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February 28, 2006
Hopewell Holdings could soon join other Hong Kong property developers packaging their assets for sale as real estate investment trusts.
Education chief Arthur Li has announced a series of measures to alleviate the pressure on teachers, improve the teaching of poorly performing children and allow for the introduction of small-class teaching in some schools. Esprit Holdings, the world's fifth most valuable clothing retailer, expects growth in comparative store sales to slow this fiscal year as it clears marked- down inventory in women's wear, a senior executive said. Kenneth Courtis, a top Goldman Sachs executive and economist who had a controversial role as an independent non-executive director of China's dominant offshore oil producer CNOOC, is expected to leave the United States investment bank at the end of next month. Hopewell Highway Infrastructure, a toll road operator in the Pearl River Delta region, plans to spend HK$1.43 billion to build two road projects, after first- half profit jumped 31 percent on higher traffic flow. Financial Secretary Henry Tang said his bid to expand yuan trading in Hong Kong is to pave the way for future economic development and has nothing to do with electioneering.
Barrister Kevin Egan and solicitor Andrew Lam Ping-cheung were yesterday accused of launching a campaign involving the court and the press to pressure the ICAC into releasing a woman who was a potential witness against their client.
The economic and trade cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries has made remarkable progress in recent years, said Vice Minister of Commerce Wei Jianguo. The new draft requires foreign insurance institutions to have at least 20 years of continuous experience in running an insurance business when applying for a license to set up a representative office in China. US cosmetics giant Avon Products Inc was awarded China's first licence for direct sales, after the country lifted a seven-year ban on the business on December 1. The new Lenovo C Series notebooks and J Series desktops are based on Intel and AMD processors, feature ThinkPad-inspired technologies and offer Lenovo Care productivity tools to take the guesswork out of system maintenance. With a sleek silver case, the C100 notebook weighs 2.8kg and is 3.3cm thin. February 27, 2006
Banco Delta Asia - taken over by the Macau government after a money- laundering scandal last year - is seeking a buyer, becoming the latest lender to put itself on the block as a wave of consolidation sweeps the regional banking industry, people familiar with the situation said. China Telecommunications Group, the parent of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom Corp, plans to spin off its engineering and telecom services arm for a Hong Kong initial public offering to raise between US$200 million (HK$1.56 billion) and US$400 million in the second half this year, industry sources said. Golden Eagle, a mainland department store chain which hopes to raise HK$1.2 billion to HK1.3 billion in its Hong Kong IPO, said it plans to open three stores in the cities of Xian, Nanjing and Taizhou at a total cost of HK$320 million. As the tension between the government and the territory's two power companies over the development of the electricity market intensifies, Hong Kong Electric has taken a calculated risk in building the city's first wind-power station in the hopes of gaining favorable business conditions later. The value Hong Kong's exports surged 34.8 per cent year-on-year in January to $13.1 billion, official statistics released on Monday showed. Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television Monday rejected a report that media-entertainment giant News Corp has discussed pulling out of its Chinese television joint venture.
China Merchants Bank (CMB) aims to
launch a US$2 billion H-share offering this year, becoming the first mainland
lender to trade on both the domestic and Hong Kong stock exchanges, sources
said.
The mobile-phone market will remain stable this year with about 300,000 handsets sold every month, 15 per cent of them for 3G services, says Motorola Asia-Pacific vice-president Cedric So.
Luxembourg-based steel giant Arcelor SA has reached an agreement in principle to buy an undisclosed stake in Laiwu Steel Corporation, China's second biggest fully integrated steel plant, officials of Laigang Group, Laiwu Steel's parent company, said on Friday. Bank of America, the second-largest US bank, and Cargill, the largest US agricultural company, have emerged winners in the latest bad debt auction organized by Huarong Asset Management. China Rare Earth Holdings, the nation's biggest processor of elements used in magnets and mobile phone batteries, may bring in General Electric, one of the world's largest conglomerates, as a strategic investor, a senior official at the firm said.
Although it has been endorsed by the central leadership, the concept of a "green GDP" has been controversial from the beginning and is sure to be debated at the annual National People's Congress session that convenes on Sunday.
February 24 - 26, 2006
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has launched a crackdown on leakage of pre-deal research as listing candidate Golden Eagle International came under fire for leaks from its prospectus.
