Your Source For Asian Investment Information
Taiwan Senaco and China Unicorn (Hong Kong) will construct and operate 22 Senao stores to sell communications equipment and devices in Mainland China. These stores will be constructed in the first three months of 2011 and will be located in three provinces according the president of Senao International.
In the future Senao plans to invite strategic and foreign investors to buy shares in the company. Presently, Senao’s main shareholder is Chunghwa Telecom co.
Due to the government’s announcement that China will invest 700 Yuan ($106 Billion) in the railroads in 2011, the stocks of China’s two biggest train manufacturers, CSR Corp. and China CNR Corp., shot up in trading on the Shanghai market.
In China there is a trading limit that stocks can only go up by ten percent per day. China CNR reached its ten percent limit and CSR rose 9.8 percent after the Govenment announcement. According to Railway Minister Liu Zhijun, this investment decision is part of China’s plan to expand it railways from 91,000 Kilometers to 120,000 in 5 years. 1.68 billion passengers traveled on the railways in 2011 and freight transports rose to 3.63 billion tons which is 9.3 percent increase. Improving railways will also reduce air pollution and traffic.
In addition, a Shanghai-Beijing high-speed train line will be starting up in June of 2011 at a cost of 220.9 Billion Yuan.
The Bank of Shanghai will create a sales partnership with Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. the deal may be publicized on Monday.
The Chinese division of Sompo Japan will begin marketing policies to business clients through the Bank of Shanghai in early 2011.
The Bank of Shanghai will acquire insurance experience form its Japanese counterparts. Meanwhile, the Japanese company will increase profits through expanding into the rapidly growing Chinese market.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources, MOLAR, the Chinese government intends to spend more than 15 billion U.S. dollars over the next five years to develop farmland for the nation’s food security.
The plan is to improve about 4 million hectares of land and replenish an additional 670,000 hectares of arable land in its major grain producing regions. These are Hebei, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hubei provinces and Inner Mongolia and Guangxi autonomous regions.
If all goes well, the grain production capacity will be increased by an extra 10 million tons every year.
Thakral Corporation will partner as a financial investor with with developers to implement its new strategy for its real estate business.
In its filing with the Singapore Exchange, the company wrote that as a capital investor, it seeks to invest in affordable mid-sized residential developments located in cities in Asia Pacific and Australia.
Thakral indicated that its new strategy will generate a second revenue stream for the company.
The firm is seeking returns of 15 to 25 per cent, with an exit strategy in 12 to 36 months.
Mr Singh said, “We will receive our returns and capital when the projects are completed and all units already pre-sold to buyers are settled.”
Thakral already owns commercial and residential property holdings in Hong Kong and China.
In addition to real estate, Thakral also distributes consumer electronic products in Singapore, India, China and Japan.
China Datang Corp. sold 2.14 billion shares at HK$2.33 apiece, after offering them in the range of HK$2.33 to HK$3.18, according to employees who asked to remain anonymous before the official announcement.
China Datang Corp. Renewable Power Co. raised the minimum $643 million sought in a Hong Kong IPO. Its rival, Huaneng Renewables Corp. called off its sale, worrying that the Chinese economy will slow down
At a meeting in Beijing to set economic policy guidelines, Chinese leaders decided to work on stabilizing prices and to speed up a change in China’s growth model next year.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao attended the Central Economic Work Conference. The government reiterated its intention to keep the currency stable but did not stipulate any specific economic targets.
China is trying to increase private consumption and service industries, which will help the world economy. China is tightening monetary policy to slow down inflation from its current high of 5.1%
Lu Zhengwei, an economist with Industrial Bank Co in Shanghai, predicted that “The top concern for the government next year will be to contain inflation, stabilize growth and spur consumption,”
A stronger Chinese currency would lower global trade imbalances, boost private consumption and contain inflation, according to U.S. officials.
Coty Adds Popular Chinese Brands to Its Growing Skin Care Portfolio
TJoy, a leading Chinese skin care company and Coty Inc., a major leader in global beauty, announced that the two companies have decided on a share purchase agreement that requires Coty to purchase a majority stake in TJoy Holdings, Ltd. Coty and TJoy expect to complete the share purchase this coming January. Coty’s strategic investment expands its skin care market by gaining a solid foothold in China through TJoy’s present distribution channels. The agreement also gives Coty an opportunity to enlarge its R&D capabilities.
The Chairman of TJoy, Mr. Chuang Wen Yang, said, “The combination of TJoy and Coty is an important milestone for TJoy and is a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone. I am very confident that our combined businesses will enjoy rapid growth through Coty’s global reach and marketing expertise. ”
According to Coty’s CEO, Bernd Beetz, “The TJoy investment makes Coty as a major business in China, solidifying our position as a global beauty leader. TJoy and Pure Plant Extract are sublime additions to the Coty skincare portfolio, and only make our portfolio stronger.” Mr. Beetz also said that “We are excited by this investment in TJoy and look forward to welcoming the TJoy employees into the worldwide Coty family.”
Coty, which employs more than 8,500 people worldwide, ended its 2010 fiscal year with net sales of $3.6 billion, up 3 percent from the 2009 fiscal year.
Cogo Group, Inc, announced today that the Chief Marketing Officer, William Davis will be at the Barclays 2010 Global Technology Conference on December 9, 2010. Cogo Group is based in China and provides embedded solutions and software for Chinese technology and industrial companies. Cogo serves as a proxy to China’s technology industry since it has connections with the majority of chinas OEMs and ODMs.
The Global Technology Conference will be in San Francisco at the Palace Hotel. At the presentation, Mr. Davis will outline Cogo’s strategies for 2011. There will be special emphasis on various revenue growth opportunities, including Auto Electronics and China’s HDTV upgrade cycle, a product of China’s Smart Meter/Grid systems. Investors can meet with Mr. Davis in private meetings on December 9, 2010. Participation in this conference is by invitation only. Please contact your Barclays representative if you wish to participate.
Asia’s property markets are set for a continuous slow tightening of regulations in coming months as authorities try to slow down rising home prices without causing a crash.
Last week Hong Kong announced its fifth implementation of regulations this year as it attempts to reduce property speculation. China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have also implemented more stringent regulations in recent months.
But investors’ interest in property continues to grow and prices continue to rise. That will likely lead governments to increase mortgage requirements again, increase land supply and – in China – to initiate even more property taxes.
Tim Condon, the research manager at ING Financial Markets in Singapore said that “My baseline scenario is we will need more measures – the current set worked but their impact is transitory.”
“We’re entering into unchartered waters because just one set of the measures introduced so far this year would have worked in previous times – but what we have right now are markets filled with liquidity and historically lower interest rates,” said Donald Han, vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield.
According to property broker Knight Frank, Hong Kong residential prices rose by 25% from mid-2009 to mid-2010 while those in Singapore increased by 37%.