PACIFIC Capital has, in its short history, entered some of the most highly competitive areas of business in Hongkong. And according to managing director Mr Wellen Sham, the company's success in financial services, telecommunications and property development has been due in no small part to detailed research and fine planning.
The rise of Pacific Capital, a Tainwanese-backed company, has been rapid, although Mr Sham feels it will probably take three to five years for the group to really establish itself in the area.
It started in Hongkong with the launch of its merchant banking arm at the end of 1991 and has since diversified into major property developments and telecommunications. The company's secretarial paging service starts operations in Hongkong today.
A fourth string to the group's bow will be provided by a move into consumer products slated for next year.
Mr Sham said that, although the group's diverse interests had surprised some people, the strategy had been clearly defined from the start: Pacific Capital was to be a ''full-service corporation''. And each move had been carefully planned in advance.
The financial services arm was the first of the four units developed, and performed well in its first year. Mr Sham said: ''We had already built up a good customer base, and the financial arm saw a profit in its first year.'' Indeed, the group's financial unit has already been involved in some large transactions, including the placement of $159.3 million in new shares for Luks Industrial Company Limited and the raising of $379.4 million in a rights issue for Burlingame International Company Limited.
At present, financial services account for the bulk of the group's business, followed by property and telecommunications.