Bank of China (2388 HK) has set February 6, this Saturday, as recruitment day to employ 150 more front-line sales. (Hong Kong Economic Times A12)
Fast food chain operator Cafe de Coral (341 HK) said that it expects an about 8 per cent same-store sales growth for January and February as Hong Kong and China economies recover. The company may adjust prices to cover an increase in food prices, its chairman said. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
China Merchants Bank (3968 HK), the nation’s fifth-largest lender by market value, won regulatory approval to raise as much as 22 billion yuan in a rights offer. (Hong Kong Economic Journal P. 7)
China Precious Metal Resources (1194 HK) announced that it has entered into a letter of intent with Mojiang County Mining Co., Ltd about the acquisition of the latter. Mojiang County Mining Co., Ltd is a holder of the gold mining licence covering a mining area of 7.2241 square kilometers, and the related gold mining assets, but the latter company has not yet obtained the land use rights for the gold mining area. (Sing Tao Finance B2)
CLP Holdings (2 HK) announced that it has agreed to take over a project company CLP Sichuan (Jiangbian) Power Company Limited for 63.6 million yuan. CLP held 35 per cent stake in the project company before the acquisition. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Country Garden’s (2007 HK) contracted sales totalled 2.2 billion yuan in January, surging 253 per cent from a prior year with a floor area of 370,000 square meters sold. (Sing Tao Finance B2)
CVM Minerals (705 HK) plans to place 360 million existing shares at a price of HK$0.36, a 16.3 per cent discount on the last trading price, to raise HK$126 million for general working capital. Trading of the company resumes today. (Sing Tao Finance B2)
Embry (1388 HK) expects the net profit for 2009 to increase by more than 50 per cent as compared to that of the previous year. The expected increase is largely attributed to a steady revenue growth, improved gross profit margin and better operating efficiency. (Hong Kong Economic Times A14)
A consortium has allotted HK$1 billion for a bid to buy and build up ailing Fu Ji Catering (1175 HK). Stanley Choi Chiu-fai, an executive director of Simsen International (0993), has joined forces with Cai Dabiao, founder of mainland fast-food chain Real Kungfu, and HyComm Wireless (0499) to buy all of Fu Ji, which is under provisional liquidation. (Hong Kong Economic Journal P. 4)
Guangzhou R&F Properties (2777 HK) said its contracted property sales in January amounted to 2.564 billion yuan, growing 160 per cent year-on-year. The developer has sold 217,500 square meters in January, a 69 per cent increase compared with the corresponding period a year ago. (Sing Tao Finance B2)
Rumour has it that HSBC (5 HK) has been acquiring stake in ICBC (1398), Bank of China (3988) and CCB (0939), HSBC clarified yesterday that it has no plan to acquire any mainland banks at this stage. (Hong Kong Economic Journal P. 6)
Hua Lien International (969 HK) announced that it has signed a MOU with CADFund to form a joint venture for a long term strategic cooperation to develop renewable energy in Africa. Hua Lien will issue new shares and convertible bonds to the latter for 65 per cent shares of the JV. The deal amounts to HK$390 million. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Lerado Group (1225 HK) has gained approval from regulatory to issue TDR. Timetable of the issuance will be announced later. (Hong Kong Economic Times A14)
Next Media (282 HK) has appointed Mr. Cheung Ka Sing Cassian as the co-chief executive officer. In addition, he has been re-designated from a non-executive director to an executive director of the company. Both appointments were effective from yesterday. (Sing Tao Finance B2)
A shareholder of Wing On Travel (1189 HK) is not satisfied with Wing On Travel’s downgrading assets and refinancing plans and said he would complain to the Securities and Futures Commission. (Sing Tao Finance B3)
Sources: Sing Tao Finance, Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, The Standard
