News Digest
Updated: 2008-09-26 07:39
(HK Edition)
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AUM drops over $1b
Fund manager Value Partners Group Ltd said yesterday its assets under management (AUM) have fallen more than $1 billion since the end of July as it felt the bite of tumbling stock markets.
The Hong Kong-based firm, one of Asia's few publicly traded fund management houses, said in statement that its provisional estimated AUM stood at about $4.4 billion on Sept 24.
It said its unaudited AUM at the end of August was about $5.1 billion, a drop of about $400 million from the preceding month. AUM figures are closely watched by fund company investors because management fees are charged as a percentage of assets.
The firm, co-founded by former financial journalist Cheah Cheng Hye, reported in March that its AUM jumped to $7.3 billion in 2007 from about $4.5 billion a year earlier.
Currency peg 'best way'
Hong Kong's currency peg with the US dollar is the best way to maintain financial stability in the SAR, Joseph Yam, head of the territory's central bank said yesterday.
Writing in a weekly column on the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's website, Yam reiterated previous comments by Hong Kong officials that they had no plans to change the 25-year-old currency peg.
Yam said the peg had weathered many different economic cycles and financial crises.
"Over the years the linked exchange rate system has provided us with a much needed anchor for currency stability," he said.
Lower fuel surcharges
Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said yesterday it approved lower fuel surcharges levied by six airlines for the next two months, representing cuts up to 10-15 percent from the existing levels.
The move was made after oil prices fell from a record above $140 a barrel in July to around $105 on Thursday.
The six airlines are Cathay Pacific, All Nippon Airways, Thai Air Asia, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Nepal Airlines and Jetstar Asia Airways.
Stakes on possible sale
Shaw Brothers said yesterday its controlling shareholder has been in talks on the possible sale of its stake in the company to interested parties.
But it also said no agreement had been entered into and the company was not aware of new developments on discussions.
In May, Shaw Brothers dashed reports that Shaw Holdings Inc, controlled by centenarian movie mogul Run Run Shaw, had reached an agreement to sell its stake to the chairman of developer Country Garden.
It said such media reports were "incorrect and speculative in nature", without elaborating.
Newspapers reported Country Garden's Yeung Kwok Keung bought Shaw Brothers with an eye on its 26 percent of dominant Hong Kong TV broadcaster TVB.
Reuters
(HK Edition 09/26/2008 page2)