|
China.Hawaii Chamber of Commerce ® "Hawaii-China Guan Xi, We Get Things Done™" - Trade Advocacy Organization
Biz
Opportunities:
China
Hong
Kong China
Leaders
Business
Survey by
|
|
|
Hong Kong, China & Hawaii Biz*
Do you know our dues paying members attend events sponsored by our collaboration partners worldwide at their membership rates - go to our event page to find out more! After attended a China/Hong Kong Business/Trade Seminar in Hawaii...still unsure what to do next, contact us, our Officers, Directors and Founding Members are actively engaged in China/Hong Kong/Asia trade - we can help!
Are you ready to export your product or
service? You will find out in 3 minutes with resources to help you -
enter
to give it a try
May 10 - 11, 2008
Investment guru Jim Rogers said yesterday the world has not yet seen the worst of the credit crisis, while Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Joseph Yam Chi-kwong warned the threat to financial stability remains. "I doubt that we're halfway through the financial crisis," Rogers said. "This sort of bubble doesn't just clear in a year or two. "We certainly haven't hit the bottom as far as I'm concerned." Yam said he "hopes" that improvements in the credit markets will continue, but he warned there were still plenty of risks, and only time would tell. There was no lack of risks in other areas, he added, noting that the securities market in developed economies remained "pretty sick." Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund expects further turbulence in financial markets. Global losses caused by the US subprime crisis will balloon to US$1 trillion (HK$7.8 trillion) within two years, said the IMF's Hong Kong representative, Olaf Unteroberdoerster. "Asia is not immune to real and financial spillovers," he said. The US recession may last 12 to 18 months, said Nouriel Roubini, professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business and a former economic advisor to the White House. "The worst is ahead of us rather than behind us," Roubini said, adding that Hong Kong would also be hit because of the peg to the US dollar. Despite airline and power businesses facing a tough market environment amid high oil and coal prices, CITIC Pacific (0267) chairman Larry Yung Chi- kin is confident a HK$10 billion recurring profit target can be met this year.
The first land auction of the fiscal year – a small site in Pak Sha Wan in Sai Kung – was sold for HK$16.5 million at a public auction held by the Lands Department on Friday afternoon. The government said it had accepted a minimum bid of HK$10 million. The site was sold for a HK$165 billion – 65 per cent higher than the base price – at an average price of HK$13,350 per square foot. Market expectations had been between HK$12 million and HK$20 million. The auction started on Friday afternoon at 3pm. It attracted a number of bidders, including an owner of the property next door to the auction site, who is surnamed Lee. Other bidders included Nan Fung Group, Henderson Land Development (SEHK: 0012) and some other small property developers. The 2,060-square-foot property will be the site of a low-rise private residential development with a maximum gross floor area of 1,236 square feet. Local newspapers reported the house next to the auction site had been demolished. This sparked speculation in Sai Kung over whether the new owner might trigger a sale to integrate the two adjoining sites into one and then re-develop the enlarged site into a bigger house. Charles Chan Chiu-kwok, an executive director at Savills Valuation and Professional Services, said the auction site could be developed into a two-storey house with a total gross floor area of 1,200 sq ft. In the dramatic culmination in the trial of one of Hong Kong’s most well-known jewellery tycoons – Tse Sui-luen – the 70-year-old and his 38-year-old son were sentenced to jail on Friday in the District Court. Tse Sui-luen received a three-and-a-half year jail sentence, while son Tommy Tse Tat-fung was given a five-year sentence. The prison sentences are for paying illegal rebates to travel agencies, who brought customers to the company’s showrooms, and theft charges. The 70-year-old is the founder of the listed jewellery company that bears his name –Tse Sui Luen – which is a leading jewellery chain. Tse, Tse Tat-fung, and four other senior managers of the company all appeared in court on Friday, local media reported. They were found guilty on April 24 on eight charges. The charges also included falsifying accounts, offering illegal advantages and defrauding the Inland Revenue Department. The other senior mangers included financial director Chung Yuen-ling, 45, deputy chairman and chief executive Peter Gerardus van Weerdenburg, 47, and business promotions general manager, Wong Ting-fong, 59. They all also received jail sentences, ranging from three years and nine months to four years and three months. District Court Judge Kevin Browne said the minimum sentence for people guilty of paying illegal rebates was usually four years. He said the offence was “very serious” because Tse Sui-luen – as the founder – had approved of staff paying illegal rebates to travel agencies. But Judge Browne acknowledged there were 70 mitigation letters for Tse Sui-luen and that he had heart disease and suffered from depression, and he was therefore lenient with him. In regard to Tommy Tse, Judge Browne said he had also been lenient as Tse Tat-fung had faced huge financial difficulties when he took over the company. Overseas firms to get HKEx nod 'in weeks' - Foreign companies will soon be allowed to list - In its latest bid to enhance its international profile, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (SEHK: 0388, announcements, news) (HKEx) will allow foreign firms to begin listing in the city via depositary receipts within weeks. HKEx chairman Ronald Arculli said companies from the emerging markets of Russia, Vietnam, India, Israel, Kazakhstan and the Middle East were likely to be most interested. "We have the groundwork ready but just need to press the button," he said in an interview yesterday. Once the scheme was announced "by the end of this month", investment banks would be able to apply on behalf of businesses to list via Hong Kong depositary receipts (HDRs). "The depositary receipt scheme will diversify the source of listed companies in Hong Kong and strengthen our position as an international financial centre," Mr Arculli said. As more mainland firms return to the domestic market to seek funding, HKEx has had to turn overseas to promote itself as a venue for capital-raising activities. HDRs will work in much the same way as American depositary receipts, allowing overseas companies to appoint a custodian to hold shares being traded offshore. The scheme will make it easier and cheaper for foreign firms to list in Hong Kong. Investors will be able to trade the HDRs like the shares of other listed companies. Noting that some overseas regulatory agencies "discourage, or even prohibit" overseas listings, Mr Arculli said they "accept the idea for these companies to be traded in the overseas exchange in the form of depositary receipts". Former Hong Kong Stockbrokers Association chairman Tony Espina said: "Russian firms are likely to take the lead to issue HDRs." Investment bankers said aluminium giant Rusal, owned by Russia's richest man Oleg Deripaska, could be among the first batch of companies to use the HDR scheme. Mr Espina is arranging for several Kazakhstan firms to list here. Besides businesses from emerging markets, Mr Arculli said he also expected "mature companies that want more Asia exposure" to consider HDRs.
Ping An Insurance (2318) will halt its hundred-billion yuan fundraising plan in the domestic market for at least six months amid speculation that the industry watchdog will impose strict rules this weekend on refinancing. May 9, 2008
The Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating tutorial center Popular Modern Education and top tutor K Oten over alleged buying of Hong Kong Certificate of Education examination papers. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority said yesterday the case has been "forwarded to the law enforcement agency." The center and the tutor were accused of texting messages on the HKCEE English-language examination during a 45-minute break. The messages allegedly contained an "immediate analysis" helpful to answering questions. Oten, 32, yesterday denied cheating and bribing invigilators to acquire the papers, saying it is a "deliberate defamation." The tutorial center also denied providing the service to students. It said it will look into the matter and that it has terminated Oten's services. The matter came to light when some students claimed the tutor had unlawfully obtained the papers and used them for commercial gain. Sources in the industry said Oten has a "long-standing history" of alleged misconduct. "The most ridiculous demand from him was that he requested to be photographed half-naked in an advertisement promoting himself," sources close to Oten's former employer said. One of Oten's students showed some of his teaching materials containing such words as a four-letter word. "It baffles many teachers that he graduated as an English major," one of the sources said. Standard Chartered (2888) announced yesterday it is writing down US$253 million (HK$1.97 billion) on credit- related assets, and chairman Mervyn Davies warned the subprime turmoil is not yet over. Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels (0045), which owns the Peninsula chain of luxury hotels, yesterday reported that during the first quarter, the hotel sector in the United States was affected by the economic slowdown, whereas its Asian properties recorded steady growth.
