Hong Kong

Xiaomi resets shrill IPO tone

19 June 2018

The Chinese handset maker will delay a mainland listing instead of doing this simultaneously with a Hong Kong flotation. The valuation target also may have fallen to as low as $55 bln. It’s a bad start to a series of market debuts from a new wave of tech giants.

Xiaomi IPO escalates China’s battle of the bourses

15 June 2018

The handset-maker will now sell at least half of its mooted $10 bln offering in Shanghai. That is a blow to the other listing venue, Hong Kong, which changed its rules to woo more tech IPOs. The city will have to share a lot of this business with its two mainland rivals.

Hong Kong could teach China tech some manners

14 June 2018

Sina plans a secondary listing in the city, under new rules welcoming Chinese tech outfits traded overseas. In New York, the $7 bln web portal and its peers can issue super-voting stock on a whim and skip annual general meetings. The Fragrant Harbour will be less soft.

CKI’s $10 bln bid can snare Australian prey

13 June 2018

The Hong Kong giant is circling Australia's top gas pipeline firm. A 33 pct premium ought to satisfy APA’s board, especially as tougher rules bite. The odds are good for Victor Li’s first big deal since he took over from father Li Ka-shing at parent company CK Hutchison.

China will tightly control even looser capital

13 June 2018

Money is moving more freely in and out of the country as fears that sparked a 2015 clampdown wane. Greater sums can be invested abroad while daily limits from Hong Kong to mainland markets quadrupled to $8 bln. Official signals suggest, however, that the easing will be tortuous.

HSBC’s new CEO strives for profitable banality

11 June 2018

John Flint’s plan to lift return on tangible equity above 11 pct, while investing up to $17 bln in technology and China, is hardly radical. Yet aiming for more than modest revenue growth could be reckless. It should be enough to maintain the bank’s premium to its European peers.

Hotpot IPO may offer a tasty dip

6 June 2018

One of China’s top hotpot chains is eyeing a $700 mln debut in Hong Kong. It has dealt adeptly with hygiene scandals and is a splash with local consumers, growing blisteringly fast. A push to take its Sichuan cuisine to smaller cities is also something promising for investors to munch on.

CEO exit takes Samsonite rebuttal only so far

1 June 2018

The $5 bln luggage-maker parted ways with its boss after a short-seller revealed he didn’t hold a doctorate despite sometimes being called “Dr”. Samsonite’s efforts to knock down other accounting and governance allegations could take longer after it lost the benefit of the doubt.

China script flipped at hedge fund idea-fest

31 May 2018

A relaxing approach to the country’s debt and infrastructure projects was reflected at Sohn Hong Kong, where Guangzhou’s airport and mainland stocks broadly were touted as buying opportunities. Scepticism about tech titans Tencent and JD suggests another shift could be underway.

Samsonite short case piles up Hong Kong’s baggage

24 May 2018

An experienced stock sceptic has laid into the $6 bln luggage-maker’s governance and accounting. It’s a bigger and better-known company than the Chinese minnows typically targeted. For a market relaxing standards to broaden its appeal, Samsonite gives investors more to unpack.

Tangled loyalties complicate China Tower IPO

15 May 2018

The mobile mast company has filed for a Hong Kong debut that could raise $10 bln. China’s big three telecoms operators are both key clients and shareholders. New investors need to be convinced the trio won’t squeeze China Tower too hard as they try to keep their own costs down.

China tech boom upgrades Hong Kong trading desks

10 May 2018

The exchange says $19 bln in securities changed hands daily last quarter, double last year’s figure. That's still dwarfed by New York. But a wave of mega-listings, led by $80 bln handset maker Xiaomi, will drive more activity, as will an increasingly active derivatives market.

Hong Kong mall deal feeds economic-hub dreams

9 May 2018

New World Development will invest $2.5 bln to build a sprawling retail centre by the city's remote airport. The pricey project goes beyond wooing flyers, though. It's a bold bet that troubled infrastructure initiatives to link mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau will pay off.

Higher rates are likely to calm Hong Kong property

8 May 2018

Interbank lending is getting pricier after a decade-long slump, as authorities defend the Hong Kong dollar. That implies costlier mortgages and slower growth in a frothy real estate market. This will be manageable for banks and developers, and welcome for renters and retailers.

Chinese tech stars are MAXD out beyond FANG stocks

7 May 2018

Handset-maker Xiaomi is the first of four mainland titans to unveil IPO plans. Ant, Meituan and Didi round out the quartet, whose combined valuations may exceed $400 bln. That leaves far less upside than was available to public investors in Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google.

Asia shoulders too much of HSBC’s burden

4 May 2018

Healthy growth in the region wasn't enough to stop a 4 pct decline in total pre-tax profit in the first quarter and a lower return on tangible equity. New CEO John Flint wants to “grow safely”. A bigger challenge may be explaining how to do so at all in North America and Europe.

AIA sends mixed signals on growth

4 May 2018

New business at the $107 bln insurer rose 20 pct in the first quarter. That’s sluggish by AIA’s standards, hinting at the challenges of sustaining growth rates at ever-increasing scale. On the plus side, there are signs the group could reduce its heavy dependence on China.

Hong Kong reveals capital imbalance in LGBT spat

4 May 2018

The city is fighting to stop a lesbian from obtaining a spousal visa. Morgan Stanley, Freshfields and others have backed the woman's case, recognising the value of human capital. Hong Kong favours the financial kind, evidenced by the relaxation of rules to attract more IPOs.

Chinese handset-maker Xiaomi wins tech IPO bingo

3 May 2018

Seeking a $100 bln valuation in a Hong Kong debut, it insists it's "more than a hardware company." Xiaomi also packed the prospectus with buzzwords like platform, cloud, big data and AI. There's super-voting stock and an internal VC fund of sorts, too. This one really has it all.

StanChart inches closer to mediocrity

2 May 2018

The emerging markets lender nearly hit its lowball 8 pct return on equity target in the first quarter. The results were helped by low losses, and revenue grew more slowly than expected. Boss Bill Winters at least has lots of capital, but regulatory probes may limit payouts.