Allied Group's unlisted consumer finance subsidiary United Asia Finance (UAF) has sold new shares equalling 20 per cent of enlarged capital to a Japan-listed conglomerate to fund expansion of co-financing operations.
Company secretary Edwin Lo King-yau refused to say yesterday if Allied was seeking to spin off 50.91 per cent-owned UAF, although it has fulfilled listing requirements such as a three-year profitable record.
Speaking after the annual meetings of Allied Group and its property subsidiary Allied Properties (HK), Mr Lo said UAF had sold the shares to Itochu Corp earlier this year for fresh capital. He refused to give figures.
'The sale will provide extra funding for our second mortgage business this year,' he said.
UAF had a loan book of about $900 million in December last year, a 40 per cent rise from 1995.
'We have decided to concentrate on financial services such as UAF and Sun Hung Kai and Co and property development this year,' chairman Brian O'Connor said.