Six listing hopefuls are planning to raise about HK$10.6 billion in Hong Kong next month. Xtep International Holdings, Pou Sheng International (Holdings) and Chongqing Machinery and Electronics Holding are seeking to list in early June. Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings and A8 Digital Music are expected to start trading in mid June. Hong Kong contractor SFK Construction Holdings - which shelved its initial public offering in January because of weak market sentiment - is looking to list before the end of June to raise about HK$936 million. Shandong Chenming is the largest among the six IPOs, pitching for about HK$3.9 billion. Mainland retailer Pou Sheng's HK$3.12 billion IPO is the second largest. The firm is looking to start trading on June 6. Its roadshow is expected to begin next Friday, with its retail book opened from May 26 to 29. Footwear and apparel maker Xtep hopes to raise about HK$1.56 billion. "Xtep will start its pre-marketing activities today, with its roadshow tentatively set for May 16," a source said. Chinese state-run machine tool maker Chongqing Machinery and wireless value-added service provider A8 are looking for at least US$100 million (HK$780 million) and HK$301 million, respectively. The Walt Disney Co reported yesterday that Hong Kong Disneyland grew its attendance by a double-digit percentage in the first three months of the year, but the Tourism Commission said it is concerned with the park's performance and operation. Meanwhile, a source said the May 16 listing of E-Land Fashion China Holdings is likely to go ahead despite an allegation of financial problems facing its parent ELand World. Yesterday, 11 South Korean workers fired by ELand World ended four days of protest action in Hong Kong and returned home. "The [E-Land Fashion China] international book is already two to three times oversubscribed," the source said. "We did not see any institutional investors withdrawing their applications." Asia Cement (China) Holdings, which will list on May 20, received about HK$65 million worth of margin orders yesterday. A drastic drop in US orders, yuan appreciation, and an anticipated slowdown in souvenir demand following the Beijing Olympics may result in the closure of about 10,000 Hong Kong-owned factories in the Pearl River Delta, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries warns.
Software giant Microsoft yesterday said it will invest 280 million U.S. dollars to build a research and development center in Beijing and significantly expand its research team in the country. The new R&D campus, set to accommodate 5,000 employees, will become Microsoft's largest research center outside the United States when it is completed in 2010, said Zhang Yaqin, the company's China chairman. "Through investments such as this, we are building on our capabilities as one of Microsoft's key global R&D centers," said Zhang. He said the company will hire 1,000 new research employees in China in the next fiscal year, which starts in July. Microsoft currently has 3,000 research staff in the country, with 1,500 full-time employees and another 1,500 working on a project basis, Dow Jones has reported. The company has said it will double the number of its full-time research employees in China to 3,000 in the next three years. Last year, Microsoft invested about 280 million dollars in its R&D activities in the country, said Zhang Hongjiang, chief technology officer of Microsoft's China R&D Group. The company also recruited 1,000 new employees to its China R&D Group last year, making it Microsoft's largest research team outside the US. About 80 percent of the company's 3,000 research staff in the country develop products for worldwide users and only 20 percent of them work specifically for demand from emerging markets such as China, Zhang said. "But I expect this percentage to grow in the future," he said. Microsoft started its first R&D center in China as early as 1995. The company now has research facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. These investments are said to have helped Microsoft win support from the Chinese government and boosted sales in the Chinese market. PC shipments in China reached 36.84 million units last year, research firm IDC has said. It predicted the number to grow at an average rate of 17.2 percent until 2011, when shipments will hit 64.94 million units. The country also has the world's largest number of Internet and mobile phone users, offering what is believed to be huge opportunities for IT companies. Microsoft does not disclose its revenue from the Chinese market. But Fortune Magazine estimated in a story last year that the software giant's revenue from China would exceed 700 million dollars last year, about 1.5 percent of Microsoft's global sales. China is to offer a pair of giant pandas to Japan for joint research. Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao made the announcement Tuesday at a dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
Speculation that Beijing will rein in yuan appreciation to tame inflation preceded the domestic currency's biggest one-day drop against the US dollar in the offshore market for four years yesterday. One-year yuan non-deliverable forwards plummeted as low as 6.5250 against the greenback on the offshore market, before rising to close at 6.5080 in Shanghai - a decline of 1.41 percentage points from Tuesday's close. The spot price yesterday closed at 6.9855 against the greenback. "Some senior finance officials worried by the high inflation believe it is due to the fast rise of the domestic currency. They don't want to see the situation worsening," a mainland source close to the authority told The Standard yesterday. News of increasing transaction costs for HKD/CNY conversions over the weekend and a Bank of China (3988) economic report suggesting a one-off yuan depreciation support the source's assessment. "These show Beijing is concerned and has no wish for fast yuan appreciation," said one currency dealer. In a report published on Tuesday, Bank of China economist Tan Yaling expressed concern that the yuan has appreciated more than China can afford. "It's not favorable to China's economic development. The government might consider to depreciate the yuan in a one-off act so as to offset appreciation expectations," she said. Since July 2005 the yuan has appreciated by about 18 percent, and measures targeted at dampening inflation have in fact had the opposite effect. "Some foreign firms have used expectations to push up the currency, from a forecast of 10 percent to a 15 percent rise, that's totally unrealistic," Tan wrote. However, a BOC spokesman said this suggestion was solely her personal view. Citigroup economist Joe Lo concurred with Tan, saying the yuan rose too fast in appreciating 4.2 percent during the past quarter. He suggested its surge will decelerate. "We predict the yuan will rise 8.5 percent in 2008, which means there remains only 3 to 4 percent upside for the rest of the year." Workers in Hunan province have sued their local government for denying them information about an official probe, the first such case after landmark rules on disclosure came into effect last week. China's mad dash for Olympics tickets in Beijing ended yesterday with the final tranche earmarked for domestic customers sold out a month ahead of schedule, organizers said. After tens of millions went online and queued at banks for the last 1.38 million tickets, all seats at venues in the capital and for equestrian events in Hong Kong had been snapped up, the organizing committee said. Only tickets for football matches at Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao were still available in the sales period ending on June 9. Beijing had allocated around 75 percent of the seven million tickets in total to its vast domestic audience, with the rest made available overseas through each country's national Olympic committee. Singapore Airlines, meanwhile, says it will fly the A380 aircraft - the world's largest passenger plane - to Beijing in early August to meet demand before the Olympic Games. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC (SEHK: 0135)), the nation's largest oil and gas producer, has reached a preliminary agreement with Nippon Oil to buy a 49 per cent stake in one of the Japanese firm's refineries. The accord, signed during President Hu Jintao's state visit to Japan, will see CNPC secure additional fuel supplies without having to build a refinery, while helping Nippon Oil, Japan's largest refiner, slow a fall in utilisation and boost profits. CNPC, the parent of PetroChina (SEHK: 0857, announcements, news) , has agreed with Nippon Oil to set up a joint venture to own and operate the Japanese firm's 37-year-old refinery in Osaka with 115,000 barrels a day of processing capacity, or 10 per cent of Nippon Oil's capacity, Xinhua reported. Nippon Oil will operate the plant while CNPC will sell its output. The plant would have been decommissioned by March next year had the deal not been reached, Xinhua said. The investment amount has not been agreed on. Despite shrinking about 10 per cent since 2000, Japan's oil-refining sector still had about 16 per cent excess capacity, a CLSA report said. "It is a great way for CNPC to use excess capacity in Japan without having to invest in plant expansion in China," UOB Kay Hian analyst Larry Grace said. "It is clear that Japan's demand is dwindling while China is desperate to grow its capacity." China's refining capacity was expected to surge 40 per cent by 2012, CLSA said. A PetroChina official on Tuesday unveiled a plan to more than double its capacity by 2020. In contrast, Japanese refiners have been shutting capacity. Nippon Oil last month said it planned to convert a refinery into an oil import terminal, which would cut national overcapacity by 8 per cent. It is also in merger talks with refiner and fuel distributor Kyushu Oil as part of an industrywide rationalisation. The latest pact will further cement ties between CNPC and Nippon Oil, which have had a crude processing deal since 2004. The volume from that relationship has grown from 20,000 barrels a day to 50,000. Yesterday, both parties agreed to lift that volume to 70,000 barrels. Analysts said the accord would help China and Japan's negotiations on their border dispute on the East China Sea, which is attracting interest from energy explorers. "The pact is a good gesture for China and Japan to work towards resolving their dispute ... they may not like each other, but they surely need each other," Mr Grace said. May 8, 2008
Many of us have directly experienced the convenience of using smart ID cards and fingerprints to cross Hong Kong border control points. At the University of Hong Kong, a group of researchers has been working on applying similar ideas to facilitate the cross-border logistics for the tens of thousands of containers carrying import and export goods for companies located in the Pearl River Delta region. Hutchison Telecommunications International (SEHK: 2332) said on Tuesday its profit attributable to equity shareholders amounted to HK$310 million (US$39.8 million) for the first quarter of 2008, compared with a loss of HK$236 million in the year-earlier period. The international mobile and fixed-line telecommunications provider, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa (SEHK: 0013), said the profit was driven primarily by performance of its operations in Israel and continuing strength of the New Israeli shekel to the Hong Kong dollar. Its global customer base, excluding Ghana and Vietnam, increased 6.2 per cent during the quarter to more than 10 million, while t3G customers totalled 1.9 million as of the end of the quarter, the company said. Shares of Hutchison Telecom had gained 0.18 per cent to HK$11.02 by midday on Tuesday. Israel’s second-largest cell phone operator Partner Communications, which is 52.2 per cent owned by Hutchison Telecommunications, had reported on Monday a 24 per cent rise in first-quarter net income.
