Search for shell targets gives Melco jumbo boost
Shares in Melco International Development soared 32.35 per cent yesterday as investors sought out the next takeover target for a back-door listing.
Melco, which operates the Jumbo floating restaurant, saw its share price rise 55 cents to $2.25 on the day that Softbank Corp of Japan said it would take a 61 per cent stake in Cheung Wah Development.
'There was a company that was going to use it (Melco) as a back-door listing and the SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) said no,' a trader said. 'It should not be too hard for [chairman Stanley Ho Hung-sun] to go back to the SFC. Melco is a good shell company.' Analysts said there was talk yesterday that Intel Corp of the United States could be looking at Hong Kong.
'Obviously with the Cheung Wah development, on a day like that, you're going to get people concentrating on back-door listings,' a dealer with SG Securities said.
'People are now talking about Intel wanting to list over here,' he said.
