Storm aftermath affects flights

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said it could take "a few more days" before its operations return to normal.

It expects delays, cancellations through the end of the week, the company said in an emailed statement.

Cathay asked passengers to delay or cancel non-essential travel from now to July 29. The airline has cancelled or diverted 72 flights as a result of Typhoon Vicente.

AIA gets ING's Asia Assets' bid backing

AIA Group Ltd received loan commitments from banks to back its potential purchase of ING Group NV's Asian life-insurance operations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The eight banks have pledged to commit $1 billion each as part of a one-year bridge facility, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The full amount of the loan may not be required should the purchase price turn out to be less than $8 billion, the person said.

Sonia Tsang, a spokeswoman for AIA in Hong Kong, declined to comment on the financing arrangement when contacted by e-mail Wednesday.

ING's Asia life insurance operations are spread across the region, with larger businesses in South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong, Credit Suisse Group AG analysts Arjan van Veen and Frances Feng wrote in a Feb 14 report.

ZTE wins most share of CDMA

ZTE Corporation said it has won contracts valued at $281.5 million for the largest share in China Telecom's 2012 CDMA Purchase Project.

ZTE will provide its Uni-Ran solution and relevant services in more than 220 cities in 27 provinces across China, the telecom equipment provider said in a statement.

Ajisen China sees huge interim fall

Ajisen (China) Holdings Limited said it expects to report a significant drop in its net profit for the first half.

The decline was mainly due to temporary loss in revenue and restaurant sales growth after negative media reports in the third quarter of 2011, the company said in a statement.

It also cited general "sluggish" consumer sentiment in 2012 and increased expenses.

Intime to raise 204.9m yuan

Intime Department Store (Group) Company Limited said it will sell 9.7 million Wushang Shares for 204.9 million yuan.

The net proceeds of about 135 million yuan from the tendered sale will be used to reduce debt and provide working capital, Intime said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.

Stocks fall on IMF risk comments

Hong Kong stocks fell a third day, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index closing at its lowest in six weeks, after the International Monetary Fund said China's economy faces significant downside risks to growth.

Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd, a Guangzhou-based developer, dropped 6 percent after report a transaction tax will be raised on home sales. Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd, China's No. 2 electronics retailer, plunged 14.5 percent after saying it expects a first-half loss. China Railway Construction Corp rose 2.1 percent, gaining a second day after saying it won $3 billion worth of new contracts.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.1 percent to close at 18877.33 in Hong Kong, paring losses of as much 1 percent in the last hour of trading as European stocks opened higher.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies rose 0.02 percent to 9218.86.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 07/26/2012 page2)