Valued stocks favored

More Hong Kong investors prefer to purchase valued stocks rather than warrant amid the volatile market situation, according to a survey conducted by HSBC.

Bruno Lee, HSBC's head of management for personal financial services in Hong Kong, said active traders, who have done two stock transactions within a month, have surged 70 percent from end-August to end-October.

While in September, active stock traders significantly soared 31 percent in a month, with active warrant traders only increased by 11 percent.

He added that in October 2007, during which the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose to 32,000, active warrant traders in HSBC surged 48 percent, while the active stock traders only rose 27 percent.

Shimao sales target

Hong Kong-based Chinese property group Shimao Property said yesterday it is confident it will meet its property sales target of 14 billion yuan for 2008 as it sold 10 billion yuan worth of property on the mainland in the first 10 months of the year. Shimao Chairman Hui Wing-mau said the company had deferred a roughly 2 billion yuan land premium payment, out of 2.5 billion yuan to be paid this year for its mainland property projects, to next year, thanks to a series of measures from Beijing to stimulate domestic demand.

CLSA new green funds

CLSA Capital Partners plans to launch new funds from next month to invest in clean energy and efficient technology as the firm beefs up its range of offerings focused on green-related investments.

The Asia-focused private equity investor manages around $3 billion in assets, including $150 million in climate change or green-related strategies in three existing funds.

$1b for distressed debt

Distressed debt investors in Asia stand to make windfall gains as even good firms struggle in the global financial crisis, but they need to be patient, an executive with hedge fund manager ADM Capital said yesterday.

Readying itself for this opportunity, the distressed debt specialist is looking at raising $500 million to $1 billion in new funds in the coming year, anticipating a pickup in defaults and cases of financing difficulties.

Hong Kong-based ADM, which manages about $2.5 billion in assets, believes the worst is still to come for the region given the faltering economy and tight credit markets.

StanChart eyes China debt

China's booming yuan-denominated debt market is now one of Asia's most active and the key one for foreign investors to watch in the region, a top debt executive at Standard Chartered yesterday.

Sales of yuan currency corporate bonds have totalled 182 billion yuan so far this year, according to the Chinese government securities clearing agency, more than double year-earlier sales. Lenders and policy banks sold an additional 883 billion yuan in debt this year.

China Daily - Reuters

(HK Edition 11/12/2008 page2)