Hong Kong blue chips rose to a five- year high Thursday amid the heaviest trading since the SAR government intervened in the stock market in 1998, as investors switched their holdings to property stocks from H shares. Pacific Century Insurance Holdings, a Hong Kong-based insurer controlled by tycoon Richard Li, said its chief financial officer Sam Cheung has resigned after the company found an accounting error that inflated profit by 13 times. Esprit Holdings was downgraded at Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse after the company reported earnings dented by a poor choice of merchandise at its women's clothing division. The stock slid 9 percent. Mandarin Oriental International, which manages luxury hotels in Asia, Europe and the Americas, said profit almost tripled last year as it booked a one-time gain from selling a hotel stake and charged more for rooms. Chief Executive Donald Tsang told top Beijing advisers Thursday that he will stay a few days in Beijing to meet the greater Pearl River Delta region's nine provincial governors and their mayors to enhance cross-border cooperation. The government announced on Thursday that it would launch a scheme aimed at attracting talented people from the mainland and overseas to settle in Hong Kong.
European steel giant Arcelor has won initial approval to buy a 38.41 per cent stake in China's Laiwu Steel for 2.09 billion yuan (HK$2.01 billion), a source close to the deal said on Friday.
China will allow foreign investors to own equity stakes of up to 25 per cent in rural financial institutions, seeking their expertise and capital. Human trials for a new drug to fight HIV and hepatitis B have begun in the mainland, raising hope for a cheaper alternative treatment for Aids sufferers, state media reported on Thursday. February 23, 2006
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen , going some way to meet public demand, announced on Wednesday modest tax breaks but balanced them with the start of consultations on a goods and services tax (GST). Hong Kong's economy grew by 7.3 per cent last year, showing it has fully recovered from the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial chief said on Wednesday.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) on Wednesday said it was concerned about a fake bank website that has been put on the internet.
While the Chinese economy faces a favorable domestic environment for stable growth this year, challenges such as imbalances in international payments are still ahead, said the People's Bank of China. Foreign exchange officials have sounded out the market about further easing of capital outflow restrictions this year as political pressure mounts for further yuan appreciation and exchange-rate flexibility. Search engine Baidu.com reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profits on Wednesday despite growing competition from industry giants Google and Yahoo in its home market, sending its United States shares up in after-hours trading. February 22, 2006
Shares of Hang Lung Properties, Hong Kong's fourth-largest developer by market value, closed almost 4 percent down after the company reported its interim profit little changed as revaluation gains and rental income growth offset a steep decline in home sales. SuperSun, a small pay-TV operator part-owned by dominant free-to-air broadcaster TVB, has signed a five-year agreement to distribute its programs via PCCW's NOW Broadband TV, which has half a million customers. After months of anticipation, the Hospital Authority's new chief executive has arrived in Hong Kong, armed with a plan to look at "every option" to reduce the medical deficit and leaving little doubt that there will be changes. Hong Kong inflation rose sharply in January to 2.6 per cent, from a 1.8 per cent increase in December last year, official figures showed on Tuesday.
The People's Bank of China, or the central bank, said on Tuesday the country's currency will be kept "basically stable" at a reasonable and balanced level in 2006. The world's biggest aircraft, the 555-seat Airbus A380, will arrive in China during Zhuhai Airshow in November this year.
With booming business between China and India, State Bank of India (SBI), the largest commercial bank in India, plans to upgrade its Shanghai representative office into a branch company this April, making it the first Indian bank to open its branch in China. The European Union on Monday said it may impose protective duties on imports of shoes from China and Vietnam after finding evidence that the Asian nations were unfairly dumping footwear on European markets. Guangdong's land watchdog has sought provincial government approval to implement a raft of land requisition rules introducing uniform compensation standards. China and the European Union signed an agreement yesterday on developing technology to reduce emissions from burning coal, as a top EU official called on the mainland to play a greater role in fighting climate change.
The Ministry of Commerce yesterday
said foreign direct investment on the mainland increased 11 per cent year on
year to US$4.55 billion last month, as efforts by overseas firms to tap the
country's cheap labour and booming consumer market showed no sign of flagging. February 21, 2006
Hong Kong's Peter Kam won the Silver Bear for Best Music for "Isabella" at the 56th Berlin Film Festival which ended on Saturday (Sunday HK time).
A British-based renewable energy company is planning to build Hong Kong's first commercial wind farm off Sai Kung. Under the plan, up to 50 massive wind turbines - described as being "as tall as Jardine House with blades as long as a Boeing jet" - will be built on the Ninepin islands, or Kwo Chau Kwan To.
China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) will undertake the design and manufacture of Airbus' newest aircraft, the A350, after joining the Airbus engineering center.
Chinese e-commerce sales last year hit a record 553.1 billion yuan (US$68.72 billion), an increase of 58 per cent over 2004; and the momentum is set to continue this year, says a new study. Ningbo Port Group, a state-owned enterprise and the mainland's fourth- largest port operator, plans to spend 10 billion yuan (HK$ 9.65 billion) on building a port in Zhoushan to meet growing demand for container space from the Yangtze River Delta region.
