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June 30, 2005
In a symbolic move to bring more openness to government, the controversial iron barriers in front of Government Headquarters are set to be removed after new Chief Executive Donald Tsang moves his new office into the former governor's mansion on Upper Albert Road this October. A key post overseeing the operation of the Chief Executive's Office is likely to remain vacant until early next year because Donald Tsang prefers to wait for a favorite aide to become available, according to a senior government source. The Hong Kong Airport Authority, which operates the territory’s international airport, on Wednesday reported a sharp rise in full-year net profit on record passenger numbers and cost-control measures. Hong Kong managers' salaries have greater purchasing power than their British and Japanese counterparts, a new survey released this week shows. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Kam-yuen is expected on Thursday to name Rafael Hui Si-yan — a Harvard-educated, career civil servant with expertise in financial affairs — the government’s No. 2 ranking official. Sales contributions from Cathay Pacific Airways' cargo partnership with logistics giant DHL could almost triple by 2007 as demand expands in the Asia Pacific, according to a statement from the carrier to the stock exchange yesterday.
Almost 9.1 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) was misused by 38 central government departments last financial year, China's Auditor-General Li Jinhua announced yesterday. He has stirred up a storm across China's cumbersome government departments and is considered one of the most influential people controlling the country's economic activites - not bad for somebody whose job title would usually only elicit stifled yawns. But Li Jinhua is no ordinary auditor, he is the "iron-faced" auditor charged with whipping government budgets into shape. Bucking growth in a bearish market environment, Everbright Pramerica Fund Management Co Ltd, a joint venture between Everbright Securities and Prudential Financial, plans to launch a new equity fund product in China before October, according to the company's shareholders. Microsoft has joined hands with Chinese company Amoi Electronics as the US software giant tries to penetrate the communications and consumer electronics markets in China alongside its traditional stronghold in computer operating systems. China expects to sign agreements with Russia to step up energy cooperation during President Hu Jintao's visit next month, boosting trade that reached a record US$21.2 billion (HK$165.3 billion) last year, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An outcry in America over a mainland state oil firm's bid for a US energy outfit recalls 1980s friction with Japan, but similarities are superficial, said experts on the two Asian economies. CNOOC offered US$18.5 billion (HK$144.3 billion) in cash last week to acquire California-based Unocal, in a bid richer than the US$16 billion-plus cash and stock offer Unocal had accepted from Chevron.
June 29, 2005
The funding formula for universities will be changed to allow students greater flexibility in choosing courses in institutions other than their own under a new four-year tertiary education scheme to be implemented in 2012. The new formula, to be finalized in 2009, will encourage the transfer of study credits among institutions and improve their quality, University Grants Committee secretary-general Michael Stone said Monday. Hong Kong's leading carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has announced this week that it would launch a fourth daily non-stop service to London - with a new morning departure from Hong Kong. China: Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks during Hu's visit to Russia beginning this Thursday, FM official said on Tuesday.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are scheduled to lower tariffs on traded industrial goods from July 20, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Guangzhou Shipyard International, the largest shipbuilder in South China, said it has orders on hand worth 7.2 billion yuan (HK$6.76 billion) for 32 ships totaling 1.12 million deadweight tonnes, according to analysts who attended a briefing by management.
Bars and karaoke parlous in Shanghai have been told not to use air conditioners in the daytime to ease the strain on power supplies after weekend temperatures hit 36 degrees Celsius, a power company spokesman said yesterday. The mainland's top stock market regulator yesterday said all state-owned shares in listed firms would soon become tradable but promised that the government would sell its holdings gradually and retain "substantial" stakes to ensure market stability. The number of internet users in China now exceeds 100 million, consolidating the country's position as second only to the United States in terms of online population, according to state media. Central government authorities on Tuesday voiced their determination to stamp out rampant piracy of intellectual property but lashed out at the United States for threatening to bring Beijing before World Trade Organisation arbitrators. June 28, 2005 Hong Kong: Hong Kong's unsuspecting broadband Internet users are the most vulnerable on the planet to attacks by so-called ''zombie'' computers, according to a report by a British Internet security firm. While Hong Kong has increased its efforts to become more secure for shopping and banking, there are vulnerabilities in the system that broadband users are not even aware of, officials say. The fact is that clandestine users piggybacking on the unaware have multiplied so fast that it is nearly impossible to go onto the Internet without being victimized or hijacked. These hijacked computers send thousands of spam e-mails per minute, set up fake Web sites and cripple servers, according to the report, by Prolexic Technologies, a British firm that has presented Internet security solutions to the US Department of Homeland Security. Beijing Jingkelong Supermarket Chain Group, the mainland's 27th largest chain retailer, aims to raise about HK$300 million to HK$400 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering by the end of this year to add more stores and improve its logistics and computer systems, sources said. Jingkelong has appointed Singapore-based DBS Asia Capital as sponsor to arrange the share sale, and has submitted the listing application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, people close to the deal said. Founded in 1994, Jingkelong had 140 outlets including supermarkets, convenience stores and drug stores in Beijing at the end of last year - generating 5.24 billion yuan (HK$4.91 billion) of sales, up 12.7 percent from 2003 - making it the 27th largest retail chain in China, according to the statistics from Department of Commercial Reform and Development, Ministry of Commerce. To win back its declining audience and put it on the international stage, Hong Kong's flagship orchestra not only has to make sure it gets the funding and develops the local audience, but rather surprisingly it must cut down on celebrity performances, says its new chief executive. The first meeting between new Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and Hong Kong legislators was brought to an abrupt end just 10 minutes into the debate ob Monday amid chaotic scenes as a legislator staged a noisy protest. Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has pledged not to reintroduce the controversial anti-subversion Article 23 legislation during his two-year office, local radio reported on Monday. Ocean Park was planning to spend $5.5 billion renovating its facilities to enable it to compete with Hong Kong Disneyland, local media reported on Monday.
