Financials: The Bank of China (3988 HK) is hoping to open a branch in Taiwan where Taipei is preferred. The mainland lender said it has already found the right person to be the Taiwan Chief and declared that it has no plan to have merger or acquisition in Taiwan. Instead, it plans to develop its card service in Taiwan.
Materials: China Shanshui Cement (691 HK) recorded a double growth in its first-half net profit to 310 million yuan, compared to a year ago. The company plans to develop markets in the north-eastern part of China. Earnings per share were 11 fen. No interim dividend was declared.
Properties: Country Garden (2007 HK), a Guangdong-based land developer, plans to issue about US$300 million worth of 5-year dollar bonds this week, sources said.
The developer is eyeing a coupon rate of 11.75 per cent to 12 per cent for the bonds. On Tuesday, the mainland developer said it plans to issue senior notes to investors in Asia, Europe and the United States to raise money for repaying a loan and fund its development projects. JPMorgan is the sole bookrunner and lead manager for the deal. Sino-Ocean Land (3377 HK) said it has secured a US$700 million (HK$5.46 billion) three-year term loan, from bank to fund its mainland property projects. The company admitted that its profits from core business has fallen a bit this year but expects it to improve in 2010.
Shipping: COSCO International (517 HK), a state-owned shipping conglomerate based in Beijing, reported yesterday that its first-half net profit rose 9 per cent to HK$ 246 million, compared to a year ago, boosted by the drop in income tax expenses and reduced attribution of after-tax earnings to the minority shareholders. Earnings per share were 16.5 HK cents. An interim dividend of 1 HK cents was declared.
Resources: China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) (883HK) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (0857) are in talks with Chevron Corp to buy Gorgon project off Western Australia. Gorgon project generates more than 2 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas a year, according to Bloomberg. Chevron Corp owns a 50 per cent stake in Gorgon project. PetroChina (857 HK), the world’s second oil and gas producer by market value, has agreed to partner with the country’s top power firm Huaneng Power International (0902) on natural gas power-generation projects. The collaboration would enable PetroChina to attract stable users and Huaneng to increase its clean energy power generation installed capacity. Hunan Nonferrous (2626 HK) plans to set up a subsidiary named Gander Antimony Mine Limitied by acquiring 100 per cent shares in Beaver rook Antimony Mine Inc from Canadian Antimoney Mine Inc and Beaver Brook Resources Limited for US$29.5 million (HK$230 million).
Telecom: Comba Telecom Systems (2342 HK) posted a net profit of HK$232 million for the first half, surging 222.66 per cent compared with a year ago. Earnings per share were 24.81 HK cents. An interim dividend of 6 HK cents per share was declared. It will also distribute one bonus share for every ten ordinary shares held. China Wireless Technologies (2369 HK) recorded a net profit of HK$32.41 million for the first half, compared with a loss of HK$49.26 million a year ago. Earnings per share were 1.59 HK cents. An interim dividend of 1 HK cent per share was declared. Smartone Telecommunications (315 HK) said yesterday that its interim net profit declined 85 per cent to HK$ 42 million from a year earlier, dragged down by a drop of incomes in the monthly fee packages and roaming services. Earnings per share were 7.6 HK cents. The company proposed an interim dividend of 8 HK cents. ZTE Corporation (763 HK), a major global provider of telecommunications technology and network solutions, has reached an agreement with CSL Limited, Hong Kong's leading mobile operator, to expand the latter's next G network capabilities with the roll-out of UMTS in the 900 Mhz band and the building of a 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Hong Kong.
Consumer: Hengan International (1044 HK) posted a year-on-year 54 per cent rise in its net profit to HK$ 970 million for the first half, on cheaper raw materials since the third quarter of last year. Earnings per share were 82.4 HK cents. An interim dividend of 50 HK cents was declared.
China Railway Construction Corporation (1186 HK), one of the dominant railway building firms in China, says it will surpass its sales target of over 400 billion yuan worth of new contracts this year due to its strong growth in international and domestic business. The group’s new contract value exceeded 300 billion yuan up to the end of July, just 22 billion yuan short of its original annual target. Its core business’ railway projects have generated 56 per cent of the new contracts.
PCCW (8 hK)’s Singapore shareholder Pacific Century Regional Developments and Starvest are asking Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal to hear an appeal against a ruling that blocked PCCW’s HK$16 billion privatization. PCCW said it will not join the legal battle. Yet, a letter has written by PCCW to the court to express support for the appeal application.
Sources: Sing Tao Finance, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, The Standard
