NEW World Development says that it intends to bid for the site in Sham Tseng which houses San Miguel's plant. San Miguel has invited interested parties to submit bids for the site and the tender closes today. Apart from New World, Cheung Kong Holdings has also expressed interest in bidding. - ECONOMIC TIMES NEW World Development says that it will pay a land premium of $3.9 billion for its plan to redevelop a dyeing plant in Tsuen Wan. The plant occupies a site area of 200,000 square feet and New World plans to develop residential properties with a total floor area of more than two million sq ft. - TA KUNG PO HANG Seng Bank is planning to make a $2 billion floating rate note issue in the form of a private placement for the first time. The action is being taken with a view to an increased involvement in local capital market activities and in anticipation of the need for financing for large infrastructure projects. Sources in the capital market say that the note will become the benchmark for floating rate note interest rates for other domestic banks and will become the largest note issue this year in the capital markets. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL PROPERTY sources say that Sun Hung Kai Properties is planning to pre-sell units in an industrial complex in San Po Kong in several stages. The sources estimate that on a basis of $3,000 per square foot the industrial property has a market value of $1.3 billion. The complex is a 31-storey development with 19 units on each floor, providing a total of 532 units and a total floor area of 450,000 sq ft. The pre-sale is expected to take place in two to three weeks. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL SHARE prices of Henderson Land, Henderson Investment, HK & China Gas, HK Ferry, and Miramar have all performed outstandingly of late. Market sources say that the strong showing of these counters is related to rumours in the market that the property development projects at the North Point vehicle ferry pier have been approved by the Government. It is also rumoured that companies under the Henderson Group will be restructured with a view to more effectively utilising the group's land reserves. - TIN TIN DAILY NEWS IT has been reported that S Megga International has received a large order from the United States, which will contribute to its earnings outlook. Securities analysts hope that an expected extension of most favoured nation status to China by the US will underpin S Megga and other industrial issues. - TIN TIN DAILY NEWS REGISTRATION for a tranche of units in Phase 4, Laguna City was to close yesterday and it is reported that Cheung Kong Holdings is considering putting remaining units in the development on hold, meaning that no further units will be offered for sale in the near future. However, new units in South Horizons, developed by Hutchison Whampoa, are expected to come on the market soon. A small number of units in the latest phase of South Horizons was offered for sale recently but no further units were put on the market afterwards. - ECONOMIC TIMES A SPOKESMAN for the Thai Government says that the Cabinet has issued a decree stipulating that all developments of mass transit systems in Bangkok have to be carried out underground. The decree has resulted in a rejection of Bangkok Land's plan to develop an overhead railway system. Stelux Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company, holds a 10 per cent stake in Bangkok Land. - SING TAO PROD-ART Technology says that because of fierce competition in the mainland pager market and an increase in production costs caused by the implementation of a valued added tax by the mainland government, Prod-Art's profit margin this year is expected to decline from last year's level. The company says in the second half of last year China's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications suffered from a lack of funds because of the economic austerity programme. This had an adverse impact on Prod-Art's earnings. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL TEMPLETON, a United States investment fund, says that it disposed of more than 1.1 million shares in Joyce Boutique on May 13, cutting its stake in the company from 13.39 per cent to 12.96 per cent. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL THE Guoco Group has yet to sign an agreement to provide the financing for development projects connected with Fuzhou airport following several months of negotiations with the Fuzhou authorities. It has been reported that the two parties have yet to reach a consensus on a number of details, but it is hoped that an agreement will be reached by the end of the year. Investments for related projects are estimated to be more than US$300 million. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL DAO Heng Bank says that it is considering disclosing more information relating to the bank in this year's annual report. The bank says that the disclosure of internal reserves in 1996, as proposed by the Monetary Authority, is a viable proposition. However, full disclosure of banks' financial conditions is still subject to debate. - ECONOMIC TIMES REGISTRATION of 48 residential units in Block 1, Harvest Garden, Tuen Mun, closed on Wednesday. According to Nan Fung Development, one of the developers, there was oversubscription for the units but the actual number of people registering has not been disclosed. The other developer is Hang Lung Development. - SING TAO FRANKIE Dominion says that in spite of a recovery in the United States household product market, which is seen to be having a positive affect on the company, Frankie's profit margin in the US markets is not expected to show significant growth because of intensive competition and raw material price increases. Meanwhile, the company is planning to invest $100 million to acquire a number of raw material manufacturing plants on the mainland to reduce production costs and raise profit margins. - MING PAO A COMMERCIAL property at 12, Tak Hing Street, Jordan, developed by Henderson Land, will be offered for sale today at an average price of $7,365 per square foot. The property is a 22-storey development comprised of office space and shops. - MING PAO THE following companies bought back shares on May 17: Tung Fung Hung re-purchased 160,000 shares at prices between 50 cents and 51 cents. Chinese Estates bought back 1.592 million shares. National Electronics re-purchased 340,000 shares at prices ranging from 78 cents to 79 cents. Wheelock & Co bought back 649,000 shares at prices between $18.40 and $18.70. Dickson Concepts re-purchased 270,000 shares at prices ranging from $4.75 to $4.80. Fong's Ind bought back 30,000 shares at $1.10. - ECONOMIC TIMES