European finance officials on Sunday acknowledged the timing of China's exchange rate reform should be upon the country's own decision. The largest auto glass maker in China, the Fuyao Glass Industry Group, is celebrating the launch of three new float glass production lines, which is expected to help ease the nation's lack of production technology of float glass, a kind of glass that is perfectly flat and clear - a major raw material for producing automobile glass.
Faced with greater competition when the mainland's wholesale oil market opens to foreign competition next year, the China Chamber of Commerce for Petroleum Industry, the country's first nationwide private oil association, is urging provincial governments to set up oil associations to help private firms build up their scale, sources say. Led by Hubei Tianfa Petroleum, one of the mainland's largest private oil firms, the CCCPI, which was set up last December, is calling for private oil firms across the country to unite by merging their retail operations to beat a new government directive which aims to consolidate smaller players. June 27, 2005 Hong Kong: Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) Saturday night launched the city's largest shopping promotion -- 2005 Hong Kong Shopping Festival. With the highest number of participating organizations, great support from markets in creating special packages and extensive overseas media exposure for the "Shopper of the Year' contest, the two-month long festival promises the best of the world's shopping experience for visitors and local residents, the HKTB claimed. This year, the festival has already set a number of new records. Over 6,800 retail and dining outlets have confirmed their participation. And the HKTB is confident that the final number is expected to reach beyond 7,000. Together with 29 major shopping malls and department stores, the festival promises a citywide festive ambiance. HKTB Chairman Selina Chow said at the launching ceremony that the record number reflected the strong support for the festival among the retail and dining sectors. "As shown by the encouraging figure this year, the festival hasattracted not only the veterans' continued strong support, but also many new owners, demonstrating that this mega event offers a truly successful platform for promoting our tourism business." To encourage more incentives to spend, the HKTB is once again organizing a lucky draw featuring 25 percent more fabulous prices than last year. Together they worth over 2.2 million HK dollars (280,051 US dollars).
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan urged Congress on Thursday to find a "less destructive" outlet for its
frustration over China's trade and exchange-rate policies, saying a proposal to
slap tariffs on Chinese imports would have "extraordinarily negative"
consequences for the world economy. People's Bank of China governor Zhou
Xiaochuan said yesterday it was too soon to drop the yuan's decade-old peg and
that he had no plans to discuss the currency's link to the US dollar at a
weekend meeting of the world's central bankers in Basel, Switzerland. In a week dominated by news of plans for mainland banks to pursue overseas public offerings, China's tech sector continues to attract the attention of investors looking for high growth stories. Shanghai-based commercial building narrowcaster Focus Media, which last week filed for a Nasdaq initial public offering, amended its filing this week to increase its maximum amount raised from US$100 million (HK$780 million) to US$185 million. The new filing also gave an estimated share price of between US$14 and US$16 per American depositary share. It was reported this week that Focus Media competitor Target Media received an additional US$20 million investment from a group of investors led by Carlyle Group subsidiary, Carlyle Ventures. China Leather Association on Friday warned Chinese shoe-makers to prepare to respond ahead of an European anti-dumping investigation that is expected to open officially at the end of the month. June 24 - 26, 2005 Hong Kong: New Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen flew to Beijing on Thursday to prepare for a swearing-in ceremony that would cap the city’s first leadership change since it returned to Chinese rule eight years ago.
Hong Kong was now the largest investor in China's Hebei province - making up over 32 per cent of total direct investment there, Director General of InvestHK Mike Rowse said on Thursday.
Jardine Strategic Holdings will pay US$185 million for a 20 per cent stake in the parent company of NM Rothschild & Sons, in a deal that reunites the hong with its 19th century European peer and marks Jardines' return to the investment banking sphere after a seven-year absence. Privately-owned Chinese mainland car-maker Geely Automobile yesterday said it is in talks to buy British collapsed automaker MG Rover's moulds and production equipment business, and intends to build cars in Hong Kong. The Bank of Communications (BoCom), China's fifth-largest commercial lender, will make its debut in Hong Kong today, selling 5.856 billion H shares at HK$2.5 per share.
