Melco $41.2m share sale

An institutional investor sold $41.2 million worth of shares in Macao casino operator Melco at a 2.9 percent discount to the firm's midday closing price yesterday, according to a document sent to investors.

The investor sold 31.8 million shares at HK$10.10 each, in a deal handled by Morgan Stanley.

The company's shares were trading down 2.3 percent at HK$10.20 in afternoon trade.

$250m in 3-year bonds

China High Speed Transmission Equipment Group is selling $250 million in three-year yuan-denominated convertible bonds, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

The bonds, worth an equivalent 1.7 billion yuan, will be converted at HK$17.78 to HK$19.15 per share of the mainland wind power transmission gear maker, representing a 30 to 40 percent premium to a reference price of HK$13.68 provided in the term sheet.

The yield to maturity is a semi-annual 2 to 3 percent based on a redemption price of 106.2 percent to 109.3 percent.

China Gas-SK Energy JV

South Korea's E&S Co, a unit of the country's top refiner SK Energy, said yesterday its joint venture (JV) with China Gas Holdings had bought a 50 percent stake in a local gas distributor in East China for $10 million.

China Gas-SK Energy Ltd, the 50-50 JV launched in mid-March 2007, bought the stake in Jinhua City Jiran Piped Gas Co, which supplies piped gas to local end users.

In August, China Gas-SK Energy Ltd took a 50 percent stake in Zhejiang province's Taizhou Gas Co.

Yanzhou's Australia buys

Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd aims to buy mines in Australia to ramp up its annual coal capacity there to 10 million tons over the next few years.

Yanzhou, which vies with bigger rivals Shenhua Energy Corp and China Coal Energy Co, is looking at coal mines in Australia's east as well as alumina and iron ore in western Australia, Chief Financial Officer Wu Yuxiang told Reuters in an interview yesterday.

"Our provincial government supports us, and asked us to reach a capacity of 10 million tons in Australia in the short term," Wu said.

CMB Q1 profits up 157%

China Merchants Bank (CMB), the mainland's sixth-largest lender, yesterday posted a 157 percent rise in its quarterly net profits due to net interest margin expansion.

Shenzhen-based CMB posted a profit of 6.3 billion yuan for the three months ending on March 31, compared with 2.46 billion yuan a year earlier, based on mainland accounting standards.

Credit Suisse expects all mainland banks to report very strong first-quarter results as margins continue to expand while credit costs remained muted, but growth rates are expected to decelerate after the first quarter.

BoCom out of Wing Lung deal

China's Bank of Communications (BoCom) has pulled out of the auction for Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank Ltd, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday, leaving just two banks in the hunt for a bank that is expected to fetch roughly $4.8 billion.

The source did not clarify why the State-owned bank dropped out of the running.

One person involved in the deal suggested one reason was that the government does not want two State-owned companies bidding for the same asset, thus inflating the price of the deal.

Several media outlets have reported that Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd is bidding for a stake in Wing Lung.

The other bidder is Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Australia's third-biggest lender, an industry source has previously told Reuters.

Reuters

(HK Edition 04/23/2008 page2)