The case against high-profile businesswoman Lily Chiang Lai-lei was adjourned on Tuesday to early next month – after the defence requested more time to prepare for a judicial review. This follows an earlier refusal by Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung not to let Chiang’s case go to trial at the High Court with a jury. Chiang, 46, appeared in the Eastern Court on Tuesday. Her husband and family members were also in the court room to support her, local media reported. Chiang’s defence barrister, Hectar Pun Hei, had sought an adjournment after the secretary for justice rejected their call for the case to be transferred to the High Court. Mr Pun told the court a judicial review would be sought on these grounds. They also needed about six to eight weeks to prepare related documents, he explained. Principal-Magistrate Garry Tallentire accepted their request to allow time to file documents and then adjourned the case. He said he would look into whether the case needs to be transferred to the district court, local media reported. Chiang would be allowed bail set at HK$1 million, the court heard on Tuesday. The case has attracted considerable interest in the territory. Lily Chiang was the first woman to chair the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in its 147-year history. She had taken a leave of absence from the post in January after the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) laid charges against her and a former employee – Shah Tahir Hussain, aged 45. They are accused of one count of conspiracy to defraud and two of making false statements over the granting of share options to employees of Pacific Challenge Holdings, a listed brokerage company which Chiang used to run. Chiang and Pau were charged with conspiring to defraud the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to permit the listing of the shares in Eco-Tek. This was a company Chiang had founded, in 2001. They also charged with authorising the issue of a prospectus for Eco-Tek, containing a false statement, in November 2001. Mr Pun had said it was improper for the ICAC to place additional charges without interviewing Chiang about the new allegations. He had requested the case be heard in the High Court with a jury. Hong Kong’s Immigration Department refused entry to 39,000 visitors last year, a document submitted by the Immigration Department to the Legislative Council revealed on Tuesday.
Thousands rally at Hu's landmark Japan visit - Thousands of people rallied in Tokyo on Tuesday as Chinese President Hu Jintao paid a rare visit, denouncing Beijing's crackdown in Tibet and demanding Japan exert pressure on him. Police were deployed in force to protect Mr Hu, who is paying his first foreign visit since major demonstrations against Chinese rule broke out in Tibet in March, casting a shadow over the Beijing Olympics. Riot police formed a human chain to seal off central Tokyo’s sprawling Hibiya Park, where at least 300 demonstrators chanted, “Arrest the murderer Hu!” and “Hu, get out!” Police shoved back some 10 demonstrators who tried to push through a barricade and threw paper Tibetan flags at an official-looking car entering the park, where Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda were to have dinner. Adding to the chaos, throngs of young people were also in the park to listen to a loud hard-rock concert being held on a sunny public holiday. Elsewhere in Tokyo, some 4,200 people, including Tibetans and members of China’s Uighur minority, took to the streets, according to organisers. They held signs that read, “Hu Jintao, respect the Olympic spirit” and “Don’t kill our friends.” “I hope that the Japanese, who have a tradition of justice and share with us both physical similarities and Buddhist culture, would say to the Chinese: ‘Don’t do what’s wrong,’” Tibetan refugee Kalden Obara told the rally. China, under fire over its clampdown in Tibet, this week reopened talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, the Himalayan region’s exiled spiritual leader. “But I don’t want the Chinese government to pretend to hold talks only for the sake of the Beijing Olympics’ success,” Mr Obara said to a storm of applause. Mr Hu’s visit, long in the planning, is the first by a Chinese president to Japan in 10 years as Asia’s two largest economies try to improve ties marred by wartime memories. Opposition lawmaker Yukio Edano called on Mr Fukuda, known for his conciliatory views towards China, to raise the Tibet issue forcefully with Mr Hu. “If Prime Minister Fukuda’s meeting with President Hu Jintao is a mere formality, that means that we are accomplices in China’s crimes in Tibet,” Mr Edano said.
China faces contract jobs defections - Lucrative, high volume manufacturing looks to cheaper Southeast Asia - Already beset by rising labour costs and other problems, China now faces a growing challenge from Southeast Asia for lucrative, high-volume contract electronics manufacturing jobs. Key Southeast Asian markets are projected to take a greater share of investments than China in contract electronics manufacturing over the next decade, according to research firms Fusion Consulting and iSuppli Corp. "Expect to see China losing share in volume electronics production to Southeast Asia, with significant investments by the large multinationals in favour of countries like Vietnam," said Reid Rasmussen, the head of information and communications technologies practice at Fusion. Upbeat forecasts from iSuppli put Southeast Asia's revenue from contract electronics manufacturing at US$25 billion, or 7 per cent of the global market, by 2011, up from US$16 billion in 2006. Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore are forecast to lead regional growth, closely followed by Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. However, China is predicted to remain the industry's biggest market by revenue, and is estimated to reach US$185 billion by 2011 from US$135 billion in 2006, when the country had a 50 per cent global market share. "We see a trend for large manufacturing companies and multinational corporations to adopt a `China plus one' strategy, which seeks more balance in their Asian manufacturing presence and to diversify risk by depending less on production in the mainland," Mr Ramussen said. For years, electronics contract manufacturers have flocked to mainland cities. Estimates by iSuppli found that about 52 per cent of worldwide contract-manufacturing revenues last year were generated by companies operating in China, including Foxconn International Holdings (SEHK: 2038), Flextronics International, Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics. May 7, 2008
Former privacy commissioner Stephen Lau Ka-man will head a four-member panel investigating the theft and loss of nine USB memory sticks containing information on 6,000 patients in public hospitals over the past year.
HSBC (0005) is in talks with Taiwan's Chinatrust Financial Holding on an alliance in the mainland, and may sell a stake in a mainland bank to Chinatrust, according to Taiwanese media reports.
A US court's decision to shoot down the patent infringement claims of a US battery maker has ended a lengthy case against Chinese battery manufacturers and marks the first victory of Chinese enterprises in trade disputes such as this. The China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform for Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday at the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican City, according to Monday's China Daily. The Beijing-based China Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 2000, arrived in Rome on Sunday, on a performing tour of three European cities, the first leg of which is the Vatican. Under the baton of artistic director Yu Long, the orchestra will perform for Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday with Mozart's Requiem as the start, and the well-known Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower as the grand finale, according to the paper. The orchestra will be accompanied by the Shanghai Opera House Chorus. "It is a people-to-people exchange event through culture and art," said an official from the Foreign Ministry. "Music is a universal language that can bring together people from different countries, and from different religious and cultural backgrounds. We hope the concert is a big success." Vatican Radio, which first reported the concert, said: "Music is confirming its role as a language and the most precious medium for dialogue among peoples and cultures." "I certainly feel very excited. It is a historic visit. Although we played in Rome in 2004, this will be the orchestra's first appearance at the Vatican," conductor Yu told China Daily. According to Yu, the concert was initiated by the Chinese side and the performance was planned relatively quickly. Yu, 44, the Shanghai-born and German-trained conductor, likened the orchestra's visit to "ping pong diplomacy," referring to the visit by American table tennis players to China in 1971, which opened the door of China-US exchanges. The philharmonic performed Mozart's Requiem at St Joseph's Church (Dongtang Cathedral) in Beijing two years ago. On April 8, the orchestra and Shanghai Opera House Chorus presented the same concert at St Ignatius Cathedral in Shanghai to an audience of more than 1,000, to mark the church's 400th anniversary. Yu said that helped pave the way for the coming performance at Vatican. "That opened up this kind of territory," Yu said, adding that such a concert provides a common vehicle for promoting dialogue and peace.
Senior figures in China's steel industry believe China will concede to Australian demands to include a freight premium in iron ore price negotiations that could see a price rise of up to 85 percent.
May 6, 2008
The first land auction of this fiscal year - a small site in Pak Sha Wan, Sai Kung - may fetch between HK$12 million and HK$20 million, surveyors said yesterday. The 2,060-square-foot property, which goes on the block Friday, will be the site of a low-rise private residential development with a maximum gross floor area of 1,236 square feet. Midland Surveyors said yesterday it expects the site to sell for HK$13 million. Based on that prediction, the accommodation value will reach HK$10,518 per square foot. "If it can sell for HK$13 million, then it will be the highest price for the last 10 years in Sai Kung," Midland Surveyors director Alvin Lam Tsz-pun told The Standard, noting that the Sai Kung area has had limited land supply. However, Lam said this plot size is small. "It is quite good for just a small house," Lam said, noting that HK$13 million would not be a high price. The site was triggered with a minimum bid of HK$10 million, which translates into an accommodation value of at least HK$8,093 psf.
The founder and former chairman of budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines remains hopeful about its prospects, saying the company has been in talks with potential buyers. Oasis, the world's first budget long-haul airline, went into provisional liquidation last month. About 700 staff lost their jobs and around 50,000 passengers were affected. "We're moving forward and we remain cautiously optimistic," the Reverend Raymond Lee Cho-min said yesterday. When asked if the firm was in talks with more than one investor, Mr Lee said: "[We] do it one by one." However, he declined to disclose details about the potential investors and the status of the negotiations. He also refused to comment on a media report about Hainan Airlines - the fourth largest airline on the mainland - possibly rescuing Oasis, saying he and his wife could not give any information at this stage. Even so, Mr Lee said he hoped the airline could find an investor before next month and announce some good news soon. A liquidation hearing is scheduled for June 11, when the provisional liquidator, accounting firm KPMG, is expected to assess the airline's financial situation. Three weeks ago, KPMG said the airline was in urgent talks with about five "really serious" investors over rescuing the insolvent carrier or buying its assets. But no confirmed deals have been announced.
China's securities watchdog has decided to allow mainland fund management companies to set up branches and representative offices in Hong Kong as of Sunday to promote cooperation in the area of asset management.
|
Skype - FREE
Voice Over IP
Hong Kong:
The Court of Appeal rejected the argument by lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung that the
government is obliged to introduce minimum wage legislation. Leung, who was also
ordered yesterday to pay court costs, argued that the chief executive in council
failed to consider the Trade Boards Ordinance to protect low-income workers.
Leung said the chief executive in council had indicated he would never utilize
the powers vested in him by the ordinance. The court said the ordinance was not
the only way of tackling low wages because the matter may also be addressed by
the government, the Legislative Council or employers. The court ruled the
government is not obliged to adjust low wages and any implementation of the
ordinance is at the discretion of the chief executive. It pointed out the
government has launched the Wage Protection Movement and should it fail,
legislation may be introduced. The court described the Trade Boards Ordinance as
obsolete, having been enacted in 1940. It claimed that some of the provisions,
such as the level of fines, were outdated. The court said some of the provisions
in the ordinance may breach the Bill of Rights since, in any prosecution for
failure to pay minimum wages, the accused has to prove his innocence. The
judicial review proceedings began following applications by Leung, a cleaner and
legislator Leung Yiu- chung. The latter two later withdrew their applications.
The court said Leung's arguments were now pitched on a much more general and
vague basis and the evidence provided went nowhere near the threshold to support
a case. 
Police stalled as defiant motorist
wins landmark traffic-light fight - In a landmark ruling, a magistrate yesterday
branded the Road Traffic Ordinance requiring the owner of a car to disclose the
name of the driver involved in a traffic violation as both draconian and a
breach of a persons right to silence. The ruling by David Thomas in Kowloon City
Magistrates Court is expected to add to the woes of traffic police trying to
crack down on red-light jumpers or speed hogs. Under the ordinance, car owners
are required to identify to police the person driving his or her car at the time
of an alleged offense. Failure to do so may result in a maximum fine of
HK$10,000 and six months in jail. The draconian nature of the power under
section 63 of the Road Traffic Ordinance, coupled with the lack of any evidence
or material whatsoever to justify the continued existence of that power, mean
that the undoubted violation of the defendants right to silence and his
privilege against self- incrimination must result in a trial that cannot, in any
sense whatsoever, be said to be fair, Thomas said in his written judgment.
Accordingly, I hold that the power in section 63 is Bill [of Rights Ordinance]
inconsistent. The section has ceased to have any effect. Accordingly, I find the
defendant not guilty of the offense in the summons and acquit him. The
Department of Justice said it is studying the ruling and will launch an appeal
as soon as possible. The ruling followed a hearing on car owner Richard Latker,
who was charged with failing to give information on demand under the traffic
ordinance. The 44-year-old journalist, who defended himself at the hearing on
February 21 and 22, insisted the sections under the ordinance were against the
Bill of Rights in that they deprived him of his rights to silence and against
incriminating himself. His car was caught by a police camera jumping a red light
in Sau Mau Ping Road on July 30 last year. Latker was asked to appear in court
after he failed to serve a notice issued on August 2 which required him to give
details of the driver. Barrister Osmond Lam warned yesterdays ruling would throw
in doubt the legal validity of the notice served on car owners unless the Appeal
Court overturns the judgment. It also means that similar police equipment to
identify people who have violated traffic offenses may be subject to the same
constitutional challenge, he said. Speaking to The Standard yesterday, Latker
said he is determined to protect his rights. I dont want my right to silence and
the right against self-incrimination to be forfeited. The right to silence is
the fundamental protection that I do not want to give up. If someone wants to
take it from me, they need to go to court and prove that they need to take it
from me to balance the public interest. 
E-Land Fashion China Holdings, a spin-off of South Korea's largest fashion
retailer, has scrapped its listing plan in Hong Kong due to a disagreement with
the sponsors, sources said yesterday. "The management has decided to pull the
transaction despite the deal being fully covered and allocable. Therefore the
IPO has been postponed until further notice," UBS told fund managers. United
States investment banks Citi and Goldman Sachs are also advising on the
offering. The management insisted on a selling price towards the mid-range,
while the sponsors preferred the lower end, one source said. "Most big tickets
were placed at the low end," said a fund manager who took part in the offering.
"Investors always ask for as much downside protection as possible in case the
market turns worse. "The Hong Kong market seems to have peaked recently." The
Hang Seng Index has dropped almost 800 points in the past four trading days.
Meanwhile, Xtep China, a mainland sports casual apparel maker and distributor,
yesterday began a two-week pre-marketing session for its US$400 million initial
public offering, despite the withdrawal of E-Land's offering, sources said.
According to a pre-initial public offering report from UBS, one of the sponsors
of Xtep's offering, the company could be valued at 20 to 28 times this year's
forecast earnings, the same valuation as its closest rival - Anta Sports. The
company reported about 200 million yuan (HK$223.42 million) in net profit last
year and hopes to report as much as a 50 per cent growth in annual earnings for
this year, given the positive impact of the Beijing Olympic Games, the sources
said. E-Land is just the latest victim of an offering slump since the beginning
of the year. Eleven companies withdrew their offerings in the first four months,
deals that could have raised more than HK$100 billion if they had succeeded.
E-Land hoped to raise as much as HK$2.8 billion through a listing on the main
board by selling 496 million shares with an offer price of HK$3.80 to HK$5.80
per share. In the past few days, a group of Korean workers have held protests in
Hong Kong against the company's listing, claiming E-Land unfairly fired 1,000
female workers. Tommy Ho, an analyst with UOB Kay Hian, said the poor sentiment
in the new offerings market, the worker protests in Hong Kong and investors'
unfamiliarity with the E-Land brand contributed to a poor response from retail
investors. Another analyst who declined to be named said the poor sentiment in
the new offering market was believed to be the reason E-Land suspended its share
sale. Fashion jewellery retailer Artini China raised HK$621 million after
pricing its shares at HK$2.22 each, the lower end of an indicative price range,
sources said. Shares are expected to begin trading on May 16.
China:
China announces e-savings bond issue of up to 30 bln yuan - The Ministry of
Finance announced here on Thursday that it will start issuing the first
electronic savings bonds of the year starting on May 16.
Chinese President
Hu Jintao (C) meets with leading members of a Japanese lawmakers' league
established in March 2007 to support the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Tokyo, capital
of Japan, May 9, 2008. Chinese President Hu Jintao continued his state visit to
Japan on Friday, the fourth day of his five-daytrip aimed at boosting strategic
and mutually beneficial relations between China and Japan. In the morning,
President Hu met in Tokyo with leading members of a Japanese lawmakers' league
established in March 2007 to support the 2008 Beijing Olympics and boost
friendly ties between Japan and China. House of Representatives Speaker Yohei
Kono acts as its chairman. The Chinese president also visited a recycling plant
of the JFE steel maker group in Kanagawa in the morning and met local officials.
In the afternoon, Hu is expected to visit a Chinese school in Yokohama before
leaving for Osaka, where the president will meet some local officials of the
Kansai area, which includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka,
Hyogo, and Shiga. Hu arrived in Tokyo Tuesday for a state visit, the first by a
Chinese president in a decade. On Wednesday, President Hu Jintao held talks with
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo and both sides signed a six-point
Sino-Japanese joint statement on the promotion of bilateral strategic and
mutually beneficial relations in an all-round way. The statement says the
Sino-Japanese relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties for both
countries, and China and Japan are countries of great influence and shoulder
solemn responsibilities for peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific
region and the world at large. 
President Hu
Jintao promised Japan that China, home to the world's lar- gest regular army,
won't spark an arms race with its neighbors or pose a threat to "any country."
China's development is an opportunity and not a threat, Hu told Waseda
University students in Tokyo on the second full day of his visit to Japan, the
first in a decade by a Chinese president, as protests raged outside. "Japan and
China should recognize each other as partners, not as rivals," he said. Hu
lavished praise on Japan, expressed admiration for the hardworking Japanese.
Hu's visit and the recent cordiality in bilateral ties are a far cry from just a
few years ago, when China refused all contact with Japan under the premiership
of Junichiro Koizumi due to his Tokyo war shrine visits. Koizumi was
conspicuously absent when Hu had breakfast yesterday with former prime
ministers. In his address to the students, Hu avoided berating Japan over its
past. Hu touched on Japan's occupation of China, calling it "unfortunate
history" that had brought terrible suffering. But he said there should be no
grudges. "History is the textbook richest in wisdom, and to remember history is
not to nurse hatred, but to use it as a mirror and look forward to the future,"
Hu said in a live TV broadcast in Japan and China. Hu praised Japan's decades of
low-interest loans. "China will forever remember many Japanese have put their
heart and soul into China's development," he said to loud applause. Not everyone
was happy though, with about 200 protesters waving signs outside the university.
Hu's offer of a loan of two pandas to replace Ling Ling, one of the top
attractions at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo that died last week, brought some scorn.
Officials said the zoo was flooded with calls from people who say China is
making money on the pandas.
Chinese
and Japanese youths sing a song together during the opening ceremony of the 2008
Japan-China youth friendly exchange year at the Waseda University in Tokyo,
capital of Japan, May 8, 2008.
A worker at a
textile plant in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, where there is a large concentration
of textile exporters. The government's priority has been to curb the
skyrocketing trade surplus in formulating policies. But now that exports have
indeed slowed down, more problems have surfaced.
Actress Ziyi Zhang arrives for the Time magazine's 100 most influential people
gala in New York May 8, 2008.
The
Olympic flame reached the top of Mount Everest yesterday an emotional moment for
China and the crowning of the Beijing Olympics torch relay that was dogged by
anti-Chinese protests on its world tour. "Long live Tibet!" and "Long live
Beijing!" the climbers, all wearing red, shouted into a TV camera, top right,
after unfurling the Chinese national flag, the Olympic flag and a flag bearing
the Beijing Olympic logo. After escorting the flame in a mini- relay to the
8,848-meter peak at the end of a six-hour climb, they shouted "Beijing welcomes
you!" and "Tashi delek!" a Tibetan greeting meaning "may everything be well."
Five climbers, two of them women, staged the relay just shy of the peak amid
strong winds and minus-30- degree temperatures. Beijing student Huang Chungui
passed the flame to ethnic Tibetan woman Ciren Wangmu, who trudged the final
steps unaided by oxygen. She crested the summit at 9.16am, and held the torch
aloft, sparking jubilant celebrations. The climbing team, which included 22
Tibetans, eight Han Chinese and one man from the Tujia minority, had been on the
mountain for more than a week preparing the route along the north-east ridge.
The loss of a computer server from a Kwun Tong branch of Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation could lead to the leakage of private data of 159,000
customers. The bank released a statement last night confirming one of its
computer servers went missing on April 26 from the Kwun Tong branch, which has
been undergoing renovation. The server held transaction data on approximately
159,000 accounts. The data held on the server include the name, account number
and transactions of customers but does not contain any customer PINs, passwords
or user IDs, according to the statement. The bank emphasized the risk of data
leakage and fraudulent transactions is deemed to be low as the server is
protected by multiple layers of security which are regularly reviewed. A bank
spokesman said services would not be affected as the bank had copies of the data
in its central computer system. The bank is contacting customers, who will not
be liable for any financial loss arising from any fraudulent activity as a
result of the lost data. Clients data are kept in a confidential manner. If any
complaint arises, we will deal with it case by case, HSBC chairman Vincent Cheng
Hoi-chuen said. The bank reported the loss to police on April 26, the Monetary
Authority on Tuesday and to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal
Data yesterday. The case has been classified as theft. Kwun Tong regional crime
unit is investigating but nobody has been arrested. Some customers appeared to
be concerned about the incident and went to the Yue Man Square branch to check
their saving accounts balance yesterday. Some were also worried people may get
hold of their personal data. The Monetary Authority urged the bank to provide
further details to ease public fears. A spokeswoman said the authority is also
considering taking supervisory action against the bank. "The bank should explain
the incident to its customers and also provide a relevant remedy. It also has to
remind customers how to protect their own accounts and benefits, she said. The
authority also requested the bank submit a report after it has completed its
investigation into the loss. The Consumer Council said it was greatly concerned.
