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SCMP Reporter

Citic 21 CN Company, a Hong Kong-listed telecommunications firm,  tapped the market for $78 million via a top-up placement of 97.5 million shares yesterday, according to a market source.

The placing price was set at 80  cents a share, representing a 21 per cent discount to the last trading price of $1.02 yesterday, the source said. Trading of the shares was suspended before the start of the afternoon session.

Fund managers and brokers said the  firm, 25.37 per cent owned by China International Trust and Investment Corp (Citic), had mulled a placement for some time.

'Management of the company had hinted it needs funds to buy the remaining stakes in Beijing HL 95 from Citic. It wants to wholly own HL 95,'  a  fund manager said.

The company had raised $45 million from the markets by another top-up placement of 75 million shares at 60  cents each in late October last year.

Citic 21 CN, formerly known as 21 CN Cybernet, had a 49 per cent interest in short-messaging service (SMS) provider Beijing HL 95.

In late July last year, Citic 21 CN acquired 45 per cent of Beijing HL 95 from Citic. It agreed to pay a consideration of 13.5 million yuan plus future investment commitments amounting to 22.5 million yuan. This purchase was funded by selling the company's properties in Shanghai.

About a month ago, Citic 21 CN acquired an additional  4 per cent stake in HL 95 from Citic for about 3.2 million yuan.

Thanks to the strong growth in the mainland SMS market, HL 95 posted 7.8 million yuan profit for the first six months of last year, compared with 2.8 million yuan for the year to December 2002, according to a Citic 21 CN filing with the Hong Kong Exchanges  and Clearing.

Shares in Citic 21 CN have risen about 480 per cent since the middle of last year on rumours of an asset injection from Citic.



Citic 21 CN taps market for $78m