LAM Ko-yin, deputy managing director of Henderson Land, says planned listing Henderson China will have assets of more than $10 billion. Its parent company, Henderson Land, will hold at least 51 per cent of the company and will remain the largest shareholder. Mr Lam says Henderson China currently has 21 mainland sites and land reserves of almost 20 million square feet, valued at $3.5 billion. Henderson will invest $10 billion in the next year to 18 months to develop these sites. Mr Lam says Henderson China will focus solely on property development and investment on the mainland, and the experience which Henderson Land has gained in Hong Kong over the past 20 years will be applied to the new company. Henderson China will seek low-cost sites in major cities.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL PETER Woo, chairman of World International, says that if all of the units in Times Square, Causeway Bay, are rented out, Wharf will receive $800 million to $900 million income. This represents an increase of more than 20 per cent over the prediction last year that Wharf would receive $700 million. Mr Woo says demand for units in the shopping mall has been strong and 98 per cent has been rented. Asked whether there was a need for Wharf Cable to raise capital, Mr Woo says Wharf has sufficient capital and he does not see such a need arising.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL DAVID So, chairman and managing director of E & E International, says the company is planning to increase the number of its production lines and will set up a plant in Guangdong to manufacture circuit boards. An investment of $100 million is required for the new plant and plans for the project should be finalised within two or three months. Apart from the expansion of production facilities, E & E has a number of development projects under consideration. One possibility for the company is increasing co-operation with the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in China. The company is considering the introduction of mobile telephones, pagers and other telecom products to the mainland. Specific plans for new projects have not been decided on, but plans for a maximum of one or two projects will be finalised before the end of the year and these projects will require an investment of US$5 million.
Elsewhere, E & E is involved in a joint venture which will set up a plant in Shanghai to manufacture fax machines. E & E has a 50 per cent stake in this project.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL SOURCES in the banking industry say Hutchison Whampoa is planning to raise a $3 billion syndicated loan. Banking sources say Hutchison needs a large amount of capital for its Hong Kong and overseas projects. New funds are critical for China projects.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL CHINA Investment has signed a letter of intent with a Beijing car company to form a joint venture to promote alternative fuels for cars. The two companies will have equal stakes in the joint venture and co-operation will encompass the operation of petrol stations and car modification centres.- ECONOMIC JOURNAL CHIU Bor, a director of Kin Son Electronics, says that in view of the economic recession in Europe and North America, the company will concentrate on the manufacture of low-priced products in order to expand market share in these regions. About 45 per centof Kin Son's products are exported to Europe, with 30 per cent going to the US, and the company now intends to increase its exports to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South America and China. Mr Chiu says Kin Son has attempted to market medium-priced products but has had little success in this area. This has prompted the company to widen its product range to improve its earnings potential.- ECONOMIC TIMES LAI Chung-wing, a director of Summa Promet, says the company is in discussion with the Indonesian Government regarding the development of four or five oilfields and a plan should be finalised within six months. Mr Lai says the amount of investment requiredwill depend on the size of the oilfields, but he revealed plans to raise capital for the project either through share placements, bank loans or co-operation with other companies. Meanwhile, the company is in discussions with the Vietnam authorities regarding the exploration rights for offshore oilfields. Mr Lai hopes that within two years the company will have a production capacity of 5,000 barrels a day.- ECONOMIC TIMES CHAN Sik-ming, chairman of Juko Laboratory, says the company recorded losses in the past two years due to the dismal performance of its computer manufacturing division. However, the company has been actively reducing operating costs as well as expanding its mainland market and developing multimedia products, and Mr Chan expects Juko Lab's performance to improve significantly this year. The company will also expand its production of circuit boards and Mr Chan hopes that sales of circuit boards will contribute a higher proportion of the company's total revenue. A growth target of 40 to 50 per cent has been set for sales of circuit boards, compared with the 20 per cent growth experienced at present.- ECONOMIC TIMES LEUNG Kai-ching, chairman of Alco, says the company plans to launch new laser-disc players. He expects the first of these to be on the market in November and another in May or June next year.- ECONOMIC TIMES CHINA Everbright, which has acquired a 20 per cent stake in International Bank of Asia, says it has no intention of injecting these holdings into its Hong Kong-listed vehicle, Shanghai International. A spokesman for China Everbright says the company has agreed to co-operate with International Bank of Asia in the establishment of banks in the mainland in order to facilitate the two companies' entry into the yuan market.- ECONOMIC TIMES JARDINE Fleming recently increased its holding in Prod-Art Technology from 13.33 per cent to 14.12 per cent. The number of shares it now holds in Prod-Art has increased by 3.55 million to 63.2 million.- EXPRESS NEWS DESPITE China's austerity drive and the subsequent slow-down in property development there, S. Megga's profits for the 1993 financial year are still expected to grow by 30 to 40 per cent. This is mainly because the European and US markets have experienced steady growth. Leung Ray-man, chairman of the company, forecasts that in the next two fiscal years, profit growth of 20 to 30 per cent can be expected. He also says S. Megga will set up a plant in Malaysia to avoid over-dependence on China, as the company fears that its mainland operations could be affected if the US refuses to extend China's MFN status.- MING PAO PROPERTY market sources say Laws International and related parties have acquired 28 retail shops in a Tsim Sha Tsui shopping centre from a consortium including Lippo and Chi Cheung. The shops have been sold for a total of $138.8 million and it is expected that Laws will keep them for long-term investment purposes.- SING TAO GAN Fock-wai, a director of Pak Fah Yeow, says the company will soon acquire a commercial property in London for rental purposes. The cost of the acquisition is expected to be more than $18 million and the annual rate of return is predicted to be 7.5 per cent. Mr Gan says the property includes a five-storey office block, and it is located in the city centre. Pak Fah Yeow will not acquire any more properties in London, but will consider properties for long-term investment in the Philippines and China. - ECONOMIC TIMES