MAINLAND firms are interested in taking stakes in the Century City group of companies, according to group chairman Lo Yuk-sui. Mr Lo said some mainland concerns, including existing business partners, had approached him for stakes in Century City International Holdings and its subsidiaries, Paliburg International Holdings and Regal Hotels International Holdings. But no deals had been struck as there was disagreement over the discount asked by the parties, he said. He said if his companies were to issue shares, many mainland interests would be keen to buy. Although there was no immediate plan to sell shares to mainland firms, Mr Lo would not rule out the possibility in the long run. The Century City group, through its property arm Paliburg, has launched aggressive investment plans in the past two years, with billions of dollars worth of projects in the pipeline. Mr Lo said the capital actually paid by the group for projects in China was so far less than $100 million. He said the group was looking at more investment opportunities in Guangdong and Fujian provinces and major cities such as Shenyang and Dalian. Paliburg recently formed a joint-venture company, Century City Shengjing, with the Shenyang municipal government in Liaoning province to invest in state enterprises, infrastructure and property projects in the city. Mr Lo said the joint venture would explore the opportunities to invest in various projects including power plants, roads and even airport expansion in Shenyang. Paliburg, through its 75 per cent-owned subsidiary Chinatrend (Holdings), had set up a similar joint venture with the Weifang municipal government in Shandong. In Tianjin, it is developing a commercial-residential project, which will be offered for sale in China and Hongkong in the near future. Meanwhile, Paliburg's new development, Kowloon City Plaza, is to open soon. Mr Lo said the property could generate a rental income of about $140 million to $150 million in the first year. He was optimistic about office property market, forecasting that office prices and rentals would rise further.
