bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Kenneth Ko

MALAYSIAN tycoon Robert Kuok Hock-nien has pledged to push ahead with investment plans in China, despite Beijing efforts to control the economy.

  He said his Kerry Group would not slow its expansion in China, adding that the projects involved were well planned.

  Mr Kuok said the macro-economic controls spearheaded by Chinese Vice-Premier Zhu Rongji were intended to put a brake on the overheating economy.

  ''But there is no overheating in our projects. We are going steadily and step by step - city by city and province by province,'' he said.

  Mr Kuok explained that the group's pull-out of a proposed property project next to Beijing's railway station was the result of disagreement on the terms of co-operation.

  The group still maintained ''a very friendly relationship'' with the Beijing authorities, he said.

  He also said property was the focus of his company's investments in China over the past year.

  However, in future the group planned to investment more in industrial operations, such as vegetable oil and palm oil business, he said.

  That plan did not mean Kerry would reduce future property investments in China, although property was a major concern of the mainland's overheating economy.

  ''China is such a huge country. There is a lot of room for both the property and industry sectors to grow,'' Mr Kuok said.

  He said his group was engaged in property, hotel and industrial businesses in China, and it would be ''going parallel'' with its mainland investments.

  Pu Jinxin, managing director of Kerry Oil and Grains (China), said the company had invested about US$100 million in mainland industrial operations.

  He said it would establish vegetable oil plants in Shekou, Shanghai, Xian, Chengdu, Fangchenggang and Yingkou, with Kerry holding a majority stake in the ventures.

  The Shanghai plant is expected to produce about 200,000 tonnes of vegetable oil a year.

  The group's biggest vegetable oil plant will be established in Chiwan, Shekou, and will be operational next year with an annual production capacity of more than 300,000 tonnes.

  Kerry also operates vegetable oil plants in Xiamen, Hefei and Nanhai.

  Mr Kuok and Mr Pu were speaking yesterday after Hefei municipal officials opened the city's trade fair in Hong Kong.

  Hefei mayor Zhong Yongsan said more than 300 projects were being offered for foreign participation during the four-day fair.

  He said the macro-economic controls had not affected the growth of Hefei because there was no overheating in the city's property and economy.

  Hefei would focus on advanced technology industry, energy and transport developments, as well as the tertiary sector, he said.

  The city also would strive to restructure and upgrade production of its state-owned enterprises - about 30 per cent of which were still loss-making - by tapping foreign capital, he said.

  In the Eighth Five Year Plan to 1995, Mr Zhong said Hefei planned to spend 10 billion yuan (about HK$13.5 billion at official rates) for major developments in the energy, coal and transport sectors.

  In the first half of this year, the city recorded an economic growth of more than 20 per cent, he said.

  Among major projects on offer are the first phase of a power plant in Hefei, which is expected to need investment of 2.5 billion yuan for the installation of 600 megawatts of generating capacity.

  Other projects include water supply, highway, property, tyre-manufacturing and other industrial operations.



Kerry Group to continue investments