Hong Kong Stocks Fall; CyberWorks, Henderson Land Lead Losses
By Yeong Choy Leng
Hong Kong, Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong stocks fell for the first time in three days, led by Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. on concern shareholder Cable & Wireless Plc will sell its CyberWorks stake in the market, increasing share supply and depressing the stock price.
``There are rumors that Cable & Wireless has not found a buyer'' for its CyberWorks stake, said Jonathan Iu, head of Internet research at SG Securities (H.K.) Ltd. ``There were reports of various names but so far nothing seems concrete.''
Henderson Land Development Co. and other developers added to losses as investors deemed the group's 3.2 percent gain in the past two days as overdone.
The Hang Seng Index fell 104.05, or 0.7 percent, to 15,756.37, after rising 1.1 percent in the past two days. The Hang Seng Property Index fell 1.1 percent. In the broader market, 151 stocks rose, 187 fell and 384 were unchanged. Trade at HK$6.7 billion ($854 million) was the lowest in almost two weeks.
Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) Ltd. also said in a report Tuesday that it's difficult for Cable & Wireless to find a buyer ``given the tight balance sheet of developed market telecommunications companies and more attractive investment opportunities elsewhere in Asia.'' It's maintaining a ``sell'' rating on CyberWorks.
China's B shares, which only foreigners can own, were mixed. Shanghai's B share index slipped 0.3 percent to 79.55, failing to sustain yesterday's gains. Shenzhen's B share index rose 0.05 percent to 125.00.
``The market is still looking for a direction and policy stimulus,'' said Song Huaisong, an analyst at Industrial Securities Co. in Shanghai. ``It's hard to determine how long the market will break out of the correction period.''
The following is a list of companies whose shares were active.
Hong Kong stocks:
Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (8 HK ), Hong Kong's largest telecommunications company, fell 25 cents, or 5.1 percent, to HK$4.65. Shareholder Cable & Wireless Plc can sell up to half of its 15 percent stake in CyberWorks on Feb. 17 as part of the agreement when it bought over Cable & Wireless HKT Ltd. last year.
Property stocks fell as investors estimate the government's plan to halve its land sale will take about four years to result in higher real estate prices.
``The property oversupply situation is still there and it will take time to digest,'' said Winson Fong, who helps manage $1.8 billion in Asian stocks at SGY Asset Management Ltd. in Singapore.
Henderson Land Development Co. (12 HK ), Hong Kong's third-largest developer, fell 50 cents, or 1.1 percent, to HK$44.20, after rising 6.4 percent in the past three days. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. (1 HK ), the biggest real estate developer, fell HK$1.50, or 1.5 percent, to HK$98, wiping out its two-day gains. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (16 HK ), the second largest, fell 75 cents, or 0.9 percent, to HK$82.50, after gaining 6.4 percent in the past two days.
Computer-related stocks rose, tracking gains in their U.S. counterparts after the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.6 percent. Legend Holdings Ltd. (992 HK ), China's biggest computer maker, rose 10 cents, or 1.5 percent, to HK$6.60. QPL International Holdings Ltd. (243 HK ), an integrated circuit assembly company, rose 17.5 cents, or 4 percent, to HK$4.525.
Telecommunications companies fell in tandem with their global counterparts. Orange SA shares fell 6.3 percent in France on their second day of trading on concern the unprofitable mobile phone company's investments in faster wireless services may not pay off any time soon. France Telecom SA sold shares for a lower price than expected in this week's initial public offering. China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. (941 HK ), China's largest publicly traded mobile telephone company, fell 40 cents, or percent, to HK$47.40. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13 HK ), which has global telecommunications businesses, fell HK$1.25, or 1.3 percent, to HK$95.50.
China Unicom Ltd. (762 HK ), a unit of China's second-largest telephone company, fell 20 cents, or 1.6 percent, to HK$12.15. The company said it will spend more than 10 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) to expand a network using Qualcomm Inc. technology.
CLP Holdings Ltd. (2 HK ), which supplies electricity to three-quarters of Hong Kong's 6.7 million people, rose 30 cents, or 0.8 percent, to HK$38.50. The company said it's studying the possibility to bid for high-speed wireless license in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported, citing an identified company spokesman. Analysts expect CLP to participate in the auction through a consortium, the paper said.
Dah Sing Financial Group (440 HK ), a mid-sized Hong Kong bank, rose 90 cents, or 2.2 percent, to HK$41. The company plans to sell HK$1 billion of bonds, to take advantage of lower interest rates, the Apple Daily reported, without citing the source of its information. Dah Sing executive director and group financial controller Gary Wang was quoted as saying the bank has no specific plans or timetable for selling debt, though it is in discussions with investment banks over funding options.
Kingdee International Software Group Co. (8133 HK ), which develops accounting software for companies in China, fell on its first day of trading on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market. The stock fell 34 cents, or 33 percent, to 69 HK cents from its original sale price of HK$1.03. The company sold 87.5 million shares, raising HK$90 million ($11.5 million). Investors applied for 3.1 times more shares than were available in the sale, the company said.
New World Development Co. (17 HK ), Hong Kong's fourth-largest real estate developer, fell on speculation of a share sale and as investors deemed its 8.6 percent gain in the past seven days as overdone. The stock fell 30 cents, or 2.4 percent, to HK$12.40, after rising a three-week high of HK$12.70 on Tuesday. The company could not be reached for immediate comment.
PetroChina Co. (857 HK ), the listed unit of China's largest oil company, fell 1 cents, or 0.7 percent, to HK$1.36. Crude oil price fell 2.1 percent to $29.71 after an inventory report signaled a lull in demand as the winter fades and refiners prepare for the summer driving season. Demand for crude oil and refined products fell last week, according to figures derived from a weekly report yesterday by American Petroleum Institute. The report showed a larger-than-expected gain in crude supplies and an unexpected rise in stockpiles of home heating oil and diesel fuel.
Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd. (8002 HK ), a Hong Kong-based broadcaster partly owned by News Corp.'s Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd., rose 2 cents, or 1 percent, to HK$1.99. The company said net income for the first half ended Dec. 31 was HK$97.6 million, compared with a loss of HK$1.9 million.
China B Shares:
Hainan Airlines Co. (900945 CH ) fell 3.1 cents, or 7.58 percent, to 37.8 U.S. cents. China's fourth-largest domestic carrier said it's seeking approval to sell 108 million hard currency shares held by its largest shareholder, billionaire financier George Soros.
Heilongjiang Electric Power Co. (900937 CH ), an electricity supplier, gained 4.2 cents, or 8 percent, to 56.6 U.S. cents. The company posted a net income of 237.34 million yuan ($28.6 million) in 2000, up 22.7 percent from a year earlier. The company paid investors 0.12 yuan per share cash dividend.
Anhui Gujing Distillery Co. (2596 CH ), which makes white spirit, beer and wine, added 5 cents, or 1.02 percent, to HK$4.95. The wine maker said it earned 148.37 million yuan in 2000, down 3.7 percent from 1999. The company paid 0.3 yuan per share cash dividend for investors.
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