"The bank has to tell its customers how they will be compensated if they suffer
any financial loss because of the incident, chief executive Connie Lau Yin-hing
said. Internet Society chairman Charles Mok Nai-kwong said even though the
server has been encrypted, there may still be ways to access the data. "I do not
know how advanced the system is or the skill of those who want to access the
data. But if the server goes to the police, they will have ways to get the
data," Mok said.
Walter Kwok Ping-sheung
yesterday hinted he would return to work after a two-month leave of absence from
chairing Sun Hung Kai Properties (SEHK: 0016). When confronted by reporters
before a meeting of Hong Kong delegates to the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference, he simply replied: "I shall, I shall." But he did not
say exactly when he would resume work at SHKP. Analysts took Mr Kwok's remark to
mean he has no intention of resigning from SHKP to set up his own company. "The
chances of Mr Kwok establishing his own business are slim," said Li Kwok-suen, a
fund manager at Phillip Capital Management. Mr Li believed it was just a family
issue that led Mr Kwok to step down temporarily as chairman. However, an
official company announcement of Mr Kwok's future role in the company would be
required to help remove market uncertainties, he said. The oldest of the three
Kwok brothers handed over the chair temporarily on February 18, which sources
said followed a clash with his siblings over his relationship with a woman. The
company said his duties would be assumed by Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond
Kwok Ping-luen. "Following the family dispute, as investors, we would like to
know how the three Kwok brothers split their responsibilities instead of when Mr
[Walter] Kwok would report to work," Mr Li said. Eric Wong, a joint head of
Asian property research at UBS, expects the three brothers to work together for
SHKP after resolving family issues. "From what we've seen so far, Mr Kwok is
unlikely to leave as SHKP is a market leader," Mr Wong said. "Even if he decides
to leave SHKP, it will not have an adverse impact on the company." Sources said
Mr Kwok had been coming to the office frequently in the past two months,
although he had not resumed his duties as chairman. "As the firm's business has
had no significant change in the past two months, investors still have
confidence in its management," said Castor Pang Wai-sun, Sun Hung Kai
Financial's strategist, who noted that institutional investors had not dumped
SHKP shares. Shares of SHKP fell 3.77 per cent to HK$138 yesterday when the Hang
Seng Index dropped 651.92 points to close at 25,610.21. A spokesman at SHKP did
not comment on when Mr Kwok would resume the chairmanship. "He is still on
leave," she said. On February 18, Mr Kwok issued a personal statement through a
company spokesman that he would be away for a personal and business trip
overseas lasting two to three months. His statement came 1-1/2 hours after SHKP
announced he would relinquish all duties and responsibilities, with immediate
effect.
The Beijing Olympic flame has reached 8,800 meters of the 8,844-meter Mt.
Qomolangma. Following are the members of the Attack Team of climbers carrying
the Beijing Olympic flame to the top of Mt. Qomolangma: Captain: Nyima Cering,
Deputy captain: Luo Shen, Members: Dagguang, Gegyi, Cering Wangmo, Li Fuqing,
Huang Chungui, Yuan Fudong, Norbu Zhamdu, Ngawang Chagxi, Chagxi Cering and
Purbu Toinzhub.
A man speaks on
his phone at a building material exhibition in Shanghai. China's building
material industry may gain hefty profit in the first three months this year,
despite the worst snow disaster in fifty years that plagued the country's
southern areas. 
The Hong Kong
Jockey Club (HKJC) said on Tuesday it has decided to host a night race meeting
next Wednesday at Happy Valley – to replace a meeting that had been originally
scheduled for April 20. The HKJC had cancelled the race meeting on Saturday,
April 20. This was following a forecast of deteriorating weather prompted by the
approach of Typhoon Neoguri. The decision had annoyed punters as the weather on
April 20 was generally fine. The typhoon was subsequently downgraded to a
tropical storm about 3pm that day. Many race goers said the cancellation
decision had been made too quickly. But club chief executive Winfried
Engelbrecht-Bresges defended the decision. Writing on his internet blog, Mr
Engelbrecht-Bresges said cancelling the meeting was more preferable than
stopping it halfway through a race. He said the latter option would not have
allowed the club to re-schedule races and government revenue would have been
lost. The HKJC decided to cancel the event on April 20 after the Hong Kong
Observatory hoisted a black rainstorm signal at 7.15pm on April 19.
Hu begins "warm spring" trip to Japan
- "The development of a long-term stable and good neighborly friendship between
China and Japan is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two
peoples," Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Tokyo Tuesday.
Taiwan tycoon Terry Guo (L), board chairman of
Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Ltd, holds a panda at the Chengdu Panda
Breeding Research Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province May 5, 2008. Guo
announced on Monday he will spend six million yuan (857,143 U.S. dollars) to
adopt six pandas in the panda breeding base.
A cyclist rides
past a Shanghai Anxin Agricultural Insurance office in Shanghai. Shanghai
International Group, the investment arm of the municipal government, has been
approved to buy into a local insurance company in its bid to consolidate the
city's financial assets and strengthen its role as a financial hub.
An envoy of the Dalai
Lama said on Tuesday that one-day talks with mainland authorities on the unrest
in Tibet had been "a good first step", and the two sides will meet again after
he reports back to the exiled spiritual leader. “We had very candid
discussions... we have a good rapport, so that is always very helpful,” Lodi
Gyari told reporters at Hong Kong airport as he prepared to board a flight for
India, home of the Tibet government-in-exile. “We have agreed to meet once again
so I think it is a good sign, but we will make a formal statement after I have
reported to his Holiness when I get back to India.” Lodi Gyari and another envoy
held a meeting with mainland officials, the first since an eruption of Tibetan
protests and deadly riots two months ago, in the southern Chinese city of
Shenzhen on Monday. The unrest, the most serious challenge to Chinese rule in
the mountainous region for nearly two decades, prompted anti-China protests
around the world that disrupted the international leg of the Olympic torch relay
and led to calls for western leaders to boycott August’s Beijing Games. China
proposed the latest talks last month after western governments urged it to open
new dialogue with the Dalai Lama, who says he wants a high level of autonomy,
not independence, for the predominantly Buddhist Himalayan homeland he fled in
1959. But Xinhua news agency said on Sunday that the meeting was arranged at the
government-in-exile’s repeated request for contacts and consultations with
Beijing. Lodi Gyari, speaking to the media for the first time since the
closed-door Shenzhen meeting, said a date for a further round of talks would
only be announced after consultations with the Dalai Lama. 