China's new role as a stakeholder in the global system will receive its most important test in April when President Hu Jintao makes his long-delayed state visit to Washington. A United States congressman has introduced draft legislation that would make it illegal for mainland internet firms listed in the US to comply with Chinese government demands on censorship and disclosure of personal information. February 20, 2006
Billionaire Li Ka-shing has spent HK$517 million to increase his stake in property developer Cheung Kong (Holdings) amid expectations the company will continue to benefit from Hong Kong's rising economy and peaking interest rates. Hong Kong's Airport Authority has obtained approval from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China to set up a joint venture to operate the under-utilized Zhuhai Airport.
Oil and natural gas mining are the most profitable industries in China in 2005, according to a study by the State Information Center released Friday. International crude oil price rise will exert seven impacts on Chinese economy including GDP slash, rising pressure of inflation and other aspects, according to a report released by Forecasting Research Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences on February 16. Multinational companies are taking on more corporate social responsibility in China, according to a report released on Friday by the Transnational Corporation Research Centre under the Ministry of Commerce. Chinese consumers will purchase 30 million computer units each year by 2008, a leading domestic market consultancy said yesterday. However competition will get more heated, leading to falling prices and profit margins. February 16 - 19, 2006
Property stocks rallied a day after banking giant HSBC's move to lower mortgage rates, with investors expecting residential sales to pick up amid a home- loan price war. Regal Hotels International Holdings, a mid-sized Hong Kong-listed hotel owner, plans to raise at least HK$4 billion by selling units in a real estate investment trust in Hong Kong as early as the first half, people familiar with the situation said. Tycoon Charles Chan has no plans to sell his stake in pay-television firm SuperSun at the moment, as the company hopes a new tie-up with PCCW will turn its business around, informed sources said. Financial Secretary Henry Tang should raise personal and dependent parent tax allowances as well as extend the home loan interest relief period in next week's budget, according to a survey by real estate agent Midland Realty. Casino tycoon Stanley Ho has elbowed his way through the crowds of merely wealthy to join the top five richest people in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, three notches behind Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, according to a list compiled by Forbes Asia magazine.
China will begin a comprehensive audit of the Three Gorges Project, the world's largest hydropower project, in March of this year, according to audit sources. In 2005, China imported iron ore of 275 million tons, up 32.3 percent year on year and accounting for 43 percent of the world's total ore shipment.
American companies in China are prospering as they gain more access to domestic markets despite the ongoing trade frictions between the two countries, according to an American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) survey released yesterday. China's top oil refiner, Sinopec Corp yesterday said it had got final government approval to upgrade its ethylene production facility in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. This could involve an investment of up to 8.4 billion yuan (US$1.03 billion).
February 15, 2006
Automated Systems Holdings Ltd, the Hong Kong-listed arm of Singapore information technology (IT) firm CSA, plans to set up its first office on the Chinese mainland. Some mainland property developers are expected to buck the trend and deliver big profits for investors this year, despite the cooling-down of the sector, local analysts said. The International Monetary Fund has urged the Hong Kong government to tackle long-term fiscal problems presented by the city's aging population and avoid granting tax cuts in next week's budget despite forecasts for financial surpluses in the near term. With the inclusion of some eligible H-share giants such as China Construction Bank, the benchmark Hang Seng Index will become more representative of the Hong Kong stock market. But more important, the change reflects the fact that the SAR is now the major market for mainland companies to raise capital despite Shanghai's challenge. The government and the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association will hold an emergency meeting today to review future arrangements for the Hong Kong Marathon, which has suffered its first fatality after a crowded race run in bad air pollution Sunday.
The country will continue to be challenged by the great transfer of the rural labor force in 2006 and have to deal with employment risks posed by overcapacity, trade conflicts, or economic fluctuations.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest commercial lender, expects its operating profits to rise by more than 10 percent this year as it diversifies revenue sources and continues to cut bad loans. Shares of Dongfeng Motor Group, China's No3 automaker, and Agile Property Holdings, a Guangdong-based property developer, have been added in Morgan Stanley Capital International indexes, a move that will likely attract fund flow to the stocks. February 14, 2006
China's biggest baby-goods supplier Goodbaby Group has been bought out by a Hong Kong private equity fund in one of the mainland's first leveraged buyouts (LBO), a company executive confirmed.
Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings), the biggest containerboard maker in China, plans to sell US$60 million (HK$468 million) worth of shares to tycoons Lee Shau-kee, Cheng Yu-tung and Robert Kuok in its Hong Kong initial public offering, according to a preliminary prospectus obtained by institutional investors. The benchmark Hang Seng Index is set to reflect more the influence of mainland stocks, particularly in the financial and energy sectors, as China continues with reform to make state-owned shares tradable, a move that will also make the shares eligible for inclusion in the index under new rules. Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Corp, which manages the HK$12 billion Science Park in Sha Tin, said it may have to repay the government more than HK$5 billion as rental income increases. China Glass Holdings, which listed its shares on Hong Kong's main board last June, is sealing a deal to buy eight factories, a move that will expand production capacity fivefold and make the company the country's largest glassmaker, industry sources said. The Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association is considering changes to the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon after nearly 5,000 people needed medical treatment during Sunday's race.
Financial Secretary Henry Tang is likely to widen the current tax bands and extend the eligible period of home loan interest deductions to benefit the middle class when he announces his budget on February 22, a source close to the government said. TVB has won its battle to show the full Oscar awards ceremony live after the broadcasting regulator allowed it to delay the start of educational television by an hour.
The Planning Department plans to rezone a former government office site in Causeway Bay, paving the way for a $6.1 billion sale for commercial or low-density housing.
In January 2006, China's foreign trade volume totaled US$120.49 billion, up 26.8 percent year on year. China's currency strengthened to its highest level against the US dollar yesterday since its July 21 revaluation.
Alliant Energy Corporation, a US-based power firm, announced late last week that it has sold its interests in eight power facilities in China for a combined US$123 million, and is planning to sell its remaining two plants, with local companies rumoured to be in the running. US-based 3M, a Fortune 500 multinational company, yesterday announced the establishment of a US$30 million material technology company in Guangzhou Development District.
The mainland yesterday said retail sales in the first half are likely to grow about 12.5 per cent from a year earlier, indicating a sturdy trend as the government tries to promote consumption to help rebalance the economy. The central government is planning to force large state-owned enterprises to pay dividends to the state after companies overseen by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) posted more than 600 billion yuan in net profit last year. February 13, 2006
Neo-China Group (Holdings), a Hong Kong-listed mainland property firm, raised HK$619 million in a share placement to fund property developments in China, market sources said. Agriculture officers may break into private homes to seize chickens after a prohibition on domestic poultry farming comes into effect Monday, warned Stella Hung, director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
It will be business as usual for law enforcement authorities carrying out covert surveillance until the six-month grace period provided by the High Court expires, a senior government source said yesterday.
Xinao Gas Holdings, China's largest privately owned piped-gas distributor, said growth over the year will come from expanding its existing distribution systems, rather than buying new ones, a decision that will allow it to hold its capital spending at last year's 800 million yuan (HK$770.4 million) level for the next two to three years. In 2005 China exported 172,639 autos, 11,031 more than the import, according to latest figures from the Ministry of Commerce. When authentic figures on the Chinese and world oil markets in 2005 finally became available, the truth about the so-called "Chinese factor" in the soaring international oil price was also disclosed -- it has been seriously overplayed. China Development Bank and China Everbright Bank completed the country's first RMB interest rate swap transaction Thursday.
The Ministry of Health hopes an experiment with low-cost hospitals will serve as a model in the government's efforts to restructure the health-care system and curb malpractices that result in exorbitant medical bills. The organizers of the Beijing Olympics have launched a charm offensive to convince the international media that they have nothing to fear from China. The threat of legal action from disgruntled offshore investors is delaying mainland companies with dual listings at home and abroad from carrying out their state share reforms, analysts say. February 10 - 12, 2006
The planned spinoff of Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Italia unit will depend on efforts to bridge a gap of as much as 2 billion euros (HK$18.62 billion) between what the parent company and fund managers think the Italian third- generation mobile phone company is worth. China Resources Snow Breweries, a joint venture between Hong Kong- listed China Resources Enterprise and the world's third-largest brewer SABMiller, has bought 85 percent of a Fujian-based brewer for 72 million yuan (HK$69.3 million). COSCO Container Lines (COSCON) - a unit of Hong Kong-listed COSCO China Holdings - and 14 other Asian shippers plan to raise freight rates by an average 10 to 20 percent on US- Asian routes, brushing aside concerns of overcapacity in the global shipping industry. Most of Hong Kong's leading lenders, like HSBC's Hang Seng Bank and Bank of East Asia, will eke out small earnings growth for 2005 after a second-half rebound in net interest margins, analysts say. Mid-tier developer Chinese Estates plans to bundle assets in a real estate investment trust that may comprise five prime Hong Kong commercial properties worth HK$10 billion, sources told Sing Tao Daily.
