HONG KONG: Hong Kong stocks rose 377.83 points, or 1.7 percent on the Hang Seng Index, to reach a two-week high of 22,207.55 yesterday. The gain was led by banks on signs that investors' appetite for initial share sales is returning, which may bode well for companies alike.

Sands China, the Macao unit of billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, and China Minsheng Banking Corp, the mainland's first privately owned lender, will conduct initial public offerings in Hong Kong.

Minsheng Bank plans to raise as much as HK$31.54 billion ($4.07 billion) in Hong Kong's biggest public sale of shares since April 2007 by selling 3.32 billion new shares at HK$8.50 to HK$9.50 each, two people familiar with its plan said.

Sands China, the Macao unit of billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, may raise as much as HK$26 billion in a Hong Kong initial share sale, three people familiar with the matter said. The offering consists of 1.87 billion shares priced at between HK$10.38 and HK$13.88 each, according to the people, who declined to be identified because the pricing isn't public.

"The market has turned more stable in the second half, and as a result there are more share sales in the pipeline," said Marco Mak, head of research at Tai Fook Securities. The market will likely reach its highest levels toward the year end, he predicted.

The Hang Seng Index climbed to its highest close since October 23. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, which tracks H-shares, advanced 2.3 percent to 13,318.48.

ICBC added 3.1 percent to close at HK$6.66. Construction Bank advanced 3.1 percent to HK$6.98. The Hang Seng Finance Index's 2.4 percent gain was the sharpest among the four industry groups tracked by the broader Hang Seng Index.

Galaxy, whose market value has more than tripled this year, jumped 9.4 percent to HK$3.83. Melco International Development Ltd, controlled by billionaire Stanley Ho's son Lawrence, gained 6.5 percent to HK$4.43.

China Shenhua Energy, the nation's biggest coal producer, gained 3.9 percent to HK$38.55. China Coal Energy, the second-largest miner of the fuel, advanced 5.7 percent to HK$12.98, its highest close since August 29, 2008.

Coal prices at China's Qinhuangdao port, a benchmark in the world's biggest producer and user of the fuel, rose for the eighth-straight week on winter heating demand, according to data published by the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association.

Foxconn International Holdings, the world's biggest contract maker of mobile phones, dropped 3.8 percent to HK$7.08. Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to "sell" from "neutral" because the company "faces a structural issue of having limited growth drivers beyond its current customer base," according to a report by the brokerage yesterday.

The Hang Seng Index has surged 96 percent from a low for the year on March 9 as stimulus measures revived economies around the world. Shares on the gauge are priced at an average 17.6 times estimated profit, up from 10.6 times at the start of 2009, according to data from Bloomberg.

China Daily/Bloomberg News

(HK Edition 11/10/2009 page3)