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Technology Stocks : Internet Capital Group Inc. (ICGE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: puborectalis who wrote (1411)	3/9/2000 6:05:00 AM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 4187

South China Morning Post this morning reports.....Hutchison, ICG target Asian B2B development REUTERS Updated at 6.18pm: US-based Internet Capital Group (ICG) and Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa have launched two joint ventures to accelerate development of Asian business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. The companies and the Li Ka-Shing Foundation said on Thursday they would invest US$200 million to acquire control of Hong Kong-listed toy-maker Harbour Ring International Holdings, which would be renamed ICG AsiaWorks. The deal will provide an instant listing vehicle for one of the ventures, an incubator and investment fund for Asian e-commerce companies. Trading in Harbour Ring's shares has been suspended since March 1, when they last traded at HK$1.23. Values of similar local "shell companies" have soared once major Internet players have revealed investment plans. "ICG AsiaWorks is a primary vehicle to acquire and build B2B e-commerce in Hong Kong and greater China," Hutchison group managing director Canning Fok said. ICG AsiaWorks would take stakes in 10 to 20 e-commerce related firms in the next 12 months but it was not planning outright takeovers, Internet Capital Group co-founder and managing director Kenneth Fox said. Target firms would include digital exchanges, consulting firms, software companies and B2B "market makers". Internet Capital Group will make the bulk of the investment, about US$150 million, in return for a 55 per cent stake in ICG AsiaWorks. Hutchison's stake in Harbour Ring will shrink from 21 per cent to 15 per cent, and the Li Ka-shing Foundation will have 5 per cent. The remaining 25 per cent will be public shareholders after a new share subscription exercise. Hutchison and its associate Cheung Kong (Holdings) are controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, who is chairman of both companies. The other venture, described as an e-procurement services company, plans to set up a business-to-business buying and selling Internet portal in Asia. The founding partners plan to bring in other large corporations into the venture, which will initially tap into the buying power of Hutchison and Cheung Kong group companies, which include Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings and Hongkong Electric Holdings. Mr Fok said ICG, Hutchison and Cheung Kong would invest US$25 million in the e-procurement venture in the first year. "This is a major B2B buying and selling portal, and Hutchison and Cheung Kong's network will be utilised and, of course, the ICG expertise," he said. The e-procurement joint venture would be 35 per cent held by ICG, with the remaining 65 per cent held by Hutchison, Cheung Kong (Holdings) and another strategic partner to be identified later, Mr Fok said. Mr Fok said Hutchison and Internet Capital Group were "perfect partners", blending Internet and B2B e-commerce expertise with one of greater China's most powerful blue chip corporations, which is branching into the Internet businesses. But Thursday's announcement dulled some of the shine from Hutchison's and Cheung Kong's newly listed consumer Internet portal, tom.com, as the stock finished down 10.79 per cent at HK$12.40. "Maybe some of holders of tom.com are a little upset because Hutchison is doing a separate Internet venture, so not all of its Internet business is going through tom.com," a trader at a local brokerage said. Hong Kong-listed Playmates Toys Holdings, which held 14.87 per cent of Harbour Ring prior to the ICG AsiaWorks deal, saw its share gain 14.29 per cent or HK$0.25 to close at HK$2 on Thursday. Y2K Archive What's On Analyst Reports Tech Pix