Cheng taking on cheerleader's mantle for public offerings
An initial public offering luncheon without a tycoon cheerleader is like congee without rice.
For a second day, New World Development chairman Cheng Yu-tung was seen at an investor luncheon, this time for Shenzhen-based property developer Fantasia Holdings, along with his buddy Joseph Lau Luen-hung, the chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings.
On Monday, the two were at the Sands China luncheon. Cheng, a substantial shareholder of Sands rival Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, said he would subscribe for Sands shares.
Yesterday was the third time in two months Cheng agreed to root for a new listing. Last month, both Cheng and Lau showed up for the investor luncheon of Evergrande Real Estate Group. The Guangzhou-based developer has surprised the market with a 30 per cent gain since its debut last week.
Cheng's high profile comes after his other buddy Lee Shau-kee, the chairman of Henderson Land Development, publicly warned investors of the low returns from buying flotations since September. Uncle Four has suffered a paper loss on Metallurgical Corp of China, one of the few new listings still under water.
But a new bull is born in Cheng, another octogenarian tycoon who enjoys sharing stock tips in public.
Nuptials for grandson
Cheng's grandson Adrian Cheng Chi-kong will tie the knot this weekend. The 29-year-old New World director is marrying Jennifer Yu, who worked with him briefly at Goldman Sachs.
Guests at more than 100 tables will fill the Grand Hall at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
This Swire speaks Putonghua
There was not much information about another 29-year-old, Sam Swire (below), in the Swire Group's publications until the Cathay Pacific Airways newsletter came out yesterday.
We found four photos of the new China general manager for Cathay and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines in the latest CX World.
First was for a short interview on his new assignment. Then two photos of him accepting a green award and launching a co-branded credit card and finally a group photo of him at the country's official 60th anniversary banquet dinner in Beijing.
The great-great-great-grandson of John Swire joined Cathay in 2003, taking a job in its planning department. He later left to join marine and aviation firm Seacor in New York before returning to work at Swire Pacific Offshore in Singapore and then Swire Properties.
Putonghua-speaking Swire is now the only non-Chinese in a 650-people Cathay team in Beijing.
Early Christmas present
A month after Steve Wynn spun off his Macau business for US$1.87 billion in Hong Kong, 5 per cent of the proceeds are going into his pocket.
Yesterday, Wynn Macau parent Wynn Resorts announced a special dividend of US$4 per share to shareholders and vowed to start a regular cash dividend programme next year, with a proposed 20 cents per share in the first quarter. The casino mogul, who owns 18 per cent of Wynn Resorts, will receive US$88 million in cash dividends next month.
An upbeat bear
Albert Edwards, the head of global strategy at Societe Generale, is a self-professed bear when it comes to financial markets. He has been structurally underweight on equities since 1996 and admitted that some of his positions had made him unpopular with sales teams. But the scepticism he relied on in his professional life had not intruded on his personal one, he said yesterday.
'People think that [if] you are so bearish that you must be miserable all the time,' he said. '[But] I'm pretty upbeat, and I actually got married just over a year ago, so that's just how upbeat I am.'
Given the gloomy state of the global economy, he may yet have the last laugh on the rest of the market.
HK$3m vote of confidence
G-Resources Group vice-chairman Raymond Or Ching-fai spent more on the firm than he has received from it.
In a vote of confidence, the former Hang Seng Bank chief executive spent HK$3 million picking up six million shares at 50 cents each last Friday. He joined G-Resources three months ago and will make HK$700,000 in his first year.
Separately, Techtronic Industries founder and vice-chairman Roy Chung Chi-ping cashed out HK$6.4 million by selling 10 million shares last week. Chung, who started Techtronic 25 years ago, is set to retire from his company in May 2011.