Capital Strategic Investment (CSI) (497 HK) and Templeton Asset Management have reached an agreement that the latter will invest HK$78 million in convertible notes issued by CSI. Templeton Asset Management will hold 3.6 per cent stakes in CSI upon the deal and may hold up to 5 per cent stake in near term.
Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (CKI) (1038 HK) and affiliate Hong Kong Electric Holdings (0006) have agreed to spend HK$1 billion to increase their stakes in a British gas distributor. The combined stake of CKI and HK Electric will increase from 75.1 per cent to 88.4 per cent upon the deal.
China Mobile’s (941 HK) chairman and chief executive Wang Jianzhou said the company eyes to list on the mainland international board, hoping that the regulatory can complete its application. The operator revealed that it has not yet appointed sponsors of its listing.
China Windpower Group (182 HK) has recorded a net profit of HK$106.95 million for the first half ended September 30, a double compared with a year ago. No interim dividend was declared.
Country Garden Holdings (2007 HK) announced that its contracted sales have reached 5.1 billion yuan for the period between October 1 and November 15. The sales in October amounted to 3.6 billion, surging 142 per cent year-on-year.
Green Global Resource (61 HK) announced that its unit North Asia Resources Group has established a strategic partnership with China Railway Mongolia to jointly develop the Oyut Ovoo mine. North Asia Resources Group holds 90 per cent stake in the Oyut Oyoo mine while China Railway Mongolia holds 10 per cent. The mine is expected to operate in the second half of next year.
Under the rumour that Guoco Group (53 HK) is going to merge with The Bank of East Asia (0023), Affin Holdings Berhad, Guoco’s subsidiary, surged 13 per cent yesterday. Rumour also has it that if Guoco won the bid, HLBank, a Malaysian lender owned by Guoco chair Quek Leng Chan, would merge with Affin Holdings Berhad, according to Singapore newspapers.
Hong Kong Economic Times (423 HK) has posted a net profit of HK$40 million for the first half ended September 30, plunging 22 per cent compared with a year earlier. An interim dividend of 3.1 HK cents per share was declared.
Pay TV operator Cable TV (1097 HK) has edged out rival Now TV for the rights to broadcast English Premier League soccer matches for the next three seasons. Cable TV has more than 900,000 subscribers and with the World Cup coming, it expected it could reach 1 million next year. It was estimated that 80 per cent of local soccer fans had been paying to watch the Premiership.
Footwear retailer Le Saunda (738 HK) has posted an interim profit of HK$36.282 million, falling 9.75 per cent from the prior year. Earnings per share were 5.7 HK cents. An interim dividend of 3 HK cents per share was declared.
Meadville Holdings (3313 HK) has agreed to sell its printed circuit boards business to Nasdaq-listed TTM Technologies for US$521.3 million (HK$4.07 billion).
PCCW (8 HK), operator of Now TV, which broadcasted the Premier League for the previous three seasons, said it had won the exclusive rights to broadcast the Spanish La Liga in Hong Kong for three years, covering the three seasons of 2009-10 to 2011-12.
Ping An (2318 HK) Executive Vice President Sun Jianyi said it will plan an investment portfolio according to market opportunities and overall development of the group, and it has no plan for fund raising at this stage.
Pou Sheng International (3813 HK) said it expects to record a loss in its audited consolidated results for the year ended September 30, reversing a year-ago profit. The earnings were hurt by a decrease in the gross profit margin on the sale of Converse products as the group’s exclusive brand licensee arrangement with Converse in PRC expired at the end of last year. More, gross profit margin declined as a result of higher discounts offered as an incentive to boost the lower-than-expected sales during the global financial crisis and post-Olympic slowdown. It also reported increases in selling and distribution expenses, and increases in inventory provision.
Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding (322 HK) has recorded a net profit of US$147 million (HK$1.14 billion) for the third quarter, surging 60 per cent year-on-year. Net profit for the first three quarters amounted to US$327 million (HK$2.534 billion), jumping 49 per cent compared with a year ago. Earnings per share were 5.85 US cents. No dividend was declared. The manufacturer plans to expand its beverage production by 20 per cent next year to boost its gross margin.
Sources: Sing Tao Finance, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, The Standard
