$250m investment in India

Standard Chartered will put $250 million in its India operations, its group chief executive said yesterday, adding that he expected global market turmoil to continue for the next few months.

"I don't know how long it will continue," Peter Sands told reporters in response to a question on whether the worst of the global credit crisis had passed.

"But we expect a fair amount of turmoil and volatility, at least for the next few months. A lot of risk pricing and de-leveraging still needs to be done," he said.

Standard Chartered, which makes three-quarters of its profits in Asia, will invest $250 million to expand its operations in India, taking its total capital base in the country to $1.9 billion, he said.

CNOOC buys into oil retailer

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has bought into a private oil- products seller in East China's Zhejiang province, official media said yesterday, as the company seeks to gain a foothold in the booming local market.

To become an integrated oil firm, China's offshore oil specialist is eager to set up its own fuel-distribution networks ahead of the formal operation of its first refinery, of 240,000 barrels per day (bpd), in southern Guangdong province in October.

Meanwhile, private fuel sellers have been struggling to get supplies from the mainland's fuel duopoly, Sinopec and PetroChina, as the latter were reluctant to feed them when refining is a loss-making business due to record crude- oil costs and fixed fuel prices.

CNOOC on Tuesday bought 80 percent of Hangzhou Kangbo Petroleum Co Ltd, which runs three petrol stations and an oil depot in Zhejiang, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

$595m fundraising effort

Taiwan's top food conglomerate, Uni-President Enterprises, plans to raise more than T$18 billion ($595 million) to help fund expansion and repay bank loans, it said yesterday.

Uni-President, a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, plans to raise T$12 billion in a convertible bond sale, it said in a filing to the Taiwan stock exchange.

It also plans to sell 300 million new shares in a rights issue and another 300 million shares via a private placement, it said, without giving details.

The selling prices of the new shares have not been decided, it said.

Yesterday, shares of Uni-President rose 1.2 percent in Taiwan trading and Uni-President China closed unchanged in Hong Kong.

HSI drops slightly

Hong Kong stocks dipped yesterday after stronger-than-expected mainland economic growth and inflation helped erase timid early gains, as investors fretted about the possibility of more government measures to try to curb raging growth.

The market slid into negative territory after the mainland announced GDP was up 10.6 percent in the first quarter, but analysts said investors had expected a robust number and losses were thus constrained.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index slipped 0.1 percent to end at 23,878.35. The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed companies, or H-shares, finished off 0.56 percent.

Reuters

(HK Edition 04/17/2008 page2)