US natural gas and oil company Unocal Corp. said on Wednesday it intended to evaluate an 18.5- billion-US-dollar merger proposal from the CNOOC. The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway scheduled to start construction on June 23 will select from domestic and overseas investors to raise 24 billion yuan. Nearly 9,000 Chinese credit card holders' accounts have been exposed to potential fraud because of a security breach at a US-based card data processing company last week, Visa and MasterCard have admitted. China will promote the development of its software industry over the coming years, especially encouraging brand-building and innovations with self-owned intellectual property rights (IPRs), according to senior officials. China's industrial firms earned profits of 496.8 billion yuan (US$59.9 billion) during the first five months of this year, an increase of 15.8 per cent from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
June 23, 2005
China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd, the country's biggest container shipping firm, will raise up to HK$12.9 billion (US$1.6 billion) in a Hong Kong IPO, according to the company's prospectus released yesterday. The Lands Department has announced a revamp of the controversial land application list system - which has been criticised by developers, local radio reported on Tuesday. China: China will step up efforts in exploiting the gas and oil resources in northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, turning it into the country's largest oil and gas production base.
China's four State-owned asset management companies (AMCs) are to be restructured into joint-stock commercial ventures once bad loan clearing tasks are completed at the end of next year. Manulife-Sinochem, the first joint venture life insurance company in China, announced a strategic expansion plan yesterday to establish a nationwide subsidiary network for its bulging business. CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, may bid about US$20 billion (HK$156 billion) in cash for Unocal, the eighth-biggest US oil company, trumping an offer from Chevron, people familiar with the plan said. The state-controlled firm would offer about US$71.50 a share, the people said, asking not to be identified. That's 15 percent higher than the price San Ramon, California-based Chevron agreed to pay in stock and cash April4. Unocal shares rose 3.2 percent to US$65.50 in early Tuesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Top United States do-it-yourself chain Home Depot is seeking to buy a stake in a mainland peer for up to US$500 million (HK$3.9 billion) to win a foothold in China's fast-growing home improvement market. It is in talks with Orient Group to take a stake in its unit, Orient Home, which operates more than 20 DIY outlets nationwide, the China Business News cited sources as saying. In what could prove to be a milestone in its quest to become a global super brand, the Haier Group, the mainland's biggest white goods producer, has made a bid to acquire the third-biggest home appliance maker in the United States. June 22, 2005
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp, Standard Chartered Bank, Hang Seng Bank, Bank of East Asia, Bank of China and DBS Bank said some of their Hong Kong credit cardholders might be affected by a security breach of card payment data in the United States last week. Chief Executive-elect Donald Tsang has poured scorn on casino tycoon Stanley Ho's suggestion for a return to the colonial-era policy of high land prices, declaring the policy is "totally unacceptable.''
PCCW's takeover of Sunday Communications adds a mobile dimension to the company's existing "triple play" of voice, data and pay-television services. But while much of the analysis has focused the company's new-found capacity to provide mobile data, it is in the voice market that PCCW can have arguably the most immediate impact.
China's faltering attempts to dispose of a mountain of non-performing bank loans were dealt another blow when the central bank abruptly canceled an auction of 400 billion yuan (HK$376 billion) of bad debt after the country's biggest bank was accused of misleading bidders about the nature of the loans on offer. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China stands accused of secretly adding a batch of class-five loans - those deemed least likely to be collected - into a batch of higher-grade, class-four loans set for auction this past weekend. The news appeared on the Web site of Huarong Asset Management Company, one of four state agencies charged with disposing of the bad loans from state-owned banks. Guangzhou Investment, the Guangdong provincial capital's biggest property developer, plans to raise about HK$2 billion by listing a real estate investment trust (REIT) in Hong Kong or Singapore, a company source said. China is offering rewards of up to 300,000 yuan (HK$281,820) for tips on illegal video and audio factories to stamp out theft of intellectual property. An IP piracy hotline came online as Beijing announced a further round in its campaign to combat piracy of movies, music and other copyrighted materials. US luxury mall operator Taubman Centers is setting up shop in Asia, hoping to cash in on a surge in consumer spending in China, where liberalization has unleashed an influx of retailers. It is considering developing malls in China that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year, said its Hong Kong-based Asia president Morgan Parker. June 21, 2005
After donating HK$1 billion to the University of Hong Kong's faculty of medicine, billionaire Li Ka-shing will donate US$40 million (HK$312 million) to the prestigious University of California at Berkeley.
