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Technology Stocks : Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCW, PCWKF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: astyanax who wrote (723)	3/19/2000 8:35:00 PM
From: mact	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4541

TAIPEI (CBS.MW) -- It's Beijing's turn now. The Chinese leadership must come to grips with what, for it, is the nightmare outcome of Taiwan's second democratic election for president. A stunning victory by pro-independence party candidate Chen Shui-bian has ended more than 50 years of one-party Nationalist rule in Taiwan. And it has put Beijing in a pickle of its own making: Either the Chinese Communists make good on their pre-election military threats against the island it regards as a "renegade province," or else the next time they huff about unification all those rattled sabers will look awfully dull. Today on CBS MarketWatch Fed effect can't be ignored Federal panel debates Internet taxes in Dallas Fed looks for magic to tame financial markets Asia markets brace for Taiwan election fallout Calandra: London Pacific Group sees benefit of tech investments More top stories... CBS MarketWatch Columns Updated: 03/19/2000 3:54:42 PM ET If anything, the bullying backfired by provoking voters' defiance toward the mainland. Rather than undermine Chen, it delivered him more votes, even though he had taken pains to moderate his views on the sovereignty issue during the campaign. The other by-product of Beijing's posturing: Asian markets are on tenterhooks. Despite conciliatory notes in Chen's victory speech Saturday night aimed at his adversaries at home and across the Straits, look for an initial sharp sell-off in the stock markets of Taipei, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai when they open Monday. Taiwan's government last week resorted to using state-controlled funds -- including insurance, pension and postal funds -- to arrest an 8.4-percent plunge in Taipei share prices. Purchases from a hastily assembled stock-market stabilization fund of 500 billion Taiwan dollars ($16.2 billion) managed to spark a rebound late Thursday and Friday. The benchmark Weighted Index still ended the week down 7.1 percent at 8,763.27, and it will likely drop to test 8,000 early this week. This is because the president-elect's extending an olive branch to China isn't enough to calm nervous investors. Chen invited Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Premier Zhu Rongji and top negotiator Wang Daohan to Taiwan, and offered to go to China before his May 20 inauguration. He also advocated establishing direct trade links -- something China has wanted, yet always rejected by Taiwan's Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) governments. But Chen essentially refuted the notion of "one country, two systems," saying that "Taiwan must never become a second Hong Kong." Not until Beijing responds to this message and his overtures will volatility and instability in local stock markets abate. Regional ripples Equity analysts quoted in local papers reporting on the election outcome predicted that Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index could easily give up the 724 points it gained in a rebound Friday. Ditto for hard-currency Shenzhen B shares, which recovered 6.36 percent Friday, and Shanghai B shares, up 5.1 percent. These bounces came after China's Zhu bluntly warned Taiwanese voters they wouldn't get a second chance if they elected Chen. And a more bearish view for Taiwan stocks has it that the Weighted Index could tumble 20 percent to 7,000 soon -- even though government authorities are prepared to let the state-funds loose in the market again. In addition to cross-Straits tensions, perceptions of an untested administration and the image of Chen's Democratic Progressive Party as "anti-business" worry investors. Chen, a former mayor of Taipei, can compensate for his own lack of experience on the national and world stages if he picks his ministers well.Yet his winning plurality of 39 percent and the Nationalists' control of the legislature could limit the administration's effectiveness -- particularly in its efforts to widen social services and clean up government corruption. Those are longer term objectives that, like expanded ties with China, could benefit business if achieved. Now, the hard part China's interest in becoming a member of the global trading community is a key reason that it's unlikely to lob missiles into the Taiwan Straits, as it did during the last presidential election campaign in 1996. Such hostility would virtually sink U.S. legislation to admit China into the World Trade Organization. Yet even if it shows restraint by not testing missiles now, Beijing's increasingly strident rhetoric on unification seems like a one-way path to escalated ultimatums and a deadline. Meanwhile, Taiwan's embrace of democracy deepens. Not only are it's people headed down a different path, but they've just demonstrated to others in the region and the world that it's possible to replace one-party rule peacefully. The harder job is to make sure that great achievement, and the impasse it has more starkly defined, doesn't now lead to crisis.

To: astyanax who wrote (723)	3/21/2000 1:17:00 AM
From: Taikun	Respond to of 4541

Net, check out this loan size...WOW! The biggest loan of all Associated Press March 20, 2000 HONG KONG - The record-breaking US$12 billion (HK$93.6 billion) loan for Pacific Century CyberWorks (PCCW) has been launched and is expected to be popular with banks, but its sheer size may put pressure on borrowing costs in Hong Kong, Asian debt market newsletter Basis Point reported. The newsletter said the arrangers of the syndication do not expect any problems finding takers despite its size. Basis Point reported that the $12 billion loan, which is to help fund PCCW's acquisition of Cable & Wireless HKT (HKT), was launched on Friday by co-ordinating arrangers BOCI Capital, HSBC Investment Bank Asia, BNP Hong Kong and Barclays Capital. It is the largest loan in Asian history, and more than twice as large as the previous record-holder Citibank's $5 billion loan for Japan Tobacco in 1999. ``As a result, banks are considering its general effect on (the loan) market. Some say the deal will tie up so much of Hong Kong's country limit that Hong Kong spreads will have to increase substantially, putting a welcome brake on rapidly declining yields,' it said. ``Another effect could be to boost secondary loan trading in Hong Kong,' it said, noting that the deal is in the form of transferable loan certificates (TLCs). It said the underwriting fee was 35 basis points. Including the 70 basis point front-end fee and and 115 basis-point margin, the all-in yield is 220 basis points for 364 days. The loan is being arranged in two tranches: one of $3 billion tranche and the other $9 billion. Despite PCCW's relative youthfulness in its current incarnation the company is not even a year old bankers are expected to swamp the deal. The co-ordinating arrangers have already invited 30 banks, covering North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, to join the deal. ``Banks are enthusiastic because the deal is large, well-secured, non-property and offers good prospects for future business,' the newsletter said. ``Some feel that the larger the underwriting amount, the greater the chance of winning subsequent mandates, and that the co-ordinating arrangers will not automatically receive the mandate for the term financing,' it added. The newsletter said the loan offers banks the chance to book unprecedented levels of fees. ``Even if banks committing $1 billion are scaled back to $500 million, each bank would earn $1.75 million for underwriting plus a front-end fee of $3.5 million. Half of the fees will be paid within seven days of signing, with the rest paid when PCCW's offer for HKT becomes unconditional. If the acquisition does not proceed, banks will be released from their obligations and keep their fees, the newsletter said. It suspected the loan may not be syndicated more widely because more than 10 banks are expected to offer to underwrite US$1 billion. ``However, some banks are still likely to ask the co-ordinating arrangers to reconsider especially since some of the co-ordinating arrangers may also wish to sell down more but any chance of a change in syndication strategy is remote,' the newsletter said. It noted that the recent 30 billion euro (HK$225.38 billion) financing for Vodafone AirTouch Mannesmann was wrapped up at the sub-underwriting level without syndication. The borrowing is being made through a special purpose company, Doncaster Group, a Hong Kong-incorporated special-purpose company with unconditional and irrevocable guarantees from its direct parent, Atherington Management, which is a British Virgin Islands company, and from PCCW. The newsletter said lenders had security in the form of a debenture incorporating a fixed and floating charge over the assets and undertakings of the borrower and a first legal mortgage over all shares and dividends from shares acquired in HKT. The newsletter said the loan could be extended at the borrower's option by one year. Copyright 2000 Associated Press