Hong Kong Stock Index Falls to 16-Month Low; HSBC, SHKP Lead
By Yeong Choy Leng
Hong Kong, March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong's key stock index fell to a 16-month low after the Nasdaq Composite Index plunged below 2000 for the first time in more than two years, fueling concern of a global stock rout. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. led declines.
``It's a herd instinct now and everyone's just rushing for the exit,'' said Alain Barbezat, who helps manage $500 million in Asia ex-Japan at Darier Hentsch Asia Ltd. ``People are scared because they don't know where the bottom is. Hong Kong will follow the global trend.''
HSBC Holdings Plc and property developers added to losses on concern the U.S. stock plunge will hurt consumer confidence, crimping spending and worsening the economic slowdown.
The Hang Seng Index fell 283.69, or 2.1 percent, to 13,493.03, its lowest since Nov. 3, 1999. In the broader market, more than three stocks fell for every one that rose. Trade at HK$9.9 billion ($1.3 billion) was a tenth more than the daily average for the past three months. The Nasdaq slumped 6.3 percent as analysts cut profit forecasts for Cisco Systems Inc. after the No. 1 maker of computer-networking equipment said customer spending is slowing worldwide.
The following is a list of companies whose shares were active.
Telecommunications stocks fell in tandem with their U.S. counterparts. China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd. (941 HK ), China's largest publicly traded mobile telephone company, fell 20 cents, or 0.5 percent, to HK$36.80. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13 HK ), which has global telecommunications businesses, fell HK$1.50, or 1.7 percent, to HK$84.75.
Banks and property developers fell on concern the U.S. economic slowdown will worsen, dragging down global economies. HSBC Holdings Plc (5 HK ), the U.K.-based parent of the city's two largest lenders, shed HK$3.50, or 3.4 percent, to HK$99. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. (1 HK ), Hong Kong's biggest real estate developer, fell HK$1, or 1.1 percent, to HK$88. Henderson Land Development Co. (12 HK ), the No. 3 developer, fell HK$1.80, or 4.1 percent, to HK$42.20.
Utilities rose as investors sought after companies that offer steady earnings amid the economic slowdown. CLP Holdings Ltd. (2 HK ), which supplies electricity to three-quarters of Hong Kong's 6.7 million people, rose 70 cents, or 1.8 percent, to HK$39.90. Hongkong Electric Holdings Ltd. (6 HK ), the city's second-largest power supplier, rose 25 cents, or 0.9 percent, to HK$28.50.
Anhui Expressway Ltd. (995 HK ), a Chinese toll-road operator, fell 9 cents, or 11 percent, to 73 HK cents, its biggest one-day decline since Sept. 17, 1998. The company said net profit rose 10 percent to 227 million yuan, or 0.1613 yuan a share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 2000, less than the average 245 million yuan expected by 14 analysts polled by IBES International.
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (386 HK ), the country's top oil refiner or Sinopec, rose 1 cents, or 0.9 percent, to HK$1.15 after falling as much as 3.5 percent. The company said it will take a 1 billion yuan ($120.8 million) charge, bigger than expected, to shed 27,000 jobs this year as it speeds up its cost-cutting program.
First Pacific Co. (142 HK ), which is exiting its European business, fell 2.5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to HK$2.15. The company said it sold its 20 percent stake in U.K.-based property company Savills Plc to institutional investors for about HK$336 million, or at 240 pence a share, 5.5 percent below Savills' closing price in London yesterday.
Great Eagle Holdings Ltd. (41 HK ), one of Hong Kong's biggest office landlords, fell 5 cents, or 0.4 percent, to HK$13. The company said profit last year fell 3.5 percent to HK$622.9 million compared with an average of HK$625 million expected by six analysts in a Bloomberg News poll.
Legend Holdings Ltd. (992 HK ), China's biggest computer maker, rebounded 25 cents, or 4.8 percent, to HK$5.50. The stock fell 15 percent in the past three days. ``The stock was oversold in the past few days on the basis that its fundamentals have not changed after the spin-off of Digital China,'' said Richard Lo, an analyst at ING Barings Ltd. ``China's PC market is totally different from the global market.''
Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (8 HK ), Hong Kong's largest telecommunications company, fell 2.5 cents, or 0.6 percent, to HK$4.05 after falling as much as 4.3 percent. The company said it postponed a plan to provide fiber-optic services globally because too many cables are now being laid.
Shandong Xinhua Pharmaceutical Co. (719 HK ), a drugmaker, rose 4 cents, or 3.5 percent, to HK$1.17. The company will buy back as much as 10 percent of its stock to boost the value of the remaining shares. The stock gained 45 percent in the past three months.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (16 HK ), Hong Kong's second-largest real estate developer by market value, fell HK$3.25, or 4.1 percent, to HK$76 while Swire Pacific Ltd. (19 HK ), one of Hong Kong's biggest landlords, shed HK$1.60, or 3.3 percent, to HK$47.60. Both companies offered apartments in the second phase of their joint venture Ocean Shores development at an average price of 8 percent less than in February 2000.
Renren Media Ltd. (59 HK ), an unprofitable Web site operator, rose 0.1 cents, or 5.3 percent, to 2 HK cents after it was suspended from trading on Friday and Monday. It fell as much as 42 percent earlier today. The company denied a newspaper report that it had received five proposals from potential buyers of a majority stake in the company. Renren Media said while its parent company had received expressions of interest from potential buyers, the terms of the offers weren't acceptable to the controlling shareholders and didn't correspond with the amounts mentioned in the Ming Pao Daily newspaper report.
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