China: A medicine currently used to treat schizophrenia was found to be effective in inhibiting the coronavirus of deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). A medicine currently used to treat schizophrenia was found to be effective in inhibiting the coronavirus of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), announced a group of Chinese and European scientists in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, yesterday. China's securities regulator announced its decision to select 42 of its domestically listed firms for its second round of experiments to make it possible for all those firms to sell their non-tradable shares on the stock markets. Technological progress has played a key role in the rapid development of China's shipbuilding industry, said Zhang Guangqin, deputy director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. The future of China's business hub will require a careful balance of resources, people and development goals, the city's mayor told a delegation of business leaders over the weekend. Top officials at Britain's public broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC), are planning a high-profile visit to Beijing this summer with the aim of setting up a television channel. Many mainland textile firms have enjoyed better business since China agreed with the European Union just over a week ago to limit exports, state media have reported, attributing the rise to the removal of uncertainty. "Over the past week, our orders have recovered quickly,'' Xinhua News Agency Sunday quoted Li Lingmin, vice president of the China National Textiles Import & Export Corp, as saying. "Prices are also on the rise. The gloomy days are now gone.'' June 20, 2005
Kaizer Lau, a former legislator who lost his functional constituency seat in the 2004 Legislative Council elections, was Friday acquitted of a charge of trying to discourage another candidate from running after the main prosecution witness said he did not believe he had been offered any material advantage. A Legislative Council subcommittee has taken on board recommendations by the Independent Commission Against Corruption to enhance accountability among lawmakers. A fast-track attempt to abolish Hong Kong death duties was derailed in the Legislative Council Friday. The move was delayed for at least three months after it was voted down 20-17. Under current law, estates of HK$7.5 million or more are taxed between 5 and 15 percent. The cost of renting movie discs and comic books could soar if the government goes ahead with proposals released yesterday for extending laws protecting copyright ownership. Former legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai and boyfriend Craig Ehrlich are celebrating Father's Day this weekend with a baby girl born to a surrogate mother in the United States - but bracing for controversy when they bring her home.
The Bank of America said Friday that it will invest 2.5 billion US dollars in Construction Bank and earmark an additional 500 million US dollars when the CCB goes public later this year as scheduled. Bank of America will initially spend US$2.5 billion for its shareholding, and agreed to buy another US$500 million worth of shares in Construction Bank's initial public offering in order to maintain its percentage stake. Construction Bank, the mainland's biggest property lender, hopes to sell up to US$5 billion worth of shares in an IPO that could come as early as November.
The Handan Steel Company, which is based in north China's Hebei Province and listed at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, announced on Friday that it will pay about 350 million yuan (42 million US dollars) to buy back its own public stocks.
Property prices increased at a slower pace in the first five months of the year after the government unveiled measures to curb speculation. Prices rose by 8.9 percent on average from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Prices rose 12.5 percent in the first four months of the year. Residential prices increased by an average of 11.3 percent from January to May, compared with a 13.6 percent gain in the first four months. June 17 - 19, 2005 Hong Kong: Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa - two blue chips controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing - have bought their third land site in Sichuan province in seven months. Hong Kong is the only economy in Asia Pacific where improved job prospects are expected in the third quarter, according to a survey by Manpower Inc, a global employment services firm.
Intel will set up the global headquarters of its channel product group in China, the first US microprocessor maker to do so. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's largest oil producer, announced Tuesday that it has absorbed China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation (HQCEC). To meet the requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the government is pushing ahead with policies encouraging the development of the software industry, a senior official from the Ministry of Information Industry said. June 16, 2005 Hong Kong: Hong Kong's small and medium-sized companies, the backbone of the city's economy, are finding it increasingly tough to arrange syndicated bank loans as lenders pull back amid concern over growing credit risks and rock-bottom margins that make loans barely profitable, bankers said. These outfits, which have market capitalizations ranging roughly from HK$400 million to HK$3.2 billion, have always had a harder time arranging credit than their bigger corporate cousins, in part because they tend to be more vulnerable to business downturns thanks to their smaller revenue bases and less diversified lines of business.
Chief executive frontrunner rules out link to mainland currency during his two-year term Donald Tsang, the frontrunner for the chief executive's post, dismissed Tuesday the possibility of linking the Hong Kong dollar with the yuan, saying he has no such plan for the next two years as the yuan has yet to become fully convertible. With just two days remaining before the end of the nomination period, 25 Election Committee members from the information technology and health service sub-sectors have jumped on the Donald Tsang bandwagon, bringing to 670 the number of nominations the former chief secretary can now count on.
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday
spelled out the criteria for new Executive Council appointments, saying they
should be able to raise the cabinet's sensitivity to public opinion and
strengthen ties with the Legislative Council.
The construction of Shanghai Int'l Shipping Center is expected to bring a change to the layout of Asian-Pacific Pacific seaways. China is rising to be an economic power, but not a military threat, said former US Secretary of State Powell on June 13.
