City weekend home sales fall 16%: Centaline

Hong Kong's weekend home sales fell 16 percent at major developments as concerns about Dubai World's debt prompted buyers to slow purchases, Centaline Property Agency Ltd said, suggesting a direct impact.

Residential transactions at Hong Kong's 10 biggest developments dropped to 32 between November 28 and November 29 from 38 the prior weekend, Louis Chan, general manager of residential properties at Centaline, said by phone yesterday.

Concerns about Dubai World's attempts to reschedule its debt last week also affected sales at Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd's Le Prime residential project, Chan said. Markets from Asia to the US fell last week after Dubai's state-owned investment company sought a "standstill" agreement to delay repayment on much of its $59 billion of borrowing.

Shengli plans up to $250 million IPO, e-mail says

Shengli Oil & Gas Pipe Holdings Ltd, a mainland maker of energy pipelines, plans to raise as much as HK$1.94 billion ($250 million) with shareholders in a Hong Kong initial public offering, said a share sale document.

Shengli and shareholders will offer a combined 720 million shares, or a 30 percent stake in the Zibo, eastern China-based company at HK$1.81 to HK$2.69 apiece, said the e-mail to fund managers yesterday. Of those, 600 million are new shares.

Shengli is one of China's largest oil and gas line pipe producers, said a draft prospectus posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange website yesterday. It was the biggest maker by capacity of spiral submerged arc welded pipes used to transport crude oil, refined petroleum products and natural gas, it added.

It will use the share sale proceeds to expand production and design capacity, the e-mail said.

Macquarie Group Ltd is managing the sale, which started taking orders from international institutions yesterday and will be priced on December 11. The stock will start trading under the code 1080 on December 17, the e-mail said.

Sunstone eyes HK listing on aluminium boom

Sunstone Development Corporation Ltd, a major mainland supplier of anodes for aluminium production, plans to triple capacity and gain a Hong Kong stock market listing next year, its chairman told Reuters.

Sunstone's chairman Lang Guanghui wants to list in Hong Kong by buying either a listed shell company or a non-listed firm into which the parent firm would then inject assets.

Sunstone Development, a supplier to global aluminium producers Alcoa Inc, Rio Tinto Alcan and Dubai Aluminium, will boost annual capacity to 330,000 tons before the year-end from 150,000 tons, he said. It plans to further expand to 1 million ton with new capacity in China or in the Middle East. He did not provide a timeframe for the expansion, or specify the exact location.

China Daily/Agencies

(HK Edition 12/01/2009 page4)