Pacific Century Premium Developments has unveiled the final phase of its Bel-Air Residence at Cyberport, with a developable floor area of one million square feet, which analysts estimate will involve construction costs of HK$2 billion. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), China Netcom and Foxconn International Holdings are all likely candidates to be added to the benchmark Hang Seng Index, replacing Denway Motors, Johnson Electric or Lenovo tomorrow when the index comes up for quarterly review, market analysts reckoned. Tsui Hark's martial arts epic Seven Swords faces a battle with Peter Chan Ho-sun's musical Perhaps Love at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards after both movies garnered 11 nominations each. Prolonged questioning in the contentious internal surveillance case roiling Hong Kong's anti-graft agency focused Wednesday on whether top directors acted before receiving legal advice about initiating a criminal investigation against one of its senior investigators. The WHO's top pandemic flu official has applauded Hong Kong's ban on backyard poultry farming, saying the city was seen as setting the global "gold standard" for bird-flu precautions.
Small airline Hong Kong Express will scrap its Guangzhou leg - one of the shortest hops in the aviation business - at the end of the month due to low passenger numbers and heavy competition.
Export-Import Bank of China will borrow US$260 million from nine banks to support expanding trade financing and overseas investment by Chinese companies, according to Bank of China, which is arranging the loan.
Sinopec Corp, the country's biggest oil refiner, plans to spend about US$1.46 billion to buy out four domestic-listed subsidiaries, said people close to the deal yesterday, fuelling expectations of further privatization. Eight Chinese shoe makers set up an alliance on Wednesday in south China's Guangdong Province to summon the country's shoe manufacturing industry to act in unity in responding to European Union's (EU) anti-dumping probe on China-made shoes. China on Wednesday imposed a temporary ban on pork imports from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands over a dioxin scare in the European countries. Chinese mainland has decided to resume the export of fishery labor services to Taiwan in the upcoming fishing season after four-year-long suspension, announced by an official with the Ministry of Commerce. Authorities in Shanghai released figures yesterday confirming the slowdown in the city's property sector last year, which some see as signal that it is time to jump back into the market.
February 9, 2006
Think twice before you take home a live chicken from the market because you could face a fine of up to HK$100,000, health officials warned while introducing a proposal to ban backyard poultry farming. The local exhibition industry put HK$19 billion into the economy last year, driven by increased mainland business visitors, exceeding the percentage of contributions to the gross domestic product when compared with Germany and England, the industry's chairman said Tuesday. Most of the abuse of elderly people in Hong Kong involved physical or psychological mistreatment, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food York Chow Yat-ngok said on Wednesday.
Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa on Wednesday said it had cleared all regulatory hurdles for the initial public offering of its Italian third-generation mobile phone unit 3 Italia but that final approval rested with 3 Italia's board of directors. Television Broadcasts' pay-television operation, Supersun, is banking on yet another name change to turn the struggling business around, and on a partnership with rival PCCW Now Broadband TV to lift its battered fortunes. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group yesterday finalised its first project in China, sealing a contract to manage a 292-room resort in Sanya, Hainan. The management of Link Reit is looking to refinance its $12 billion loan facility provided by HSBC during the initial public offering last year with a five-year debt facility, sources said.
As learned from the website of the Ministry of Commerce, China customs statistics show the bilateral trade between China and Vietnam recorded a 21.6 percent increase to 8.2 billion US dollars in 2005. China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. had its yearly financial report of 2004 approved at the shareholders' meeting early this month, paving the way for its relist.
Insurance Australia Group (IAG), the largest car and home insurer in Australia, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to buy 24.9 per cent of China Pacific Property Insurance Company (CPIC Property). Chinese Internet portal Sohu.com yesterday said revenue for the fourth quarter rose by 27 per cent year-on-year and 8 per cent quarter-on-quarter to US$30.50 million.
Six senior mainland officials from the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) have been taken into custody after being accused of taking bribes, the China Daily reported on Wednesday.
February 8, 2006
Yorkey Optical International and Modern Beauty Salon Holdings, the first two Hong Kong initial public offerings in the Year of the Dog, priced their shares towards the top end of indicative price ranges amid a buoyant market for new stock. CK Life Sciences International, tycoon Li Ka-shing's biotechnology flagship, has agreed to pay US$166 million (HK$1.29 billion) for 80 percent of an American nutraceutical company, its largest acquisition since listing on the stock exchange in 2002. Hong Kong Disneyland's gestures to calm the anger sparked by the Lunar New Year's chaos, when hundreds of people were turned away at the gates, has failed to appease tourists. The Chinese University of Hong Kong will soon be looking for philanthropists who are willing to cough up up to HK$500 million and may in exchange have new colleges named after them. The KCRC has been asked to proceed with in-depth planning for an express rail link between Hong Kong and Guangzhou using its West Rail line rather than a dedicated new line.
