IPO: American International Assurance Co. (AIA), the Asian life-insurance unit of American International Group Inc. (AIG), is rumoured to have its listing hearing in March and plans to start roadshows in April to seek up to US$15 billion (HK$117 billion), according to sources. (Hong Kong Economic Journal P4)
Bank of East Asia (23 HK) has recorded a net profit of HK$2.57 billion for the year ended December 31 in 2009, rose sharply from HK$39 million in 2008. Earnings per share were HK$1.36. A final dividend of 48 HK cents per share was declared. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
According to a report from Citibank, Cheung Kong Infrastructure (138 HK) may privatise Spark Infrastructure which is listed in Australia as there is an urgent need for the latter to seek financing. (Hong Kong Economic Times A10)
China Leason Investment (8270 HK) has agreed to sell 100 per cent stake in its subsidiary Shine Science BVI for 60 million yuan. Revenue of 27 million yuan has been made in the deal. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
CITIC 1616 Holdings (1883 HK) has agreed to acquire 20 per cent stake in Companhia de Telecomunicacoes de Macau, S.A.R.L. (CTM ) from its parent CITIC Pacific Limited (0267) for HK$1.4 billion in which HK$467 million is settled in cash and the rest is paid by issuing new shares at a price of HK$2.30 each. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
China Datang Corporation (991 HK), parent of Datang International Power Generation, has purchased 124 million H shares of the latter via off-market transactions in Hong Kong. Its parent said it intends to continue to purchase H shares of the latter within 12 months. (Hong Kong Economic Times A10)
Rumoured has it that Foxconn (2038 HK) plans to spend US$200 million (HK$1.55 billion) on setting up a mobile phone factory in the Northern part of Vietnam. It is expected to produce 89 million units of mobile phone annually. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Great China Holdings (141 HK) expects to record a significant increase in profit for the year ended December 31 in 2009. The company attributes the expected growth to the increase in trading volume and trading prices of fishmeal trading during the year. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Guoco has been raising its stake in Bank of East Asia (0023) from 7.89 per cent to 8.03 per cent by purchasing 1 million shares at an average price of HK$26.541 apiece on February 5, leading to a market speculation that the group would launch a bid for the lender. (Hong Kong Economic Journal P2)
SUSPECTS TRADING Imagi International (585 HK) suspected trading yesterday as the company said there are a possible capital and debt restructuring and the possible change of control in the shareholding of the company. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Manulife Financial (945 HK) has posted a net profit of CAD868 million (HK$6.37 billion) for the fourth quarter ended December 31 in 2009, against a net loss of CAD1.87 billion (HK$13.7 billion) compared with a year ago. A dividend of CAD 0.13 per share was declared. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Shui On China Central Properties Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shui On Construction (983 HK) and Materials, has agreed to sell the entire stake in Prosper Idea Limited for HK$367 million. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
SPG Land (337 HK) has agreed to acquire two land plots in Wuxi in Jiangsu for 4.95 billion yuan. The company’s land bank amounts to 5 million square meters currently. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Swire Pacific (19 HK) announced that its board proposes to give due regard to the interests of shareholders by providing qualifying shareholders with an assured entitlement to Swire Properties shares by way of a distribution in specie of Swire Properties shares if the proposed spin-off proceeds. (Hong Kong Economic Times A10)
Z-Obee (948 HK), a Shenzhen-based mobile phone maker, kicks off its initial public offering today. The company plans to issue 114 million shares at the offering price ranging from HK$1.70 to HK$2.29 to raise up to HK$261 million. Entry fee is set at HK$4626.21 per board lot of 2000 shares. The company is currently listed in Singapore. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Sources: Sing Tao Finance, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, The Standard
