Hongguo seeks $200m in Sept IPO

Hongguo International Holdings Ltd, a mainland footwear producer and retailer, plans to raise about $200 million through a Hong Kong initial public offering next month, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

The Nanjing-based company began gauging investor demand for its shares on Tuesday and aims to start trading on September 23, according to a term sheet obtained by Bloomberg News. Citigroup Inc and DBS Group Holdings Ltd are managing the sale, the term sheet shows.

Hongguo and its shareholders are offering 500 million shares or about 25 percent of the company after the IPO, the terms show. The company delisted its shares from the Singapore Stock Exchange last year.

Sino-Forest unit names new head

Timber products processor and distributor Greenheart Group Ltd, a Hong Kong unit of Sino-Forest Corp, said its president and chief executive officer, William Judson Martin, has been appointed as chairman effective August 29.

In a filing with the Hong Kong bourse late on Monday, Greenheart said Martin was replacing Allen Chan, who had tendered his resignation as non-executive director and the chairman of the company.

Chan's resignations are in line with his resignations from Sino-Forest, Greenheart said.

In a separate statement, Greenheart said the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had directed the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd to suspend dealings in the company shares on August 29.

Greenheart said it is preparing information requested by SFC and a resumption of trading in the shares shall be subject to the consent of the SFC and the exchange.

ZTE first-half net profit falls 12%

ZTE Corp posted a 12.3 percent fall in first-half profit, the first drop since 2007, on narrowing margins and a delay in value-added-tax refunds.

Net profit was 769.3 million yuan ($118 million) in the first six months, down from 877.5 million yuan a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The final figures are a tad higher than the preliminary net profit of 768.5 announced earlier in August.

Stocks jump on earnings, US data

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) of stocks rose to its highest close in two weeks on Tuesday, after higher US consumer spending boosted confidence in the global economic recovery, and as companies reported higher profit.

The HSI rose 1.71 percent to 20204.17. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index increased 2.24 percent to 10747.08. Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.5 percent. The HSI Volatility Index sank 6.2 percent to 31.18.

Li & Fung advanced 2 percent to HK$13.56. China Shipping Development advanced 1.8 percent to HK$5.82.

Stocks gained on Tuesday after Americans' spending increased more than economists forecast in July as consumers dipped into savings to buy cars and cool their homes, showing the biggest part of the economy is holding up. Purchases rose 0.8 percent, the steepest gain since February.

Foxconn International jumped 8.1 percent to HK$3.75 after posting a net loss of $17.6 million for the first half of the year, which was less than the net loss of $142.6 million a year earlier.

Bank of China Ltd increased 2.3 percent to HK$3.17. Bank of Communications Co advanced 1.6 percent to HK$5.68. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd advanced 0.2 percent to HK$5.09.

The People's Bank of China may lower reserve requirements for banks in the fourth quarter, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported, without saying where it got the information.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 08/31/2011 page2)