GCL-Poly to expand capacity

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd said it planned to invest about HK$17.7 billion ($2.28 billion) to further expand its polysilicon capacity and wafer business.

In a filing with the Hong Kong bourse over the weekend, GCL said it would expand its polysilicon and wafer facilities on the mainland in 2011 and 2012, aiming to increase annual polysilicon production capacity to about 25,000 metric tons by the end of 2011 and 65,000 metric tons by mid-2012, from 21,000 metric tons as of the end of last year.

It also aims to raise annual wafer production capacity to 6,500 megawatts (mW) by the end of 2011, from 3,500 mW at the end of 2010.

Parkson 2010 profit rises 9%

Parkson Retail Group Ltd, the Beijing-based department-store chain controlled by Malaysia's Lion Group, said profit rose 9 percent last year after opening new outlets.

Net income jumped to 992 million yuan ($151 million) from 911 million yuan a year earlier, compared with the 1.07 billion yuan average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales rose 10 percent to 3.82 billion yuan, the retailer said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Monday.

Parkson is accelerating its store expansion on the mainland as consumers spend more on clothes, cosmetics and home appliances after the economy expanded 10.3 percent last year. The country's retail sales grew an average of 18.4 percent a month in 2010.

Samsonite plans $1b IPO in city

Samsonite LLC, the US luggage maker owned by London-based CVC Capital Partners Ltd, plans to raise about $1 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to three people familiar with the matter Monday.

The company has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc to manage the sale and aims to list in the second or third quarter of this year, said the people, who declined to be identified before an announcement.

Helen Mak, a Samsonite spokeswoman in Hong Kong, did not immediately answer phone calls to her office.

Sun Hung Kai sells HK$500m notes

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd sold HK$500 million of fixed-rate notes due 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter Monday.

The notes were priced to yield 4.05 percent, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. HSBC Holdings Plc managed the sale, the person said.

Semiconductor seeks $600m loans

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China's biggest chipmaker, hired three banks for a $600 million loan, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation Monday.

The Export-Import Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corp and Cathay United Bank are arranging a five-year facility, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Angela Miao, a spokeswoman for the Shanghai-based company, declined to comment.

Kingboard Chemical to borrow HK$4b

Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd plans to borrow HK$4 billion in loans, according to a person familiar with the matter Monday.

The deal comprises a term loan and a revolving credit facility of five years with an average life of four and a half years, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

Citigroup Inc, HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are helping to arrange the loan and are inviting other banks into the lending group, with interest and fee payments of 129 basis points more than the Hong Kong interbank offered rate, the person said.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 02/22/2011 page2)