H.K. Stocks Almost Unchanged ; PCCW Falls(Update1)
quamnet.com
Sep 08,2000 - 11:20:28 HKT
Stocks were almost unchanged in early trade. Banks inched up while mainland telecoms were unchanged. Pacific Century CyberWorks (0008) fell for a third day.
At 11:14 a.m. Hong Kong time, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 6.08 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,425.87. Turnover was a thin HK$2.8 billion. The Growth Enterprise Market Index, which tracks the performance of technology and related companies on Hong Kong's second board, was up 2.62 points, or 0.57 percent, to 462.28 on turnover of HK$325.9 million.
China Unicom Ltd. (0762), which holds the core operations of China's No. 2 phone company, was unchanged at HK$18.45. It reported yesterday an interim net profit of 171.2 million yuan, down 37 percent due to a one-time loss of 1.194 billion yuan for early termination of all the company's so-called China-China-Foreign phone ventures.
China Mobile (H.K) Ltd. (0941), the listed arm of China's largest mobile phone operator, was unchanged at HK$61.75.
Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (0008), Asia's largest Internet investment company by market value, fell for a third day, losing 1.1 percent to HK$13.70. It was announced yesterday that PCCW ended a plan for an international venture fund with CMGI Inc., a Nasdaq-listed Internet investment company and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (HMTF).
Bank stocks inched up. HSBC Holdings (0005), Europe's biggest bank, rose 0.4 percent to HK$115. Its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank (0011) inched up 0.3 percent to HK$87.75. Bank of East Asia Ltd. (0023), the third-biggest publicly traded bank in Hong Kong, rose 0.5 percent to HK$18.65.
Property plays were mixed. Cheung Kong Holdings (0001), the city's largest property developer, was unchanged at HK$102. Henderson Land Development Co. (0012) rose 0.9 percent to 44.70.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (0016), the second-biggest developer, was unchanged at HK$74. The developer lost 4.2 percent yesterday on news that it agreed to pay an average price of HK$1,600 per square foot to develop phases five to seven of the Mass Transit Railway Corp.'s Kowloon Station project.
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013), Hong Kong's largest conglomerate, stood at HK$113.50,unchanged.
Most heavily traded Denway Motors Ltd. (0203), which builds Honda cars in Guangzhou, plunged 5.9 percent to HK$1.27 on reports that the company is raising HK$396.8 million through a share sale.
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Ltd. (1135), an Asian satellite operator serving two-thirds of the world's population, fell 1 percent to HK$24.75. The company said it will invest HK$1.72 billion to build its fourth satellite, AsiaSat4.
Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Ltd. (0065) continued its roller-coaster ride, rising 6.9 percent to HK$2.725. The stock slumped 15 percent yesterday after a 39.5 percent gain the day before as its controlling shareholder Pacific Century Regional Developments Ltd. raised its stake to 44.7 percent from 40.8 percent.
Li & Fung Ltd. (0494), one of the region's largest trading companies, fell for a second day, losing 2 percent to HK$34.10 after substantial shareholder Anglo American sold 69 million shares in Li & Fung at HK$32.745, a 7.5 percent discount to the stock's closing price on Wednesday.
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