Taxpayers poured a whopping HK$200.7
billion into government coffers last year 29 percent more than in 2006. This
record high in total revenue represented an increase of HK$45.5 billion over the
previous years HK$155.1 billion. But with tax cuts in the coming year, the
Inland Revenue Department is projecting a 20 percent decline to HK$161.3
billion. The increase was largely brought about by the prospering economy, with
a significant growth in business profits and a general increase in salaries,
plus the very active stock market and gradually blooming property market, Inland
Revenue Commissioner Alice Lau Mak Yee-ming said yesterday. The active stock and
property markets last year resulted in a 106 percent increase in overall stamp
duty revenues at HK$51.5 billion against HK$25.07 the previous year. Total stamp
duty from shares increased by 136 percent to HK$35.4 billion from HK$15.02
billion in 2006. Stamp duty on property transactions rose by 62 percent to
HK$15.7 billion against HK$9.7 billion in 2006. But the department estimates
stamp duty for this year will fall by 32 percent. Lau said this did not reflect
its view on markets but, rather, the department being conservative in its
projections. Its other major income sources are profits taxes (up 27 percent to
HK$91.4 billion); salaries taxes (down 3 percent to HK$37.5 billion); property
taxes (up 7.9 percent to HK$4.8 billion); and betting duty (up 8 percent to
HK$13.1 billion). However, estate duty fell 55 percent to HK$353 million. The
number of taxpayers has increased by 73,000 to 1,325,000, while assessable
income grew by 8.5 percent on average. The amount of taxes paid by the top
income earners have yet to be announced, but the top 100,000 taxpayers
contributed 71.2 percent of the total salaries tax revenue compared with 61.4
percent in 2006. This was the result of tax relief granted to low- income and
middle-class groups. Assessable profits grew by 16 percent, with banking and
insurance companies gaining the most. The department also successfully
prosecuted eight tax-evasion cases, a record high since 2003. The department
issued more than 1.97 million tax returns last Friday, and has extended the
deadline to July 2. 
The Urban Renewal Authority has received 16 expressions of interest in the
Macpherson Indoor Stadium development project in Mong Kok. The URA also said
yesterday that it has entered into a joint venture with Sino Land (0083) to
develop the 2,980-square-foot Baker Court project in Hung Hom, which will
deliver a maximum gross floor area of about 26,800 square feet for residential
and commercial use. Its value is estimated to be HK$80 million. Several
developers including Cheung Kong (Holdings) (0001), Chinese Estates Holdings
(0127), Wheelock Properties (0049) and Lai Sun Development (0488) have submitted
bids for the Macpherson stadium project. The 26,000-square- foot site is to be
developed into an indoor stadium and a youth center in addition to about 206,000
sq ft of floor area for residential and commercial use. Midland surveyors
director Alvin Lam Tze-pun said the site has a gross floor area of almost
180,000 sq ft for residential units and about 25,800 sqft for commercial use.
"The accommodation value of the project is expected to be HK$5,000 per square
foot. The sale price of its residential units when completed will be about
HK$7,000 psf," Lam said. He estimated the project is valued at HK$1.03 billion.
The URA said a tender review panel under its board will shortlist the qualified
parties and invite them to submit a formal tender for the development. 
More than 1,600 property owners in Kwun
Tong town center will be offered one-off compensation amounting to HK$14 billion
in December - the biggest ever by the Urban Renewal Authority. The acquisition
will involve both residential and commercial property owners and the
compensation will be part of the HK$30 billion Kwun Tong Town Centre project to
revitalize the aging heart of the district. There are 1,656 property interests
in the 5.3-hectare site bounded by Hong Ning Road, Mut Wah Street, Hip Wo Street
and Yue Man Square. Expecting settlements with tenants to be finalized within
two to three years, URA chairman Barry Cheung Chun- yuen said: "This approach
meets with the demands of the residents and allows them to plan what they do
afterwards." He said the URA had heard the residents preferred a one-time, one-
price acquisition. Cheung acknowledged the move would increase financial risk
but said the URA's financial situation is sound. He also said the authority's
single largest project will be carried out in phases due to its scale and
complexity, and will also involve various transport and public facilities
issues. Because the Yuet Wah Street bus terminus does not involve private
property interests, phase one will begin with its relocation. Glass structures
of sleek scientific lines inundated with foliage on a field of green will
replace the graying city block with a modern town center complete with 209,640
square meters of commercial space, 159,610 sqm of residential development as
well as 16,300 sqm of space for leisure, recreational, community and government
facilities. More than 8,700 square feet of open and landscaped spaces will also
be included, as well as 15,700 sq ft for public transport interchanges.
Owner-occupiers of flats will get priority to buy new units in the project at
market prices. Shop owners and tenants occupying the site before March 30, 2007
will be entitled to an allowance to offset business losses. Cheung said the
site's master layout plan will be submitted to the town planning board in July.
A parrot slam-dunks
during a performance at the Laohutan Ocean Park in Dalian, a port city in
northeast China's Liaoning province, on Friday May 2, 2008.
3 killed, at least 12 injured in Shanghai
rush-hour bus inferno - A rush-hour bus packed with Shanghai commuters caught
fire yesterday, killing three people and injuring at least 12, with authorities
blaming a passenger carrying unspecified "flammable materials." The incident
came as China tightened security precautions ahead of the Beijing Olympics,
issuing a ban on the carrying of dangerous articles such as explosives near
Tiananmen Square and permitting spot inspections of people and vehicles. The
three died when the No 842 bus in Yangpu district in northern Shanghai caught
fire at about 9am. The police said a passenger carrying flammable materials
caused the fire, but did not explain why or give any further details. State
media reports gave conflicting information, with the Xinhua News Agency saying
the fire followed an explosion. But bystanders said they did not hear any blast
before the bus erupted in flames. Police put the number of passengers injured at
12, although a report on the website of the local state-run newspaper,
Liberation Daily, said more than 20 were hurt. Xinhua said firefighters
estimated 50 passengers were on the bus. The Liberation Daily report and a local
witness said some passengers were trapped because the air-conditioned bus had
windows that could not be opened, and at least one door was stuck shut. "People
could not get the middle door open, so only a few escaped unhurt through the
front door," said the bystander, who just missed getting on the bus for his
morning commute. "It seemed strange that the bus burned up so fast. The steel
plates on the top and bottom were quickly ruined," said the man, who like many
cautious Chinese, would only give his surname, Zhou. By late morning, the scene
of the fire had been completely cleared of debris. Staff at the headquarters of
the Dazhong Transportation offices said officials responsible for speaking to
media were not available for comment.
Sprint for Olympic tickets slowed again
by glitches - The Olympic ticketing system appeared to suffer another meltdown
as the final phase of sales for the Beijing Games got underway yesterday. Long
internet delays and system crashes were reported as 1.38 million tickets went on
sale, echoing last year's fiasco in which the computer booking network
completely crashed under the high demand for seats. Buyers reported waiting
several hours to buy at Bank of China outlets. Attempts to buy online were slow
and some purchases difficult to complete. Beijing organizers said four
competition sessions sold out in the first 30 minutes for events such as boxing,
soccer, baseball and wrestling. "The website may become a little bit slow at
peak hours, but it's still normal and there's no problem," said Zhu Yan,
director of the Beijing ticketing center. He said about 320,000 tickets were
sold with the system - at its peak - receiving 27 million hits in an hour. The
tickets will be on sale until June 9, with 58 percent of the total number
costing less than 100 yuan (HK$112), in an effort to keep the Olympics
affordable for most Chinese people. Beijing, meanwhile, is tightening security
around the highly symbolic Tiananmen Square. New rules issued by the city
government ban dangerous articles, including guns, explosives, knives and "other
items that affect social order and public safety." The rules also allow
unannounced searches of people and vehicles in the area around the vast plaza in
the heart of Beijing. They also permit authorities to take unspecified emergency
measures to disperse crowds.
For tickets, standing in line beats
going online - Traditional over-the-counter purchases rather than online
applications appeared the best plan of attack yesterday as the third round of
sales of Olympic tickets kicked off.
