BEA confirms plans to issue yuan bonds in China

June 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May 31 (Reuters) – Bank of East Asia (BEA) (0023.HK) has applied to issue yuan-denominated bonds in China, a senior executive of its China unit said on Monday, confirming a Reuters report.

Financials

BEA’s China unit is planning to sell up to 5 billion yuan ($732 million) worth of bonds, pending regulatory approval, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier on Monday. [ID:nTOE64U03N]

“We are very interested in bond issuance. We are still waiting for regulatory approval,” Chen Qichang, vice chairman of BEA China, told reporters.

BEA is also in talks to acquire a stake in a Chinese fund house, Chen said, without giving the name.

Once approved, the bank would become the second foreign company to issue yuan bonds in China, following a $146.5 million issue earlier this month by a unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), Japan’s largest bank. [ID:nTOE64G042] ($1=6.83 Yuan) (Reporting by Samuel Shen and Jason Subler; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bank of East Asia to issue up to 5 bln yuan in bonds -sources

May 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

May 31 (Reuters) – Bank of East Asia’s (0023.HK) China subsidiary is planning to issue as much as 5 billion yuan ($732 million) worth of bonds, the second yuan bond to be issued by a foreign company in China, three people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Financials

China International Capital Corp (CICC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398.HK)(601398.SS) are among the underwriters handling the deal, which is pending regulatory approval, the sources said.

Bank of East Asia’s spokeswoman said the bank would consider any possible way to optimize its capital structure, but declined further details. ($1=6.830 Yuan) (Reporting by Zhang Shengnan, Kang Xize and Xie Heng; Editing by Ken Wills)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PRESS DIGEST – Hong Kong – April 17

April 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

HONG KONG, April 17 (Reuters) – These are some of the leading stories in Hong Kong newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES

APPLE DAILY

– Developer Cheung Kong’s (0001.HK) marketing strategy of selling its new estate in Tin Siu Wai at lower prices drew a positive response. Sales of the first batch began last night and 700 of the 1068 units were sold in the first five hours. Sales continued overnight.

SING TAO DAILY

– China Mengniu Diary (2319.HK) dipped into the red for the first time since it was listed in 2004. It reported a net loss of 949 million yuan ($138.9 million) for 2008. The company was hurt by a tainted milk scandal but it said sales had returned to 80 percent of the pre-scandal level.

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

– Hong Kong’s “strong foundation” will sustain it through the financial crisis, but how it fares as a financial centre depends on how well it maintains its traditional openness, said former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is on a two-day private visit to the city.

– Bank of East Asia (0023.HK) plans to review its dividend policy after small shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with the final dividend for last year.

THE STANDARD

– Hong Kong and the World Health Organisation went on the alert on Thursday amid fears of a recurrence of SARS after a mainland woman who had developed breathing problems died on a train in Russia.

HONG KONG DAILY NEWS

– China Eastern Airlines (0670.HK), after reporting a record loss among listed companies at 15.27 billion yuan for 2008, said it only expected a slight net loss for 2009 and predicted a return to profit in 2010.

WEN WEI PO

Exports of Hong Kong products fell 38.8 percent in February and re-exports of Hong Kong goods were down 22.2 percent in the same month, partly affected by the Chinese New year holidays, which fell in February this year but in January last year, according to the latest figures.

TA KUNG PAO

– Beijing will focus on the development of 10 major infrastructure projects this month with a total investment of 19.6 billion yuan, of which 10.4 billion yuan will be completed this year.

For Chinese newspapers, see……………[PRESS/CN]

For Taiwan newspapers, see…………[PRESS/TW] ($1=6.831 Yuan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Daylight bank robbers ransack safe deposit boxes in Hong Kong

March 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Daylight bank robbers ransack safe deposit boxes in Hong Kong Hong Kong – Bank robbers emptied safe deposit boxes Wednesday at a Hong Kong bank during regular opening hours and stole more than 500,000 US dollars worth of cash and valuables, police said.

Police identified the gang as Colombian and said its members distracted bank staff to get to the safe deposit boxes, targeting nine. The perpetrators emptied five boxes and escaped with the contents before an alarm was raised.

Four people were later arrested Wednesday in police raids on hotel rooms in two parts of the city. Property worth about 150,000 US dollars was recovered, police said.

Senior superintendent Leung Ka-ming said he could not reveal how the gang breached security at the branch of the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong’s Mongkok district to get into the safe deposit boxes.

“We believe two of the suspects distracted the attention if bank staff, allowing the other burglars to access the [safe deposit box] area,” he said.

However, he said police officers would talk to representatives of banks across the city about how to avoid a repeat of the daylight raid, in which the suspects appeared to have been unarmed.

Closed-circuit television footage was used to identify the suspects and trace them to their hotels in the city’s Wan Chai and Yau Ma Tei districts, he said. They were being held for questioning. (dpa)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,