StanChart’s chairman now comes in two parts 27 Jul 2016 IMF director Jose Vinals will head the UK emerging market bank’s board. Others too have hired chairmen from the public sector, but StanChart could use a seasoned banker to oversee the recovery of its commercial arm. New deputy Naguib Kheraj may have to do some heavy lifting.
Time to end Swatch margin destruction 15 Jul 2016 The watchmaker has warned profit will fall 50-60 percent in the first half. Sales will underperform the wider Swiss watch industry and there's limited scope to raise prices. Yet there are no real cost-cutting plans. Swatch is in denial about the scale of the problems it faces.
Prognosis is good for China’s healthcare market 13 Jul 2016 Drugmaker and pharmacist CR Pharma is targeting a $1 bln-plus Hong Kong flotation. Healthcare offers investors an antidote to the slow growth that plagues much of China's old economy, since a richer, older country will need more and more drugs. Expect other big deals to follow.
Vanke battle is test of China’s shareholder rules 7 Jul 2016 The country's top property developer is fighting with major holder Baoneng. The spat has produced a $7 bln deal, a motion to dismiss the board, and suggestions big stakeholders are colluding. The outcome will show whether China's public markets are up to protecting investors.
CR Beer share sale helps Snow go down more easily 6 Jul 2016 The Hong Kong-listed brewer got a great price from AB InBev for the remaining 49 pct of China's top beer brand. Now it is raising $1.2 bln in a rights issue. With the purchase from ABI on track to close soon, and CR Beer's shares performing well, raising equity makes sense.
HK has to pore over cement deal that came unstuck 4 Jul 2016 West China Cement shares crashed just before a takeover by rival Anhui Conch fell over. That suggests the news leaked somehow. Hong Kong regulators have already clamped down on insider trading, long seen as a big problem in the territory. A fast, thorough investigation is needed.
Hong Kong IPO cornerstone habit is out of control 22 Jun 2016 The territory’s addiction to pre-selling shares in new listings has gone too far. China Development Bank’s leasing unit may hand at least 70 pct of its $1 bln offering to friendly investors. The practice distorts prices, hurts liquidity, and diminishes Hong Kong’s reputation.
Jack Ma’s healthcare buyout is hard to stomach 9 Jun 2016 The Alibaba boss’s buyout firm is bidding $1.4 bln-plus for U.S.-listed iKang. His minimum bid is 20 pct cheaper than an unfriendly approach from a rival, now dropped, which iKang’s CEO countered with a poison pill. Unless Ma pays more, outside investors will feel pretty icky.
Richemont accepts new tempo for luxury watches 20 May 2016 The Cartier owner faces a drawn-out downturn in demand. April sales fell 15 percent, even compared to a terrible 2015. The Swiss group can cut costs, but the bigger problem is that luxury watch demand is less resilient than it once seemed.
UK deal veto would be big setback for Li Ka-shing 4 May 2016 A $15 bln takeover of Telefonica’s O2 unit was key to making the Hong Kong tycoon’s costly bet on European telecoms pay off. If CK Hutchison cannot overturn a likely EU veto, his UK telco will either have to carry on as a disruptive fourth player, or find a fallback deal.
HSBC and ANZ take roundabout path to stability 3 May 2016 Choppy markets and higher bad debts knocked HSBC’s pre-tax profit by 14 pct in the first quarter. Erstwhile rival ANZ slashed its dividend after first-half earnings dropped almost a quarter. The process of making banks safer and less exciting is proving far from straightforward.
Hong Kong retail will miss mainland money 3 May 2016 Chinese tourists are spending less, and increasingly forsaking the city altogether for Tokyo or Seoul. That is bad news for global and local brands alike, from Apple to Chow Tai Fook. Landlords will suffer too. Hong Kong could sell itself harder and open its doors a little wider.
Gucci misses opportunity in "hell handbag" spat 29 Apr 2016 The Italian label wants Hong Kongers to stop burning paper versions of its $3,000 handbags at relatives’ graves. While it has a point, legally speaking, Gucci’s ire is misplaced. Wanting to spend the afterlife with a Gucci handbag is the ultimate pledge of brand loyalty.
Hutch’s bid for O2 is down but not yet out 11 Apr 2016 Hutchison’s bid for Telefonica’s O2 network has been effectively rejected by Britain’s competition authority. The pair’s joint ventures do complicate post-deal concessions. But an assumption that UK prices would rise can be questioned, and ultimately it’s Brussels’ call.
Li Ka-shing brings funding finesse to telco M&A 18 Mar 2016 The tycoon may sell 20 pct of his UK mobile unit to outsiders. That could raise 1 bln pounds to help buy Telefonica’s O2, on top of the 3.1 bln pounds sovereign funds are already chipping in. That would let Li complete the 9 bln pound deal with no fresh investment.
Alibaba gambling deal stretches investors’ faith 7 Mar 2016 The e-commerce giant and its financial arm are taking control of a Hong Kong lottery firm at a deep discount. The $308 mln investment is a punt that Alibaba can help open up online betting in China. Shareholder reaction suggests Jack Ma’s name is losing some of its power.
Samsonite looks smart to walk away with Tumi 4 Mar 2016 The luggage giant is buying its smaller rival for $1.8 bln, or 13.6 times EBITDA. That’s a big price tag. But Tumi’s upmarket cabin bags will boost Samsonite’s appeal to CEOs and other high-rollers. Its new owner could also help the brand travel further outside the United States.
HSBC shares weighed down by fear of future 22 Feb 2016 The global bank hiked its dividend even as 2015 pre-tax profit fell 7 pct. HSBC thinks it can raise returns even as its balance sheet shrinks. But investors remain worried about negative rates, cheap oil and China’s slowdown. An 8 percent yield shows they can’t both be right.
UK Faustian pact with banks has a grim logic 15 Feb 2016 HSBC’s unsurprising decision to stay domiciled in London rounds off nine months of the UK softening its approach to banks. There are reasons to find this new tone uncomfortable. But that is a moot point so long as the banking sector supplies 7 pct of UK income tax revenue.
HSBC’s choice for status quo risks pleasing nobody 15 Feb 2016 After a 10-month flirtation, the lender is staying put in London. Britain has become more bank-friendly, and HSBC’s former Hong Kong home less certain. Moving its HQ would have been costly and complex. Yet the public rumination could leave both cities feeling short-changed.