PCCW may invest in Vision Knight

PCCW Ltd said it will invest up to a maximum amount of US$25 million in Vision Knight Capital (China) Fund I LP, an investment fund.

The fund, co-founded by a current PCCW Director David Wei, seeks as much as $300 million of capital from investors to invest in "public or private debt, equity or hybrid securities, PCCW said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday.

StanChart allowed to buy Turkish unit

Standard Chartered Plc, which is being investigated in New York on alleged Iranian transactions, got approval from Turkey's antitrust board to buy Credit Agricole SA's Turkish unit.

The London-based lender was allowed to buy the whole of Credit Agricole Yatirim Bankasi Turk AS from its Montrouge, France-based parent, the Ankara-based regulator said on its website on Monday. It didn't give details on the transaction value.

Credit Agricole Yatirim Bankasi offers corporate and investment banking services to clients in Turkey since it was established in 1990, according to its website. The bank had 74.9 million liras ($42 million) of assets at the end of 2011.

Taiping Life posts Jan-July income

China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co said the Jan-July premium income for its life insurance unit was 21.3 billion yuan, according to a statement from the company to the Hong Kong exchange.

The property and casualty premium income for the period was 4.27 billion yuan while pension business premium income for the period was 547 million yuan.

Watson tests mask after user's death

Watsons, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa, started testing its pearl facial masks after media reported the death of a user of the product, according to a statement from the company.

The family of the deceased individual hasn't agreed to forensic testing.

The company didn't identify the media which reported the death.

Fubon HK mulls mainland investor

Fubon Bank Hong Kong may consider a mainland investor as it is seeking a strategic partner, the company's parent, Fubon Financial, said in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange.

The company was responding to a media report on the investment.

Fubon Financial's Hong Kong unit is seeking a mainland bank as an investor, Taipei-based Economic Daily News reported on Aug 11.

EU & mainland drag down stocks

Hong Kong stocks dropped, with the Hang Seng Index falling for a second day, on concern mainland economic slowdown will deepen amid waning export demand as Europe's leaders struggle to solve the region's debt crisis.

Techtronic Industries Co, the maker of Ryobi power tools that counts North America as its No. 1 market, fell 2.8 percent. Esprit Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-based clothier that gets about 79 percent of sales from Europe, slid 0.9 percent.

The Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 percent to 20081.36 at the close, having swung between gains of as much as 0.3 percent and losses of 0.5 percent. The gauge climbed 2.4 percent last week on speculation central government will add to economic stimulus on the mainland after export growth collapsed, industrial production unexpectedly slowed and inflation decelerated. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies lost 0.9 percent to 9814.59 on Monday.

Futures on the Hang Seng Index lost 0.6 percent to 20035.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 08/14/2012 page2)