The total volume of foreign trade in the first five months this year stands at 522.78 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23.2 percent. Disputes, she said, should be settled within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework, said Wu Yi while rebuking the US for unilaterally limiting textile imports from China. The families of school children killed by last Friday's devastating flood in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province are to receive 150,000 yuan (US$18,200) compensation, a local government spokesman announced last night. South China's Guangdong Province, the nation's leading foreign trader, reached an import and export volume of more than US$150.58 billion from January to May this year. Carlsberg, one of the world's leading brewers, will buy a 46 per cent stake in Xinjiang Hops Co, previously the country's largest beer barley and hops producer, through its new joint venture. Mainland retail sales rose at a faster pace last month as higher incomes spurred spending on products such as Tsingtao beer, Hitachi televisions and General Motors cars. Sales rose 12.8 percent from a year earlier to 489.9 billion yuan (HK$460.6 billion), after climbing 12.2 percent in April, said the National Bureau of Statistics Tuesday. Sales surged 20 percent at restaurants, 15 percent at car dealers and 19 percent at clothing stores. Rising consumer spending is helping sustain growth in the economy, which expanded 9.5 percent last year, as Beijing restricts investment in manufacturing and real estate. Premier Wen Jiabao may take more steps to boost farm incomes and discourage saving because household demand is not growing fast enough, said economists. Beijing has quietly been conducting exchanges with the Vatican to pave the way for diplomatic ties to be re-established, according to church sources and academics. The mainland markets for mobile phones and personal computers were likely to grow larger than those in Japan in value for the first time this year, a Japanese think tank said on Tuesday. June 15, 2005 Hong Kong: Eavesdropping devices have been discovered throughout Government House, delaying Donald Tsang's plan to use the mansion as his official residence as chief executive. Bugs were found in the walls and fixtures of living and sleeping areas, bathrooms and in a guest suite, and in upstairs areas that were once used by Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, an aide to presumptive chief executive Donald Tsang has told The Standard. The bugs were uncovered during renovation work that involved cutting into walls, said the source. It is not known who bugged the mansion, or if any of the devices still work. Donald Tsang, frontrunner for the chief executive's post, is expected to be formally appointed Hong Kong's leader by the central government June 21 if he is declared the uncontested winner when nominations close Thursday.
Richard Li's PCCW has mapped out a return to the mobile phone business that it abandoned in 2002 during the worst of its financial crisis, offering HK$1.94 billion to buy Sunday Communications, Hong Kong's smallest mobile operator. Analysts cautioned, though, that PCCW may face heavy capital commitments to help Sunday roll out its third-generation (3G) mobile service, and this could accelerate the decline of its fixed-line business, where it is the market leader. With the World Trade Organization 6th Ministerial Conference just six months away, foreign governments are increasingly nervous about security preparations for the meeting amid worries that anti-globalization protesters could seek to disrupt the high profile talks.
The National Bureau of Statistics of China revealed on June that the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 1.8 percent in May over the same month of last year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China dropped slightly in the first five months of the year, but within a reasonable fluctuation. New global investment trends, rising protectionism and domestic industrial restructuring are behind the recent downturn in foreign direct investment (FDI) on the mainland, according to a UN investment official and a mainland scholar. China National Nuclear Corp plans to spend US$4.33 billion (HK$33.77 billion) to more than double capacity at its Qinshan generator to meet energy demand. Capacity at the Zhejiang province plant will rise to 6,300 megawatts from 3,000 megawatts, said Hu Haiyun, Communist Party secretary at the Qinshan Nuclear Power Base. Mainland banks, including the central bank, brought a record US$16 billion (HK$125 billion) home from overseas in the fourth quarter, according to the Bank for International Settlements. The withdrawal, including from deposits in the United States and United Kingdom, came amid speculation that China will loosen the yuan's fixed exchange rate of about 8.3 per US dollar. China regulators halved the dividend tax on A shares and repealed taxes on transfers of state shares to shareholders yesterday, as part of a flurry of measures aimed at reviving the moribund stock markets.
June 14, 2005 Hong Kong: In an historic deal, the world's leading industrial nations have agreed to immediately write off all multilateral debt owed by 18 of the world's poorest countries, most of them in Africa, amounting to US$40 billion.
More senior executives and business professionals are being prosecuted in corruption cases, a reflection of the increasingly sophisticated tactics and collusion practices being employed, said the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Of the commercial corruption cases prosecuted last year, 73 percent of those involved were senior executives and business professionals, compared with 69 percent in 2003 and 52 percent in 2002, statistics from the anti-graft watchdog show. "Many commercial cases are related to listed companies and their senior executives,'' said Helen Lee, program co-ordinator (business sector) of the community relations department at the ICAC. "This could affect Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial center and the ICAC is obviously very concerned.'' Commercial cases made up more than half of the corruption complaints over the past 10 years - complaints from the public involving both the business and government sectors.
