appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP Reporter

Businessman and inventor Nelson Wong Kam-fu  has bought control of First Asia Capital Investment, which he plans to use as a shell company to help commercialise his patents.

Mr Wong, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Credit Card DNA Security System (Holdings), paid $7.54 million for 24.74 per cent of First Asia.

Credit Card DNA director Lew Mon-hung  said the share purchase was Mr Wong's personal investment and unrelated to the business of Credit Card DNA.

'[He] is considering injecting some of his patents into the acquired company,' Mr Lew said.

Mr Wong, who has more than 200 patents to his name, is the founder of Star Telecom and creator of devices such as digital networks which alert consumers of ATM or credit  card debits to prevent fraud.

Credit Card DNA makes and sells electronic products and develops solutions for electronic business security.

Mr Wong paid 61 cents a share for the First Asia stake, or a 61.63 per cent discount to its closing price of $1.59 before it was suspended from trade on March 15.

Mr Lew is known for helping mainland firms buy dormant companies listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Four years ago, he helped now disgraced Shanghai property businessman Chau Ching-ngai  find a Hong Kong-listed shell company.

First Asia Capital plunged 72 per cent to 44.5 cents on Wednesday when it resumed trading after the company's largest shareholder, Wong Suet-mui,  concluded  31/2 months of negotiations to sell her 24.74 per cent stake to Mr Wong.

Established as an investment firm in 2002, First Asia sought short and medium-term capital appreciation through investments in listed and unlisted companies in Hong Kong and the mainland.

The firm had traded at a substantial premium to net asset value since listing in September 2002.

On January 31, its shares traded at a 665 per cent premium to net asset value of 20 cents per share.

Last year, the company lost  $12.09 million, compared with a net profit of  $1.66 million in 2002.

First Asia blamed the losses on stock market volatility, the Sars outbreak and uncertainty caused by the war in Iraq.

Among its holdings are shares in listed firms Changchun Da Xing Pharmaceutical,  Global Link Communications Holdings,  Hua Lien International (Holding),  Thiz Technology Group  and WLS Holdings.

On June 10, First Asia's unaudited net asset value was 16 cents per share.

Its share price rebounded 12.36 per cent to 50 cents on Friday.

Credit Card DNA has lost $183.06 million in the past three financial years.

In February, the company placed one billion new shares at 1.8 cents each with Hong Kong Beijing Finance and Investment, wholly owned by the Beijing municipal government-backed conglomerate Capital Group.



First Asia changes ownership