China's banking supervisor said it uncovered 767.1 billion yuan (HK$738 billion) of irregularities at domestic financial institutions last year - about a third more than in 2004. Nine Dragons Paper, the largest containerboard maker in China, plans to use the US$400 million (HK$3.12 billion) proceeds from its Hong Kong share sale for debt repayment and to increase production capacity by 64 percent over the next three years, according to a research report by the co-arranger of the IPO. February 7, 2006
Home World Group, a mainland retail chain store operator, plans to raise almost HK$4 billion in an initial public share offering in the second quarter to benefit from the country's growing middle class, people familiar with the situation said.
China Life Insurance, the mainland's largest insurer with half of the life coverage market, plans to sell a 10 percent stake in the company to three strategic investors - two from overseas, and one from the mainland - chairman Yang Chao said, according to Caijing Magazine. Jockey Club officials were all smiles Sunday when, for the second time in six days, racing turnover topped the HK$1 billion mark. Hong Kong's customs officials said on Monday they had stepped up surveillance at the border with China to stop people smuggling birds and poultry into the territory.
The Securities and Futures Commission will today ask lawmakers to approve new rules governing customer margin financing provided by brokers, including a limit on how much of client stock held as collateral can be repledged by brokers to obtain bank loans. Hutchison Whampoa's Italian mobile unit, 3 Italia, has gained listing approval but is still awaiting final clearance from the securities market regulator before it begins its long-awaited €2 billion ($18.6 billion) initial public offering. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing is looking to introduce additional guidelines to vet listing applications from gaming companies because of concerns about money laundering, according to sources.
The government will continue to regulate land supply for real estate development this year but promised to transfer more to construct economical housing for low-income families, said a cabinet official.
China's currency closed on Monday at a post-revaluation high against the US dollar, as local banks sold some of their excess dollar positions after the lunar New Year holiday, traders said.
February 6, 2006
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), which operates the city's stock and futures exchanges, said it will add more independent members to the listing committee as it launched a two- phase reform program Friday.
In a high-stakes power play, Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui has promised to attend a Legislative Council hearing on the proposed West Kowloon cultural district only after legislators failed in their attempt to compel him to appear before them. Commercial development appears to have been ruled out in an expanse of woodland and wetland near Sai Kung Country Park where a property giant wants to build a golf course.
Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity investment fund, will invest in GOME through the issuance of 125 million U.S. dollars convertible bonds and 25 million U.S. dollars warrants. China approved requests by 31 foreign institutional investors to pour US$5.64 billion (HK$43.99 billion) into yuan- denominated stocks and bonds by the end of 2005 as demand for access to the domestic market heats up.
China Aviation Oil (CAO) yesterday said it would appoint two new board members from its new investor, BP Investment Asia, to improve corporate governance at the scandal-tainted jet fuel company. February 3 - 5, 2006
Hong Kong's home sales rose by 10.7 percent in January month-on-month, the first increase in the number of transactions in three months, as buyers return to the market on expectations that interest rates are peaking.
Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Frederick Ma has expressed the hope that the Revenue (Profits Tax Exemption for Offshore Funds) Bill, which helps attract more overseas investors to Hong Kong, will be endorsed in this year's first quarter. Television Broadcasts, Hong Kong's dominant free-to-air broadcaster, said it applied for land from the government to build base stations for its planned launch of HDTV (high-definition television) service in the city by the end of next year. The Securities and Futures Commission has begun an investigation into whether some analysts improperly used price- sensitive information selectively disclosed by Techtronic Industries in their research reports, sources close to the regulatory body said.
Hong Kong's retail sales rose 6.9 per cent to $19.3 billion year-on-year in December 2005, latest statistics released on Thursday showed.
Most local lenders yesterday left interest rates unchanged in the wake of the latest increase in US rates - with the notable exception Bank of China (Hong Kong), which decided to raise its prime rate by 0.25 percentage point to 8 per cent to catch up with its medium and smaller rivals.
Nortel Networks on Wednesday said it was joining hands with a major Chinese competitor, Huawei Technologies, in a global partnership to develop "ultra broadband" projects. French telecommu |
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Hong Kong:
Managing director Thomas Jefferson Wu says Hopewell is eagerly awaiting central
government approval for its 29km bridge project, which
is estimated to cost as
much as $60 billion. Toll road operator Hopewell Highway Infrastructure has
boosted its reserves for the long-awaited Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project
after delivering a forecast-beating 31.1 per cent jump in interim profit to
$563.79 million.