An increasing number of overseas businesses are eyeing the lucrative business opportunities of China's market against the backdrop of worldwide economic stagnation. Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, a major grain producer in China, will expand its acreage of organic food to 3.33 million hectares by the year 2010, according to a plan of the provincial government.
To boost stagnant domestic reserves and forge a platform for overseas expansion, PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas company, has agreed to pay 20.7 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) for overseas assets in its State-owned parent. June 13, 2005
The sudden scramble caused by a last-minute switch of venue - to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront - may help explain why the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races have yet to find a major sponsor and are close to $2 million in debt, race officials said. Hong Kong-listed PetroChina, the mainland's largest oil producer, will pay 24.74 billion yuan (HK$23.25 billion) in cash for a 50 percent stake in most of its parent's overseas assets as it seeks to bolster foreign production to offset a projected decline in output from its aging domestic fields. The assets, which range across 10 countries but don't include the parent's prize Sudan operations, won't add much to the firm's reserves but will provide an immediate boost to production. China Power International Holding, controlled by former premier Li Peng's daughter Li Xiaolin, said China Southern Power Grid will take a 30 percent stake in its joint venture to supply power to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's three largest developers, Cheung Kong (Holdings), Sun Hung Kai Properties and Henderson Land Development, and five others have submitted tenders for Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp's residential project atop Wu Kai Sha station, which has an estimated value of up to HK$9 billion.
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's election campaign was given a boost yesterday as nearly half of the 40 Election Committee members from the social welfare sector - which rival Lee Wing-tat had regarded as a bedrock of support - decided to nominate the former chief secretary based on a survey. The last of Hong Kong's four licensed 3G operators, Sunday Communications, launched its network yesterday to great fanfare but without a handset in sight.
China is well on the way of a more balanced economic development this year due to its effective macro economic adjustment policy, said Jin Renqing. Chinese and Russian companies have signed seven agreements to invest a total of 1.5 billion US dollars in joint projects.
A government investment firm will inject 10 billion yuan (HK$9.4 billion) into Galaxy Securities and take control of the country's second biggest brokerage as part of a broad overhaul of the troubled financial sector, said sources. Central Huijin Investment, also the controlling shareholder of top property lender China Construction Bank, will become the largest shareholder in Galaxy Securities through the deal. The deal, set to be announced in the next few days, is intended in part to help boost sentiment towards stocks, the sources said Friday. Galaxy and Huijin spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment late Friday. June 10 - 12, 2005 Hong Kong: The world's third-largest PC maker, China's Lenovo Group Ltd, announced its results as largely unchanged from the previous year and slightly below market expectations yesterday. Horse-race betting remains in the doldrums in Hong Kong but punters are making up the shortfall with a vengeance by turning to football gambling, allowing the Jockey Club to get close to the revenue record set in the last year of colonial rule. With just five meetings left to the end of the racing season, club officials admit they are expecting their lowest turnover in 12 years. But, in what is seen as a partial victory over illegal bookmakers and offshore betting syndicates, the revenue from horse racing and football combined is tantalizingly close to the all-time record of HK$92.35 billion set in 1997.
Publicly-listed MTR Corp is in talks on opportunities to help develop a subway system in Hangzhou city at a cost of 100 billion yuan (HK$94.05 billion). Government House is being considered as the permanent residence for future chief executives, clearing the way for Donald Tsang to move in if elected.
Finance Minister Jin Renqing will fly to London for a meeting between finance ministers of the Group Eight industrialized nations and of China, India, Brazil and South Africa, scheduled for next week. China's shares yesterday achieved their highest daily increase in three years, buoyed up by positive news and a wave of investor confidence. Bank of China, the country's largest foreign exchange lender, said yesterday it plans to take nine measures including the exchange of work posts among staff to enhance the management of its low-level organizations in an effort to avoid further fraud scandals. June 9, 2005 Hong Kong: The pro-government lobby in the Legislative Council won the upper hand Wednesday when it approved a request for an additional HK$27 million for technical studies on the planned Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. York Chow not swayed by legislators on proposals to introduce nutritional details for food packaging The government plans to stick to its timetable to introduce nutritional details on food labels despite conflicting cries from legislators that measures are too strong or not strong enough. Donald Tsang hopes to meet Macau chief executive Edmund Ho to discuss a plan that would prevent local taxpayers escaping the tax net by setting up offshore companies in Macau, according to the accountancy sector in the 800-strong Election Committee. Persistence paid off for Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday as he finally won some supporters in the social welfare sector during a meeting with 27 members of the largely pro-democratic group. Television Broadcasts is moving closer to relaunching its struggling satellite pay-television service, with reports claiming the company is in the final test stages.
The details of the long-awaited fare
adjustment mechanism for franchised buses can be endorsed by the end of the
year, the transport chief told legislators Wednesday. At the Legco meeting,
lawmakers were worried that the mechanism, proposed by Secretary for the
Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao when she took up her post in 2003,
was stalled or even scrapped after the franchised bus operators failed to agree
on terms with the government.
Hutchison Whampoa will cash in some of its most prized port assets this month in a sale to Singapore's PSA Corp, seen as the surest sign yet that Hong Kong has entered its sunset years as a leading global container hub. China: China Tuesday issued a position paper on the United Nations reforms, emphasizing multilateralism and urging the reforms to meet the need of developing countries. US President Bush said on Tuesday that he is looking forward to meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao during their exchange of visits later this year. China's foreign debt (excluding that from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) totaled 233.4 billion US dollars by the end of March of this year.
Creditors of China Aviation Oil (CAO) Wednesday accepted a sweetened debt restructuring plan as Singapore police arrested five company executives in connection with US$550 million (HK$4.2 billion) losses in oil futures trading that brought the mainland-controlled company to its knees. Holders of more than 75 percent of of the company's US$550 million in debt - the minimum needed to win approval - voted to accept a plan that will pay them 53.9 US cents on the dollar, paving the way for the company's mainland parent and another investor to pour fresh capital into the struggling unit, China's biggest importer of aviation fuel. One other creditor settled separately with CAO, bringing the total recovery to 56.6 US cents on the dollar.
The head of the mainland's largest shirt maker yesterday criticised "unfair treatment" by the United States and European Union in limiting Chinese textile exports, but he expressed hope that negotiations would resolve the growing trade dispute. June 7 - 8, 2005 Hong Kong: Caution greets IPO wave - Fund managers watch fundamentals as share sales worth $65b come to market - with four mega-offerings worth a combined HK$65 billion about to hit a market that's trading where it was seven months ago, you'd have to figure buyers will have the upper hand. That's the situation facing investment bankers tasked with selling shares in four mainland newcomers to Hong Kong's main board - China Shenhua Energy, Bank of Communications, China COSCO and China Minsheng Banking Corp - all of whom plan to sell shares in the next few weeks in the biggest wave of IPOs to hit the market this year. caution is the byword among fund managers. "We have to make sure the valuation and fundamentals of the company are really good to make a buy,'' says Standard Life Investments investment manager Agnes Deng in a typical comment. "We may not invest'' otherwise.
Hong Kong's three dominant lenders have raised home mortgage rates for new customers by a quarter-point, their second mortgage rate move since the Hong Kong Monetary Authority acted last month to curb fund inflows.
Grade A office rent in Central has doubled over the past year as companies seek to expand amid the city's solid economic growth, but new supply has been slow.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chairman Charles Lee Yeh-kwong yesterday dismissed criticism from legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing over his possible candidacy for a top job at the securities watchdog, calling it irrelevant and premature.
As the comme |
Hong Kong:
Understanding how Hong Kong can help
American companies grow their business in China was the main subject of
discussion at two events held in Boston and Philadelphia in early June.
Hong Kong is emerging as the glamour
shopping capital of Asia, with a wave of "lifestyle" boutiques and avant-garde
department stores setting new standards in retail elegance.
Shanghai's state-controlled Catholic Church yesterday named Xing Wenzhi as an
auxiliary bishop, making him the likely future leader of one of the mainland's
most important dioceses.
Premier Wen Jiabao enjoys a joke with
workers as he inspects a water-recycling plant in Tianjin. During his visit to
his home city at the weekend, Mr. Wen also delivered a speech at the 6th
Asia-Europe Meeting of finance ministers on Sunday.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with newly sworn-in Chief Executive
of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Donald Tsang Yam-kuen during their
meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing June 24, 2005. Donald Tsang
Yam-kuen hit the ground running on his first day in the top job yesterday when
he re-appointed the cabinet and told Beijing his choice of a No2, before
embarking on an impromptu walkabout in the city's flood-hit areas.
An Architectural Scene commemorating the
fight against Sars was unveiled at the Tai Chi Garden in Hong Kong Park. 
Denise Yue Chung-yee, the permanent secretary for commerce and industry, makes
her way to Victoria House on The Peak to join commerce minister John Tsang Chun-wah
and heads of overseas economic and trade offices in briefing Chief Executive
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen on their work. Mr Tsang also met Central Policy Unit head
Lau Siu-kai, who declined to comment on the purpose of their meeting.
Dickson Poon, the chairman of upmarket
fashion retailer Dickson Concepts (International), enjoys the moment after
announcing the firm's best earnings result since the Asian financial crisis.
Profit rose 68.9 per cent to $203 million for the year to March, which coincided
with the company's silver jubilee - an occasion marked by a special dividend and
a bonus share offer.
Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appears at a business luncheon in
Hong Kong on Monday. Mrs Arroyo is on a one-day visit to meet with business
leaders and drum up investment. Filipino labour activists and workers in Hong
Kong protested her visit. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday
announced during a whirlwind visit to Hong Kong that she has expanded the role
of an ICAC official in her fight against corruption as twin scandals threaten to
sink her administration.
