THE share prices of companies controlled by Henderson Land have shown unusual movements recently. The market is speculating that Henderson Investment is in the process of restructuring to increase its chances of being included as a component of the Hang Seng Index. Analysts say Jardine Strategic's de-listing from Hong Kong will boost the chances of Henderson Investment being included in the index because Henderson Investment's business is similar to that of Jardine Strategic. - MING PAO THE share price of Orient soared in trading yesterday, closing at $4.25, a gain of $1.75, or 4.55 per cent, on the day. Analysts say the market is expecting the company to restructure its debts, and this is attracting investment managers. - MING PAO INFORMATION from the stock exchange shows that Jardine Strategic increased its stake in Dairy Farm International by more than one per cent on Wednesday. Its stake was lifted from 49.5 per cent to 50.65 per cent. Templeton Investment Fund cut its stake in Gold Peak from 13 to 12.5 per cent on March 31. - MING PAO JARDINE Strategic announced that as of March 31 the net asset value (NAV) of its common stocks stood at US$6.27 per share on a fully diluted basis. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL RUMOURS abounded in the market yesterday that Dairy Farm International would de-list from Hong Kong. Sources in Jardine Group say that Dairy Farm's board of directors will hold a meeting in September to decide on its listing status. - EXPRESS NEWS SHELL Electric announced in November that it intended to acquire a 60 per cent stake in 12 enterprises in Shunde. The market reacted positively to this, driving the share price up. However, in a letter to shareholders, five of the 12 enterprises were saidto have made a total loss of 99 million yuan (about HK$87.76 million) in the first seven months of last year. - Economic JOURNAL REGISTRATION for 68 units in Block K of Sunshine City in Ma On Shan closed yesterday. In the 10-day period, a total of 238 people registered. Despite analysts viewing this as a subdued response, Henderson Land decided to offer a further 64 units in BlocksH and L, at slightly higher prices. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL A SPOKESMAN for Laws Properties says the company will offer five villas in Sha Tin for public sale. The average price will be $10,000 to 12,000 per square foot. Laws Properties won the site in a Government land auction in March 1992 for $106 million, which is $3,196 per square foot. Property sources say the development cost of the site, including the land price, is estimated at $5,000 per square foot. Laws will make a net profit of $165 million on the sale. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL SINO Land is to offer 103 residential units in Avon Park in Fanling for sale. Registration will begin tomorrow. The average price has yet to be set. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL CHEE Shing Holdings has sold a Causeway Bay property for $100.6 million at a time when Hon Kwok Land has announced a full takeover bid for the company. Hermann Fung, managing director of Hon Kwok Land, says his company is in consultation with its financial advisers and lawyers. He declined to speculate on whether the sale would affect the takeover bid. Mr Fung says Hon Kwok Land took into consideration Chee Shing's property portfolio when it decided to launch the takeover. - ECONOMIC TIMES MANSION Holdings announced that Silver Lotus Ventures bought a further 620,000 shares in Mansion on March 30, increasing its stake from 36.06 to 36.28 per cent. - ECONOMIC TIMES WHEELOCK and Co bought back 410,000 shares on April 6 at prices between $17 and 17.50 per share. - ECONOMIC TIMES INTERNAL sale of a residential property in Western, wholly owned by the Bank of East Asia, has begun. Property sources estimate that if the units are completely sold the Bank of East Asia will receive more than $1 billion in revenue. The bank will make a net profit of $600 million excluding development costs. Securities sources speculate that the proceeds from the sale will be entered into the bank's internal reserves, raising investors' hopes that the bank will distribute a cash bonus. - EXPRESS NEWS CHI Cheung says that if three properties it owns are completely sold the company will receive $100 million in extra revenue for this financial year. It says the proceeds from the sale will be used for the acquisition of new development sites. - EXPRESS NEWS WANON'S business has been adversely affected by depreciation of European currencies last year. The company cut its export prices for the European market by 10 per cent. Wanon will continue to expand its European operations but it will also expand on the mainland and the US, increasing the spread of its business and reducing the European contribution to its revenues from 80 to 50 per cent. - MING PAO FURAMA says it will invest US$10 million each year in the construction and management of hotels in prominent mainland cities, such as Wuhan, Dalian, Qingdao and Tianjin. The company is also studying the possibility of investing in Vietnam and Indonesia. -SING TAO QPL International says its plan to spin-off ASAT, a company wholly owned by QPL, for separate listing will be put off indefinitely. OPL says the French and British subsidiaries of ASAT have been unable to contribute to the profits, and the spin-off of ASAT (HK) would create an imbalance of orders between the companies. - SING TAO TWENTY units in Blocks One and Two of Tregunter Path in Mid-Levels, owned by Hong Kong China, will be offered for sale next week at an average price of $7,500 per square foot, a 38 per cent increase over the $5,400 per square foot price for units sold at the end of January. - SING TAO BANKING sources say that to meet market demand and increase fee-based income, a number of banks in the territory, including Hongkong Bank and Hang Seng Bank are considering the introduction of leveraged foreign exchange dealings soon. - CHINESE OVERSEAS DAILY NEWS NEW World Development (China) has signed a letter of intent to invest 150 million yuan in a public housing programme in Shenyang. The group has been involved in similar projects in Beijing, Wuhan and Guangzhou. - ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS PROPERTY sources say two units on floor 13 of Lippo Centre changed hands at an average price of $13,500 per square foot, the lowest recorded for prime office space. Two property investors formed a company to buy half of floor 13 for more than $200 million. They converted it into 12 units and sold two at the lower price. - ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS
