At the high end, Sands China could raise twice as much as rival Wynn Macau, which picked up HK$12.6 billion last month. The two firms are rivals in just about everything. Wynn Macau picked '1128' as its stock code; Sands China has picked a bigger number, '1928'. In Cantonese, 2 is yi (sounds like easy) and 8 is baat (sounds like rich), so 28 can suggest 'easy to get rich'.

Another way to measure how big the duo really are: Wynn Macau - the 56th-biggest firm in Hong Kong with HK$51 billion in market capitalisation as of yesterday - and Sands China together would have a value close to Macau's gross domestic product of 171 billion patacas last year.

It will be up to investors to determine whether Sands China is worth four to five times Macau stalwart SJM Holdings. But the coming deal seemed to attract many investors.

Sands China's roadshow officially began yesterday in Hong Kong, with nearly 250 investors - including New World Development chairman Cheng Yu-tung and Chinese Estates Holdings chairman Joseph Lau Luen-hung - packing a lunch presentation at the Island Shangri-La hotel.

HSI reshuffle on the cards

With these big companies and their new listings, we can't help but wonder what could happen to the Hang Seng Index in the coming year.

The blue-chip index is supposed to include the top 50 firms listed in Hong Kong. And we will soon have three newly listed companies - China Minsheng Banking Corp, Sands China and Evergrande Real Estate Group (rank No40) - that each has a market value of at least HK$70 billion.

The pressure is on for an index reshuffling on Friday, when the index rebalancing committee is to convene its quarterly meeting.

Analysts tipped the removal of Cosco Pacific, ranked 104th with HK$25 billion in market capitalisation, to be replaced by China Resources Land, ranked 31st with HK$95 billion. That begs the question: If CR Land is in, would China Resources Enterprise be out? The red chip is ranked 45th on the list, with HK$65 billion in market capitalisation, while sister company China Resources Power Holdings is ranked 37th with HK$77 billion.

Nothing to Crowe about

It's not just Hong Kong that has a red-hot luxury property market. Agence France-Presse reports that Lachlan Murdoch (below), the elder son of Rupert, beat Gladiator star Russell Crowe at a A$50,000 (HK$359,700)-a-head auction to land a record-breaking Australian home.

Lachlan Murdoch saw off Crowe and eight other high rollers with his A$23 million bid, sealing the six-bedroom mansion in Sydney's exclusive Bellevue Hill district.

'It's the most expensive home ever sold at auction in Australian history,' estate agent Michael Pallier said. Murdoch won last week's invite-only auction while Crowe, currently working on Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, watched and bid by a video and telephone link from a movie set in the United States.

Apparently, everyone at the auction was asked to put down A$50,000 just to attend the auction. Maybe we could interest Crowe in a place at the Peak or 39 Conduit Road.

Pratt on acquisition trail

Swire Pacific chairman Christopher Pratt has been accumulating his company's shares in the past three months. Pratt doubled his holdings in Swire Pacific B shares by splashing out HK$847,000 to buy 50,000 shares at HK$16.94 each last Thursday, two days after the conglomerate sounded out a plan for a separate listing of Swire Properties.

His purchase followed a similar deal in September, when he acquired 10,000 Swire shares at HK$88.80 each; before this he bought 10,000 shares at HK$82.60 each in August.

Swire closed yesterday at HK$92.60, while its less liquid B shares closed at HK$17.16.

Hsin Chong eyes Macau work

A direct beneficiary of a Sands China listing would probably be Hsin Chong Construction Group, whose shares rose as much as 50 per cent yesterday.

The firm, owned by the Mission Hill Golf Club, told investors there would be a possible resumption of construction works in Macau as a result of Venetian Macao's listing.