At least a dozen boats sank in Victoria
Harbour yesterday afternoon as a second day of chaos hit the international
dragon boat races.
Members of the police dragon boat club
head for safety after their vessels sank after crossing the finish line
yesterday. At least 12 boats were swamped in choppy conditions during the
International Dragon Boat Races, held off the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
Vice-Premier Wu Yi yesterday renewed Beijing's criticism of US moves to fend off
surging imports of Chinese textiles, saying the compromise reached last week
with the European Union was a better way to handle the problem. Wu Yi leaves the
convention centre following her address to the Pacific Basin Economic Council's
annual meeting. Vice-Premier Wu Yi made a point of highlighting improved
economic ties between Hong Kong and the mainland.
HSBC Holdings holds a "unique" position
among foreign players in the mainland's financial services industry as its
capital commitment approaches US$5 billion, according to group chairman Sir John
Bond.
Brand new superstar of tomorrow's brave new skies - the Airbus A380. The
555-passenger, double-decker juggernaut, escorted by French police, will take
pride of place at the world's biggest air show at Le Bourget, north of Paris,
which opens today. The superjumbo will take aviation to a higher plane, although
Airbus' ambitious plan for its take-off has been delayed by up to six months.
Fans and press bombard Jay Chou Jie-lun at the Grand Century Plaza in Mongkok
yesterday, where he was promoting Initial D, in which the Taiwanese
singer makes his screen debut. The $93 million Hong Kong-mainland co-production
was shot in Japan and is based on the popular Japanese car-racing comic of the
same name. Directed by Infernal Affairs' Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan
Mak Siu-fai, it will premiere at Times Square on June 20 and open on June 23.
Initial D also stars Edison Chen Koon-hei, Anne Suzuki, Shawn Yue Man-lok
and Anthony Wong Chau-sang.
Donald Tsang holds court on a fishing
boat in Aberdeen, exchanging views with a fishing family, as part of a district
tour. Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is streets ahead of Tung Chee-hwa in terms of his
handling of major issues, and his likely ascent to the top post is being
credited with a return of confidence to pre-handover levels. Fewer than 100 more
nominations for chief executive are needed by Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to win the
top post without a contest, sources say, and he will fight to the last to knock
out his rivals.
Starbucks Coffee
International will take control of its south China joint venture as the biggest
US coffee chain steps up its bid to persuade mainland tea drinkers to savor the
darker brew instead. Starbucks agreed to raise its stake in Coffee Concepts
(Southern China), its joint venture with Hong Kong's privately held Maxim's
Caterers, to 51percent from 5 percent. The two also agreed to set up another
venture in Chengdu, which will be 70percent owned by Starbucks, and extended the
life of their five-year-old Hong Kong joint venture for an additional 10 years
through at least 2037. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 
This year's winners of the Hong Kong
Women Professionals & Entrepreneurs Association's awards: (from left) Vivien
Chan, senior partner at Vivien Chan and Co; designer Vivienne Tam; Sandy Yip
Fung-ying, chairwoman and president of V.ABC Group; Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, head
professor of biochemistry at the University of Science and Technology; Chiang
Lai-yuen, chief executive of Chen Hsong Holdings; and Grace Tang Wai-king,
obstetrics and gynaecology professor at University of Hong Kong.
Chairman Yang Yuanqing and chief
executive Steve Ward announce the annual results of the "old Lenovo" at the
Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Lenovo Group, hurt by fierce competition in the mainland and
the divestment of its non-core businesses, saw turnover slip 2.6 per cent to
$22.55 billion in the year to March.
Contestants in a beauty pageant meet
youngsters at a training school for mentally handicapped children in Beijing
yesterday. Seventy-five competitors from around the world will take part in the
final stage of the 2005 Miss Tourism Queen International contest on July 2 in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.
Tsang vows to shut
out single developer - As he has increasingly hinted over recent days, Donald
Tsang said Monday that he would scrap the much-criticized single-developer
approach for the HK$40 billion West Kowloon cultural district project. However,
he told 20 architectural representatives from the 800-strong Election Committee
whom he is lobbying for votes, he intends to retain the much-maligned canopy
over the project. And, he said, he intends to revive long-delayed plans to build
the HK$4.7 billion new government complex at Tamar, which would include a new
Legislative Council building. "He told us that he was considering putting the
plans back on the table,'' said lawmaker Patrick Lau, who represents the
architectural sector.
Members of the Hong Kong Society for
the Aged dragon boat team practise on Sha Tin's Shing Mun River yesterday in
preparation for the Tuen Ng festival races on Saturday. Eight veteran teams,
made up of 171 paddlers aged 55 to 92, will compete. Their combined ages add up
to 10,930 years. 