NG Ling-fung, deputy commercial manager of Nanyang Commercial Bank, says the failure to acquire OTB has highlighted the bank's need to raise capital. The bank has decided to delay its listing. Nanyang Commercial Bank began preparations for listing last year, in line with its plans to acquire OTB.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL SOURCES say bidding for the redevelopment of the St Christopher's Children's Home has closed. Cheung Kong, Hang Lung and Lai Sun have been short-listed and sources say Cheung Kong is favourite.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL DENG Sung-kwong, chairman of Burlingame International, says the company has bought a plot of land in Shanghai for the development of an office block and total investment in the project will be $500 million.- MING PAO LI & Fung has sold 175,000 shares of Cyrk at US$12 a share and is thought to have made a profit of HK$13.8 million from the sale, which will be entered in this year's accounts. Following the sale, Li & Fung's holding in the company has been reduced to 24.3 per cent. Cyrk is an associate of Li & Fung in the US and is listed on NASDAQ.- MING PAO TRULY International is planning to increase the proportion of its production undertaken on the mainland from 20 per cent to 40 per cent of its total production. Approval from mainland authorities for this move is expected before the end of 1993. A report by Merrill Lynch says the production of LCD electronic goods by Truly will benefit its Hong Kong business because the profit margin for these products is as high as 40 per cent.- SING PAO SOURCES say an anonymous listed company will, in partnership with a mainland company, seek to acquire Vigers, the property consultancy. The transaction will cost around $100 million and is expected that contracts will be signed within days. The source points out that the acquisition will strengthen Vigers' Southeast Asian operations, especially with respect to the mainland market.- EXPRESS NEWS FOLLOWING a year-long feasibility study, the agreement for the development of the second underground railway project and related properties in Guangzhou should be signed in October and SHKP will be one of the developers. The promotional campaign for the Guangzhou metro took place at the end of 1992, and at this time SHKP and Guangzhou Enterprise signed a letter of intent for co-operation in the project, with each side holding 40 per cent development rights. The remaining 20 per cent of the rights are held by an unnamed company.- WAH KIU YAT PO PEACEMARK will announce its first full-year results since listing this Monday. Yesterday the share price rose to close at $1.68. Analysts expect its first year's results to be higher than the $22 million forecast in the prospectus. It is thought that profits actually exceed forecasts by a considerable margin and that on the back of this the share price will reach a record high. It is also thought that the company will give a large bonus to shareholders. Peacemark is closely linked to Aviation Industries ofChina.- SING PAO LAM Lee Yiu-yu, the managing director of Hang Seng Bank, says that since the bank tightened its mortgage policy, removing preferential treatment for civil servants at the beginning of August, applications for mortgages from civil servants have dropped 50 per cent to the level at the beginning of 1993. Hang Seng Bank is said to be satisfied with this development but will not disclose any exact figures. Mrs Lam says Hang Seng Bank will not tighten the general mortgage policy any further, and the ceiling willremain at 70 per cent.- ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS SHANGHAI International (HK), formerly Ong's Holdings, plans to expand its broking operations with a focus on margin trading. It expects this sector to expand tenfold from its present base, with the overall business showing a 20 per cent gain in the comingyear.- MING PAO INFORMATION from the Land Registry shows that China Overseas bought an apartment block at 36, 38 and 40 Tung Lo Wan Road for $138.8 million on July 2. The previous owner bought the property in June for $128 million and has made a profit of 13 per cent.- MING PAO PROPERTY sources say the supply of luxury properties is drying up and those on the Peak are in especially heavy demand.
The effects of the establishment of offices in Hong Kong by international institutions seeking to tap the mainland market, and the construction of the new airport (which has brought vast numbers of expatriate engineers to the territory) are beginning to be seen. The demand for luxury properties for expatriate employees will keep rental prices high.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL LAKEVIEW Garden in Sha Tin, developed by Nanfung, was 3.5 times oversubscribed. The four days of buyer registration for blocks four and five ended yesterday. There were 36 units put on the market.- WAH KIU YAT PO Chinese Press Digest is produced by Corporate Information Services. For pre-publication service and other services, telephone 865 5006 or fax 865 5835.