Nearly 200 drivers of taxis, and also
minibuses, that run on LPG drove slowly through Central yesterday to protest
against a new price-adjustment mechanism they blame for a rise in fuel prices by
up to 40 per cent. Disgruntled drivers say the new mechanism, which allows an
LPG price review every month instead of twice a year, is costing them up to
$2,000 a month.
China:
The world's largest personal credit
information databank has been put into operation in China, with the number of
persons covered reaching 486 million by late January, the People's Bank of China
has said.
Wheeling out the big guns ... Justin Chiu
of Cheung Kong says the developer hopes to benefit from improving market
conditions by bringing its 924-unit Apex development to market as soon as this
week.
Fighting pollution, Beijing is keen
to ensure the 2008 Olympics showcase environmental management.
He Guangbei, vice-chairman and chief
executive at Bank of China (Hong Kong), said Hong Kong should play a more active
role in yuan business to help "internationalise" the currency. His comments at
the bank's spring reception yesterday came just a day after Financial Secretary
Henry Tang Ying-yen called on the central government in his budget speech to
expand the scope of yuan business conducted by Hong Kong lenders. However, Mr He
said although the central government was taking an active approach towards Hong
Kong banks conducting more yuan business, mainland regulations had to be taken
into consideration.
Knots to kilowatts: The wind-driven
turbine on Lamma Island, which was officially opened yesterday.
Vice-Premier Wu Yi vowed yesterday to intensify her fight against illegally
copied goods - not to fend off complaints from Washington but to spur the
mainland's own ambitions to become a technological power.
The Western Market celebrates its 100th
anniversary this year with a carnival starting on Sunday that will include
heritage-photograph and stamp-design competitions, ballroom and Latin dance
contests and a made-in-Hong Kong fashion competition. The operator, Lifestyle
Group, will spend $1 million on events throughout the year.
Ronnie Chan was upbeat on prospects
as he announced Hang Lung's results yesterday. Hang Lung Properties posted a
0.76 per cent rise in interim profit yesterday, with rental growth and a
revaluation of investment properties offsetting a fall in residential sales.
PCCW deputy chairman and managing
director Jack So Chak-kwong (right) and Supersun's Charles Chan seal their
network alliance.
Plans for the West Kowloon cultural
district - including the controversial mandate for a canopy - have been scrapped
and will again be redrawn because the three short-listed developers were unhappy
about changes to the initial proposal. A developers' group welcomed the
government decision to rethink the West Kowloon project, while a delay in the
area's home supply may benefit the district's residential market, according to
other real estate interests. Putting the best face on the backtracking over the
West Kowloon arts hub, which follows closely on the heels of the political
reform debacle, Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui insisted the move
was ultimately made to avoid accusations of "collusion."
Secretary for Financial Services and the
Treasury Frederick Ma Si-hang refused to give away any secrets about tomorrow's
government budget when he attended last night's South China Morning Post
Fund Manager of the Year awards ceremony. However, he was happy to tell the fund
managers that the bill exempting offshore funds from paying profit tax would be
voted on in a Legislative Council meeting next week.
Some of Shanghai's growing population
of 2.6 million elderly are lucky to get a place at the table at a government
home as the city wonders how to cope.
Chinese-American crew members of the
USS Blue Ridge look forward to shore leave shortly after the Pacific fleet
flagship docked in Hong Kong. The 35-year-old Blue Ridge, which crew members
said would stay in Hong Kong for four days, docked at Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha
Tsui. There are up to 20 native Chinese on board.
Biosino president Wu Lebin says the mainland pharmaceuticals manufacturer plans
to raise up to $99 million from its initial offering.
Foreign Ministry Commissioner Yang
Wenchang (left) joins Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen at the Lunar New
Year reception hosted by the Hong Kong Federation of Fujian Associations. Mr
Yang confirmed he would retire next week and said he would miss Hong Kong, a
city he loves, after returning to the mainland. In a new move to woo the
pro-Beijing sector, Mr Tsang will invite Hong Kong deputies to the National
People's Congress to a seminar at Government House on February 24.
Although much has been achieved on the
international accounting front since the collapse of Enron four years ago, even
more changes lie ahead, according to Sir David Tweedie. The chairman of the
International Accounting Standards Board, on one of his regular visits to Hong
Kong, yesterday said more had to be done in cases of consolidation where the
transparency of off-balance items of listed companies needed to be improved to
prevent subsidiaries being used to hide debt problems, as was the case with
Enron.
