HKMA grants banking licence to ABN AMRO

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced Wednesday that it has granted a banking licence to ABN AMRO Bank under the Banking Ordinance. The granting of this banking licence took effect on March 17, 2010. ABN AMRO is a bank incorporated in the Netherlands.

After the granting of a banking licence to ABN AMRO, the number of licensed banks in Hong Kong increased to 146.

Strong earnings to lift HK stocks another 17%

Hong Kong stocks should see another year of gains as the mainland's domestic spending continues to power corporate earnings, a Reuters poll found. The benchmark Hang Seng Index is expected to reach 23,000 by mid-year and finish 2010 at around 25,000 points, up almost 17 percent from Wednesday's close at 21,384, the poll of 23 brokerages showed. The index, which rose 52 percent in 2009, has performed dismally this year, ranking fifth from last among 30 tracked by Thomson Reuters, alongside neighbors Shanghai and Taipei, and worse than debt-ridden Greece. This comes largely on fears Beijing may begin trimming the economic stimulus package credited with keeping the world's second largest economy afloat during the financial crisis.

Towngas China to buy parent's units for $221m

Towngas China Co will buy piped gas projects on the mainland from parent Hong Kong & China Gas Co for HK$1.72 billion ($221 million) to expand its distribution business and gain from rising demand in the mainland.

Towngas will issue new shares at HK$3.55 each to pay for the six projects in Liaoning and Zhejiang provinces, the company 45.6 percent-owned by Hong Kong & China Gas, the city's oldest utility, said in a statement Wednesday.

Hong Kong & China Gas will own about 56.4 percent of Towngas upon completion of the transaction and the restructuring will help speed up future asset injections, the companies said in the statement to the city's stock exchange.

RUSAL mulling ruble bond to raise $500m

Hong Kong-listed UC RUSAL, the world's largest aluminum producer, is mulling a ruble bond issue worth $500 million, the news agency Interfax reported Wednesday. The agency, citing RUSAL'S head of capital markets Oleg Mukhamedshin, said the bond, with a maturity of three to four years would be used to help refinance outstanding debt. The company has $12.9 billion in borrowings, with $4.5 billion due in October.

Buy real estate as inflation hedge: Aberdeen

Investors should buy real-estate assets and funds that invest in property in the U.K. and Asia because a potential rebound in prices and economic growth will counter inflation risks, Aberdeen Asset Management Plc said.

While UK properties offer attractive" yields, real estate in Asia is supported by the strength of the regions economic growth, Michael Turner, head of global strategy and asset allocation at Aberdeen, said in an interview in Hong Kong Wednesday. He recommended buying into real-estate investment trusts and funds that hold property, without giving specific names.

Agencies - China Daily

(HK Edition 03/18/2010 page2)