HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong shares were set for
a firmer start on Wednesday after a strong showing on Wall
Street, while increased merger activity encouraged investors
back into the market.
The Hang Seng index closed up 0.2 percent at
22,323.94 on Tuesday, its highest close since August last year,
largely on the back of a 2.8 percent jump in shares of insurer
AIA Holdings.
The China Enterprises index closed flat, dragged
lower by a slip on mainland markets which eased from their
one-month highs.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.6 percent
while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.3 percent higher as 0035
GMT.
STOCKS TO WATCH
* A major shareholder in Guoco Group, a Hong Kong
investment company controlled by Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng
Chan, has made an offer to take the company private for HK$8.25
billion ($1.1 billion), Guoco Group said in a statement on
Wednesday. The offer of HK$88.00 per share represented a 24.8
percent premium over Guacos last traded price.
* BHP Billiton agreed to sell its stake in the
Browse liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to Chinese oil and
gas producer PetroChina Co Ltd for $1.63
billion, the second partner to leave the project in recent
months.
* Alberta is in the process of choosing a marketer for the
crude oil it collects in lieu of cash royalties, a role now
mostly filled by Nexen Inc, whose takeover by China’s
state-owned CNOOC Ltd was approved by Ottawa last
week.
* HSBC Holdings Plc agreed to pay a
record $1.92 billion in fines to U.S. authorities for allowing
itself to be used to launder a river of drug money flowing out
of Mexico and other banking lapses.
* ZETA Corp said to invest $30 million
more in the U.S. market to demonstrate its long-term commitment
to the U.S. market.
* Bank of China , China’s No. 4 bank,
has been appointed the clearing bank for yuan transactions in
Taiwan, China’s central bank said in a brief statement posted on
its website on Tuesday.
* China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel, the country’s
biggest listed steelmaker, said on Tuesday it will raise the
January booking prices for some of its steel products, a signal
the company is increasingly optimistic about its prospects.
* Agricultural Bank of China Ltd said it has
received approval from China Banking Regulatory Commission and
an administrative approval decision from the People’s Bank of
China for issue of subordinated bonds of up to 50 billion yuan
within 24 months.
MARKET EVENTS
– Century Gina Retail Holdings Ltd SGX
– China Travel International Investment Hong Kong Ltd
GEM
– Chinese Food and Beverage Group Ltd H1 results
– CSV Corporation Ltd First GEM in Beijing
– Hanson Construction Holdings Ltd GEM
– Monahan Iron & Steel Co Ltd third GEM in China
– Media Asia Group Holdings Ltd Q1 results
– Shandon Chen ming Paper Holdings Ltd Third GEM
in China
– United Gene High-Tech Group Ltd AG
ECONOMIC DATA
– China M2 money supply for November
– China outstanding loan growth for November
– Euro zone Industrial Production for October
– India CPI for Nov
– India Industrial output for Oct
– Germany CPI final for Nov
– South Korea Unemployment rate for Nov
– South Korea Money supply for Oct
– UK IL unemployment change for October
– UK Unemployment Claimant Count Monthly Change for November
– US import and export prices for November
– US Federal Budget for November
– US FOMC policy decision