A crowd gathers at a temple fair
dedicated to candied haws, a traditional sweet on a stick, held yesterday in
Qingdao city, Shandong province. The fair dates to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
and is celebrated from the 16th to 18th day of the first lunar month.
More than 1,000 students and teachers gather at the HKCWC Fung Yiu King Memorial
Secondary School in Ma On Shan yesterday to remember two teachers and three
students who died in the Pat Sin Leng hill fire 10 years ago. On the second of a
two-day commemoration of the hiking trip that went tragically wrong, speakers
recalled how one of the teachers, Chau Chi-chai, kept indicating an escape route
to fleeing children, even though he was engulfed in flames.
Virginia Tam gave up her job as an
insurance broker to sell paintings online. About 724,000 people in the US make
their living trading on auction sites. While there are no figures available for
Hong Kong, operators say the number using auction sites as a business channel is
growing rapidly. Yahoo! Hong Kong, for example, estimates that budding
entrepreneurs account for half the items sold on its site.
Performers wearing masks present a ritual
dance known as Nuo in Lanzhou, Gansu province. Nuo is an ancient festival aimed
at exorcising evil spirits believed to cause disease. The festival is
traditionally held around the Lunar New Year period.
Owners of racing pigeons have begun killing them or releasing them into the wild
in the face of a new law requiring a $10,000 licence for keeping the birds, with
heavy fines for non-compliance.
Cathay Pacific Airways' bid to begin
flights to Moscow next month has met turbulence with unresolved commercial and
operational issues delaying the maiden flight to the Russian capital.
At least six China internet firms will
tap overseas markets this year to raise between US$500 million and US$1 billion
in initial public offerings, according to an industry research report. Mainland
internet companies are expecting new controls over their content that would
prevent them from posting political and current affairs articles published by
metropolitan newspapers on their websites, sources said.
Rogue trader Nick Leeson, who brought down
Barings Bank in the mid-1990s after recording £862 million ($11.7 billion) of
derivatives trading losses, says inadequate internal controls are the main
culprit of corporate collapses such as Barings, China Aviation Oil and Livedoor.
"There was massive negligence [at Barings]. They should have exposed my
activities long before [they did]," he said at the IFR Asia investment banking
award ceremony last night.
Students wait to register for the general
university entrance examination for art students yesterday in Jinan, capital of
eastern Shandong province. The exam is held today.
A time to remember: Richard Li Tzar-kai,
younger son of tycoon Li Ka-shing, visits the tomb of his mother Li Chong
Yuet-ming, at the Hong Kong Buddhist Cemetery at Cape Collinson Road, Chai Wan,
yesterday, a week after it was damaged by tomb raiders on Lunar New Year's Day.
Richard Li, who brought incense and offerings to the grave, said he had been
overseas and had only returned to the city on Saturday.
Squadrons of loyal followers are
defending US skater Michelle Kwan's name on the Internet in the run-up to the
Winter Olympics.
Higher standards of living have seen
people spend more money during the Lunar New Year holiday and greater numbers on
the move. Guangzhou has experienced a big surge in travellers, with more than
200,000 arrivals expected at Guangzhou Railway Station yesterday.
China Construction Bank is restructuring
in order to become a modern commercial lender, says chairman Guo Shuqing. China
Construction Bank is to revamp its bloated middle management - an exercise
involving 30,000 staff - to strengthen risk management and curb corruption.
Jardine Aviation Services will become
the first Hong Kong company to tap the lucrative ground-handling business in the
mainland.
Peking University professor He Weifang says China needs more professionally
trained public intellectuals who can freely voice opinions on social issues.
A girl cries as she is pushed over the
fence at Disneyland after the gates were closed, leaving unlucky holidaymakers
irate. Travel agencies have warned of legal action against Hong Kong Disneyland
for losses and damage to their reputation caused by a ticketing system they say
is flawed.
Visitors to the Disney theme park
remonstrate with a security officer after being refused entry. Hundreds were
disappointed when the gates closed at 11.30am. Angry scenes shattered the
holiday mood at Hong Kong Disneyland on Thursday as hundreds of ticket-holders
stormed the gates and climbed over security fences after being told the park was
full.
Secretary for Financial Services
Frederick Ma at yesterday's inauguration of the Gold & Silver Exchange in Sheung
Wan.
A
Chinese sales girl displays a Chinese copy of the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" at
a video store in Beijing, on Thursday. The Chinese government has canceled the
release of the film — a decision made amid speculation that officials are
worried the sight of Chinese actresses playing Japanese geishas could stir a
backlash