at 5x and more the usual levels. Average trading volume is of the order of 40 million, Friday’s is 220 million. So, yes, something is going on. But what is it?

As to what’s done at Alliance Education: “Alliance International Education Leasing Holdings Ltd, formerly International Alliance Financial Leasing Co Ltd, is an investment holding company based in mainland China, mainly engaged in finance leasing, advisory services and private higher education. The Company has two operating segments. The Finance Leasing segment mainly provides finance leasing and advisory services to customers in industries including healthcare, transportation and public infrastructure, where finance leasing services include sale-leaseback and direct finance leasing. The Private Higher Education segment provides undergraduate and specialist diploma courses as approved by the Ministry of Education of China.” That’s perhaps an odd combination of business lines but then entrepreneurs in a fast growing economy like China’s might well do that – spot an opportunity and go for it, regardless of conglomerate logic.

Alliance International chart

Alliance International Education share price from Google Finance

The real point we want to make here is that we, working in the English language, are at a distinct disadvantage if we wish to trade in China Mainland stocks. We have the language barrier and also the Great Firewall to deal with. Yes, clearly something is going on here. But we don’t know what. Not only didn’t we know anything before it happened, we don’t even know what it was now that it has happened. We can see the price, see that something has, but what is it? In English and out here we don’t know.

Which is that difficulty with trading China Mainland stocks out here. The best we’re likely to be able to do is momentum trades and they’re terribly dangerous when you know that you’re on the last part of the information loop. It’s probably already stopped happening by the time we do hear about it.

The near entire lack of information about what’s going on means that as retail, private, investors we might want to think about getting involved in China Mainland stocks at all.