Foxconn placement offers little discount
In an unusual move, an institutional investor has offered 27.65 million shares in blue chip Foxconn International Holdings at a price on par with yesterday's close, sources said.
The shares were each being marketed at between HK$22.65 and HK$23 last night, representing a zero to 1.52 per cent discount to yesterday's close of HK$23, according to a sale document given to fund managers.
The shares account for less than 1 per cent of Foxconn's share capital. Citi is the arranger of the share sale.
Shares in a placement are normally offered at a discount to their market price to attract investors, who otherwise could have bought from the open market.
Adding to the unusual deal was the fact there has not been particularly strong demand for Foxconn shares, which have dropped 10 per cent this year compared with a 4.39 per cent gain in the Hang Seng Index.
Still, Foxconn shares are trading at almost six times their initial offer price of HK$3.88 in February 2005.
Foxconn, one of the largest manufacturers of computers and electronic components, reported a net profit of US$718.04 million for last year, up from US$385.7 million in 2005. Sales soared to US$10.38 billion from US$6.36 billion.
The company and other handset makers benefited from more outsourcing contracts for handset production by global vendors, such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson, to Asia suppliers.
''Foxconn's sales should grow by at least 30 per cent, boosted by the buoyant global handset market,' said a fund manager who owns Foxconn shares.
