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Denise Tsang

SEAPOWER Financial Services Group, part of Seapower Resources International, is set for a major revamp of its business and eventually a possible float in the wake of a management reshuffle.

New chairman and managing director Zhang Liping, recruited last month from Merrill Lynch where he was chief China representative, said the company planned to launch two investment funds - a mutual fund and a food fund.

He said Seapower Resources, in which the Top Glory International-controlled China Foods Holdings owns 21.5 per cent (Seapower International holds 37.8 per cent), was considering spinning-off its financial services arm.

Early in 1994, Seapower - also involved in cold storage operations and property development - said it was considering a potential float of that business but it had not materialised.

The two proposed funds would be launched in Hong Kong and open to international investors. Mr Zhang would not disclose how much Seapower was trying to raise.

 He said the food fund would finance food-related businesses in China.

 'This will help expand our two shark-fin restaurants in Beijing, a 50-50 food processing joint-venture in Shanghai and franchise stores of Pizza Hut,' he said.

 The number of Pizza Hut branches would rise from seven to 27 in the next three years.

He said the mutual fund would be launched before the third quarter and it would facilitate institutional investment in Asia.

 'We are seeking approval to set up representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai,' Mr Zhang said.

 'This is the first step to plug in to the mainland institutional investment sector.

 'We hope the offices will be upgraded to branch offices later.'  The company aims to attract institutional clients from Asian countries such as China, Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan, by underwriting initial public offerings, providing trading services of H shares and B shares, and private equity placements and equity-linked securities.

 It planned to offer underwriting services, for example, on a deal-by-deal basis in Singapore, and only to medium-sized companies with an issue size of about US$50 million in Hong Kong, Mr Zhang said.

 In the territory, he said the company planned to open two more broking offices apart from its existing three.

  With Mr Zhang at the helm, the company has been re-organised into nine divisions, including equity brokerage, trading in non-equity investments, corporate finance, asset management, direct investment, research, operation, finance and administration, corporate strategy and legal and compliance.

   He said the company was making efforts to hire more professionals to join its broking research team, which included 10 people out of a total staff of 260.



Seapower shake-up in wake of reshuffle