A Bidding War For The Bank Of East Asia?

HONG KONG -- With an accumulated 8% stake in Bank of East Asia held under his flagship Guoco, Malaysian properties tycoon Quek Leng Chan is getting ready to challenge David Li's family's 90-year control of the Hong Kong lender.Guoco's unexpected lift in its shareholding of Hong Kong's Bank of Asia shot up the stock by 15.2%, the largest single-day increase in 11 years, on Wednesday. Bank of East Asia ( BKEAF.PK - news - people ) continued to surge as much as 9.4% on Thursday morning, before closing 2.1% higher at 34.05 Hong Kong dollars ($4.37). Bank of East Asia's aggregate 16.6% rise in the past two days was triggered by a disclosure filed by Guoco Group ( GULRY - news - people )with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last Friday. In the disclosure, the Malaysian conglomerate said it had increased its interest in Bank of East Asia to 8.01% at the end of October.Guoco first acquired 6% of Bank of East Asia's shares from the market in this July and continued to collect shares from retail investors since then. The latest 8% stake elevated Guoco to be Bank of East Asia's second-largest sharehol...
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With Deals Brewing, Asian Markets Rise

HONG KONG -- Major stock markets across Asia turned themselves around Thursday, regaining some ground lost earlier this week. A major deal by a Japanese beverage giant is brewing, as Japan's beermakers roam the rest of Asia in search of new markets. In Hong Kong, a billion-dollar bid to take the top phone operator private collapsed and sparked talk of Hong Kong market reform.Australian beverage group Lion Nathan is being courted by top shareholder, Japan's Kirin Holdings, which wants to buy the 54% of Lion Nathan stock it doesn't already own. Lion Nathan ( LNNTY - news - people ), which was suspended from trading Thursday, said negotiations are ongoing and did not disclose terms. Kirin ( KNBWY - news - people ) jumped 3.9%, or 42 yen (43 cents), to 1,120 yen ($11.39). Facing a shrinking market at home, Japanese breweries have been aggressive about venturing overseas in recent years. Last year, Asahi Breweries bought Cadbury's Australian beverage unit for $808 million, and Suntory bought Groupe Danone's Frucor juice unit for $771 million. In February, Kirin bought Philippines' San Miguel Brewery for $1.2 billion (See "...
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Li Pulls The Plug On $2 Billion PCCW Bid

HONG KONG -- The controversial $2.1 billion bid led by Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li to buy out telecom giant PCCW appears dead, for now at least. But given Li's tumultuous history with PCCW, Hong Kong won't likely be hearing the last of Li's plans for Hong Kong's biggest fixed-line operator. Meanwhile, the drama may also build momentum for legislative discussions to reform Hong Kong market regulations meant to protect minority shareholders.A day after being thwarted by Hong Kong's Court of Appeal, PCCW's two top shareholders, Li and Beijing-controlled China Unicom ( CHU - news - people ), abandoned their offer of 4.50 Hong Kong dollars (58 cents) per PCCW share on Thursday. th richest billionaire and Hong Kong's richest man. "The debate and subsequent litigation have not only brought an additional and unnecessary burden to the company but have also been unnecessarily divisive to society." As a result, Li and China Unicom let their offer expire Thursday, the original deadline that had been set, according to the statement.Li maintained that his offer gave "minority shareholders an opportunity to exit for cash at a substantial premium to the market price" and that he felt "sorry that minority shareholders have lost this chance." Resuming trading Thursday, PCCW also announced a board decision to pay a special dividend of 1.30 Hong Kong dollars per share (17 cents) to shareholders.On Wednesday, the three-member Hong Kong Court of Appeal blocked the buyout bid, siding with Hong Kong's market regulator, which alleged that Li had manipulated votes to win shareholder approval of the bid. The...
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Pessimism Plagues Chinese, Australian Shares

HONG KONG -- Japanese shares eked out a gain, but investors remained glum in most major stock markets across Asia. Optimism about an earlier-than-expected Chinese recovery was offset by concerns about continuing declines in Chinese industrial earnings. Continued weak global demand remained evident as mining giant BHP Billiton had to sell over a quarter of its iron ore on the discounted spot market.Japan's Nikkei 225 average edged up 0.2%, or 15.97 points, to 8,727.3, as the government said the Japan's exports decline decelerated in March (See "Relief For Japanese Exporters In Trade Rebound"). Exports plunged 45.6%, from a year earlier, compared with February's record 49.4% tumble, leading some analysts to spy signs of stabilization in Japan's worst recession post World War II. Pioneer Corp. ( PNCOF - news - people ), which makes vehicle navigation devices, rocketed 17.1%, or 47 yen (48 cents), to 322 yen ($3.28) on a Nikkei report that it may get government aid. Recovering some of Tuesday's losses, brokerage house Nomura Holdings ( NMR - news - people ) advanced 3.5%, or 20 yen (20 cents), t...
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Caution Creeps Back In Asia

Hong Kong--Japanese, Hong Kong and Australian benchmark indexes followed New York's retreat Tuesday, as investors took their profits from the recent rally and renewed caution as signs of "stabilization" in the U.S. and China continued to look tentative. The Reserve Bank of Australia surprised the market by reducing its key lending rate by 25 basis points to a 39-year low, saying that sentiment was still "fragile."Japanese financial and technology stocks were under pressure after bank shares got hit in the U.S. on Monday. Worries that investors had gotten overly bullish on banks were fueled by a report that new forecasts from the International Monetary Fund suggest that toxic debts racked up by banks and insurers could spiral to $4 trillion. ( MTU - news - people ) fell6 yen (6 cents), or 1.2%, to 507 yen ($5.07).The Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3%, or 25.08 points, to 8,832.85. The yen strengthened slightly Tuesday on the drop in risk appetite, trading at 100.14 yen to the dollar, after trading over 101 yen against the dollar late Monday.The Bank of Japan left rates on hold as expected, but it took more steps to try to stimulate lending, saying it would accept a wider range of collateral from cash-crunched banks for loans, including municipal bonds. ( DCM - ...
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