HUTCHISON International Hotels, a group established in January and wholly owned by Hutchison Whampoa, intends to participate in the development and management of three-star and four-star hotels in China and in Southeast Asia. The plan is designed with a view to achieving profitability as soon as possible. It is reported that the hotel group is in discussions with mainland parties about the management of a 600-room hotel in Beijing. - SING TAO AN official at a port operator in Shenzhen says a Hong Kong consortium, in which Henderson Land is a member, has approached the port operator to discuss possible involvement in port expansion projects. The estimated investment for the project is between US$100 million and $150 million. - SING TAO FAN Hung-ling, managing director of CITIC Pacific, says inflation pressure in China remains substantial and the country's economic prospects continue to be uncertain. In view of this, CITIC Pacific investment expansion on the mainland is likely to slow. Nevertheless, Mr Fan says that 90 per cent of the company's profits are generated from Hong Kong, with mainland contributions being limited. The slow down in mainland investment will therefore not have a major impact on the company's profit growth.
CITIC Pacific's mainland investment portfolio comprises power plants, infrastructure and property projects. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL JOHN Chan, managing director of Kowloon Motor Bus, says the company's depots in Lai Chi Kok and Kwun Tong are unlikely to be sold before 1997 because the Government has not yet provided appropriate pieces of land for relocation of the depots. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL SUN Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) says the initial steps taken by the Government to cool property speculation are expected to suffice and SHKP is considering lowering the prices of some units which have yet to be sold. The company says the samurai bonds issued earlier were aimed at satisfying part of the company's long-term capital needs. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL TOMSON Pacific says it has sold the six million shares it held in a Hong Kong biscuit manufacturer. This is equal to 50 per cent of the manufacturer's share capital. Singapore Technologies Industrial Corp (STIC), a listed company on the Singapore Stock Exchange, took 4.8 million shares, or 40 per cent of the share capital. The remaining 1.2 million shares were sold to another major shareholder, the Chow family. STIC and the Chow family are both individual third parties unrelated to Tomson Pacific.
The sale will generate $37 million in revenue and will be reflected in Tomson's results for the half-year ending September 30, 1994. Tomson's operations are focused on property development in Shanghai, and the sale of its stake in the biscuit manufacturing firm is seen as having a positive effect on its investment portfolio. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL LAM Soon Foods says the Lam Soon group has decided to redevelop its industrial buildings in Cheung Sha Wan and Kwun Tong. The company has already submitted construction blueprints to the Government and it is possible that the industrial complexes will be developed into pure commercial buildings. However, it has yet to be decided whether Lam Soon will carry out the development alone or in co-operation with other companies. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL ACCORDING to a report from Bloomberg, National Mutual Life, the Australian parent company of National Mutual Asia, has reported that its net profits in the half-year ended March 1994 declined by 81 per cent over the same period last year. Net profit was A$20.06 million (about HK$116.77 million). The drop in earnings was mainly due to losses incurred in stock and bond investments. A report from Reuters indicates that National Mutual Life is short-listing possible partners who are interested in acquiring a 22 per cent stake in National Mutual Asia, listed in Hong Kong. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL WORLD Houseware says it has agreed to establish a manufacturing plant in Hubei, with two mainland state enterprises, to produce plastic pipe for industrial and domestic use. Estimated initial investment is 38 million yuan (about HK$33.9 million). World will take a 65 per cent stake, one mainland partner will take a 22 per cent stake and the other 13 per cent. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL AN official of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), in a comment about its order to suspend trading in shares of MKI Corp, says the SFC suspected insider trading was involved and this could have caused the unusual share price fluctuations and heavy share turnover levels. The SFC says resumption of trade will depend on when MKI submits a report providing a satisfactory explanation to the commission. - ECONOMIC JOURNAL CDL Hotel International says it is considering the acquisition of hotel projects in Europe and it is in talks with an Australian hotel about a management contract. Total investment is expected to be US$130 million. The group also plans to increase its stake in the Regal Meridien Airport Hotel within the next six months. CDL says its New Zealand subsidiary has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Kingsgate and will rent out shopping space in Sydney, giving it a firm base in the Australian market. CDL's future acquisition targets will be focused on Europe. - ECONOMIC TIMES RAYMOND Industrial says its plan to redevelop its Kwun Tong headquarters into a commercial complex has been approved by the City Planning Authority. The company is in discussions with other Government departments, including the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Department.
If everything proceeds smoothly, the redevelopment plan will be implemented early next year. Raymond Industrial's 10-storey headquarters in Kwun Tong covers a site area of 10,000 square feet and has a plot ratio of 12 times. The initial idea is to redevelop the headquarters into a 24-storey commercial complex and the construction cost is expected to be within $100 million. - ECONOMIC TIMES TEXWINCA Holdings informed the stock exchange that one of its directors has lifted his stake in the company by 9.22 million shares. - ECONOMIC TIMES THE tender for the Nethersole hospital site has entered the final stages. It is speculated that Nan Fung has submitted a $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion bid, which is believed to be the highest for the site. - ECONOMIC TIMES DONALD Trump, the United States property tycoon, is reported to be enlisting the help of New World Development of Hong Kong for the arrangement of financing for the development of a 75-hectare development project at Riverside South, Manhattan, New York. A report in the Wall Street Journal says New World has signed a letter of intent with Mr Trump and Chase Manhattan Bank under which New World will buy debt worth a total of US$250 million at face value at a discounted price of below $85 million. Mr Trump and Chase were unavailable for comment. - SING TAO
