HK Aug exports increase 0.6%

Hong Kong's exports rose 0.6 percent to HK$311.7 billion in August from a year ago after declining 3.5 percent in July, the government said on Tuesday.

Imports also rose 0.9 percentage point year-on-year in the month, the government said in a statement in its website.

Both export and import figures are better than market consensus. Nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg have forecast a median 4.8 percent drop for exports and a 3.5 percent fall for imports.

Trade deficit for the month was HK$36 billion, against a median estimate of deficit of HK$38.8 billion.

StanChart falls on Temasek stake talk

Standard Chartered Plc slipped 2.9 percent in Hong Kong trading after a report that the bank's largest shareholder talked to potential buyers for its stake.

Temasek Holdings Pte assessed interest in the stake in recent months, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing people it didn't identify. The Singapore investment company holds 18 percent of London-based Standard Chartered, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A sale of Temasek's stake in Standard Chartered could be hindered by the bank's recent $340 million settlement of a probe into accusations that it helped Iran illegally funnel money through the US, according to the Financial Times.

Gabriel Kwan, a Hong Kong-based spokeswoman for Standard Chartered, and Jeffrey Fang, a spokesman for Temasek, declined to comment on speculation.

HKEx's bond size up for LME buy

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, the world's No 2 exchange operator by market value, said on Tuesday it will increase the size of its convertible bond issue to $500 million to fund its purchase of the London Metal Exchange.

The news came a day after it said it would issue $400 million of convertible bonds to fund the acquisition.

The issue would represent 2.18 percent of the exchange's enlarged share capital.

Firms launch fund management JV

Harvest Fund Management (HFM) and Grosvenor Fund Management (GFM) have joined forces to launch a dedicated real estate fund management business that will invest in the Greater China region.

The business, named Harvest Real Estate Investments (HREI), will manage Greater China real estate strategies for investors globally, through the creation of both US dollar-denominated and yuan-denominated funds.

The business will seek to identify attractive real estate opportunities across multiple sectors within the region's emerging real estate industry for both international investors and domestic investors in China. The business also plans to bring global real estate opportunities to domestic investors in China.

HFM, which is China's second largest asset manager with approximately $37 billion in assets under management, will invest into the business through its alternative investments arm, Harvest Alternative Investment Group.

Brightoil to hire crude oil traders

Hong Kong-listed Brightoil Petroleum (Holdings) Ltd will hire about 10 crude oil traders in Singapore and the United States, Denny Tan, executive director and chief financial officer, told reporters in an earnings briefing on Tuesday.

The company, which reported a 76 percent fall in net profit for fiscal year ended June 2012, sees need to slow down trading expansion in Geneva due to eurozone economic woes, Tan said.

Brightoil currently has more than 150 people in its bunker trading team, including traders, operators, analysts and mid- and back-office staff, Tan added.

China Daily - Agencies

(HK Edition 09/26/2012 page2)