Peace and harmony were the
watchwords as the Olympic flame started on its tour across the mainland
yesterday morning, with presiding officials and torch-bearers eager to put the
tumultuous international leg of the relay behind them. On a sweltering day in
Sanya , a beach resort city perched on the southern tip of Hainan Island , the
torch began the first leg of a 113-stop tour of the country that Beijing views
as symbolizing the mainland's "peaceful rise" as a great nation. In an
inauspicious start to the celebrations, the Olympic flame appeared to go out
just seconds after speed-skating champion Yang Yang , who had won the much
coveted honor of being first in the Sanya relay, left the podium. The former
Olympic gold medalist had to stop as torch attendants relit the flame. But that
did not dampen the celebratory mood among the crowd attending the opening
ceremony. "This is a journey of harmony. We are ready," Sanya party secretary
Jiang Zelin told the throng. Li Lihui , former Hainan deputy governor and now
president of the Bank of China, an official Olympic sponsor, ran second. But the
greatest excitement was reserved for the towering figure of basketball player Yi
Jianlian , one of the biggest mainland stars in the NBA. Zhang Zilin , winner of
the Miss World beauty pageant contest in Sanya last year, ran the sixth leg.
Amid the celebrations, there was a sense of delight that the torch - designed as
a symbol of harmony, but now internationally an emblem of political protest -
was finally back on mainland soil, with some members of the crowd spontaneously
breaking into patriotic song. "It's great feeling for the torch to come home.
China is rising," said Sanya Mayor Lu Zhiyuan , who ran the fifth leg.
Flag-waving locals who flocked to Sanya Bay to cheer the torch-bearers were keen
to dispel what they said were misplaced negative views on China after
pro-Tibetan protesters disrupted the relay in London and Paris last month. "I
feel angry and hurt by what happened in Paris," said Sanya University student
Wang Zihao. "The Olympics is a world event that we should share together." "It's
a great pity. The west needs to understand China more deeply," added his friend
Lei Yuting, on a morning that passed without even the merest flicker of protest.
The torch was carried by a total of 208 bearers chosen from the fields of sport,
government and business as it wound its way on a 30km tour of Sanya before
reaching the tourist destination End of the World, a beautiful spot where a
series of huge boulders sink into the sea. Actor and kung fu star Jackie Chan
ran the final leg of the day's relay along the beachfront. "I am very, very
excited," he said after lighting the podium fire with his torch. "I hope this
will spread a message of peace around the world." A sunset celebration by the
sea included a rousing duet by Canto-pop princess Karen Mok Man-wai and Beijing
rocker Wang Feng , while scantily clad Li dancers in ethnic-themed costumes and
Hainan traditional opera singers added local flavour. Chan then led the audience
in a stirring rendition of We Are Ready, the official song he recorded last year
to mark the countdown to the Beijing Games. Early this morning, the Olympic
torch will pass through Wuzhishan , the capital of Hainan's indigenous Li
people, on the next leg of its 92km circuit around the island. It will then move
on to Wanning and Qionghai before heading to the provincial capital of Haikou
tomorrow. 
Democratic Party vice chairman Sin
Chung-Kai has decided not to run for a Legco seat on Hong Kong Island, saying
there is a need for a fresh candidate. His decision means his 12-year career as
a legislator will end when his current term expires in July. Sin, 48, broke the
news yesterday together with the party's Central and Western district councillor
Kam Nai- wai, who is now expected to lead the party ticket on the Island with
veteran legislator Yeung Sum in the No 2 spot. The party's plans for Hong Kong
Island were earlier thrown into doubt when party founder Martin Lee Chu- ming
announced in March he would not seek re-election in September. Sin sidestepped
questions on whether his decision was the result of internal opposition or if he
feared he was unable to gain the full support of the partys Hong Kong branch
office. Sin, a founding member of the party, has represented the Information
Technology constituency since 1998. The process does not matter. It is the
result about which we care. Kam Nai- wai now has the full support of everyone,
he said. In theory, Sin could contest another constituency, but he said this is
unlikely. Never say never in politics, but I believe the chance is slim, Sin
said. He had earlier declared he would not be seeking re-election in the
functional constituency. Yeung said the party is targeting at least one seat in
what could be a hotly contested constituency. Political analyst Ivan Choy Chi-
keung said Sins decision was designed to save the party from splitting up
following strong protests from within the Island branch after Sins name was put
at the top of the list for the district. With Martin Lee and Sin leaving Legco,
the party is losing those who can properly represent the middle class, Choy
said. This will leave the way clear for the Civic Party, which supports the
pan-democratic camp. Another commentator, Ma Ngok, is more optimistic about the
Democratic Partys future, saying he believes it can win at least one Island seat
in September. But it will be a good test of the partys support in the community
following the departure of its political stars, Ma said. Martin Lee said Sins
decision considered the wider interest of the party. After all, Sin has been
concentrating his party work in the Kwai Ching district. If he runs for a Hong
Kong seat, he would be parachuting, the 69-year-old veteran of the democratic
movement said. Meanwhile, Anson Chan Fang On- sang has still not made clear
whether she intends to defend her seat, though the Civic Party has already
indicated it is seeking two seats for incumbent Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and district
councillor Tanya Chan Shuk-chong. Another Civic Party legislator, Alan Leong Kah-kit,
said it is important for the pan-democrats to win at least 20 seats in the Legco
election, otherwise they will lose their influence in the chamber. 
Superstar Jackie Chan and
local township head Pu Huifang wave to the crowds after they kindled the
cauldron at the Tianya Haijiao, a tourism landmark in Sanya, Hainan Province
yesterday, at the end of the Beijing Olympic torch relay's first leg on the
Chinese mainland.
Wen urged law students to be
fair-minded, patriotic - A law student should develop a high degree of sense of
responsibility for the country, the society and the people. He or she should be
fair-minded and above all, love this country, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
China's first data relay satellite "Tianlian I" was launched on a Long March-3C
carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's
Sichuan Province at 11:35 p.m, 25 April, 2008. China launched the country's
first data relay satellite "Tianlian I" Friday night. The satellite was launched
on a Long March-3C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in
southwest China's Sichuan Province at 11:35 p.m. (Beijing Time). The satellite
will not go into function though until the Shenzhou VII mission scheduled for
the second half of 2008. Developed by China Aerospace Science and Technology
Corporation, the satellite is the country's first ever data relay satellite.
Three women of the Miao ethnic group
walk under Sanyou waterfall at the Yuanbao Mountain in Rongshui, Guangxi, on the
last day of the national May Day holiday, May 3, 2008.
President Hu Jintao has voiced optimism
that his visit to Japan starting tomorrow will herald a "warm spring" in
relations between Asia's two biggest powers, which have long been dogged by
disputes and tensions over history. Hu also told Japanese reporters in Beijing
yesterday that he saw a solution being reached to a quarrel over gas exploration
rights in the East China Sea. "I am confident that through joint efforts by both
sides, this visit will be able to achieve the expected results," he said. But
Hu's five-day trip is widely expected to be about soothing fears and suspicions,
not sealing deals. It will be his longest visit to any nation since he became
president in 2003, showing how seriously he takes wooing Japan, a key US ally
and the world's second-biggest economy, after years of rancor. Beijing and Tokyo
have a lot at stake economically in improved ties. China replaced the United
States as Japan's top trade partner last year, with two-way trade totaling
US$236.6 billion (HK$1.85 trillion), up 12 percent from 2006. Beijing now wants
more Japanese investment and technology, and Tokyo is hoping to sell more to
Chinese consumers as growth slows elsewhere. Hu will hold talks with Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda, attend a dinner at the Imperial Palace and address
students at Tokyo's Waseda University. Hu spoke of his visit as a "warm spring"
- upbeat words after years of cold shoulders, particularly over then prime
minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine, seen by neighbors as
a militarist symbol. Hu's visit also comes in the wake of a row over poisoned
Chinese-made dumplings that sickened Japanese consumers and an international
uproar over China's crackdown on protests against its rule in Tibet. In a sign
of just how important the visit is for Japan, Emperor Akihito, who limits public
appearances, is scheduled to see Hu three times during his stay.