Business Digest, January 15, 2013
Mainland shipping group Cosco is considering investing €1 billion (HK$10.4 billion) for a 60 per cent stake in Greece's largest port, at Piraeus, which is on the government's privatisation agenda, financial daily said. Cosco already has an investment in the port, which is 74 per cent state-owned. Reuters
Apple's stock fell after the Nikkei newswire reported the firm cut back its original target of orders for 65 million iPhone 5 displays this quarter by about half on weak demand. Sales are slowing because smartphones have saturated developed markets, where Apple is strongest, said James Cordwell, an analyst at Atlantic Equities Service. Bloomberg
The Fair Trade Commission of Taiwan, which is reviewing the proposed sale of Next Media's print business on the island, has requested additional information, including about matters relating to the business, the company said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. Sophie Yu
China Railway Group recently won 29.76 billion yuan (HK$36.7 billion) of mainland contracts, including a 16.7 billion yuan deal to build the first phase of metro line 1 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital, and a 1.42 billion yuan deal to build a passenger rail line between Zhengzhou, Henan's capital, and Xuzhou. Toh Han Shih
United Parcel Service said it would drop its €5.2 billion bid for TNT Express on the expectation of a European Commission veto, halving the value of the Dutch delivery firm as its shares plunged in response. Reuters
Hong Leong Financial, a Malaysian lender controlled by the country's sixth-richest man, Quek Leng Chan, will take its 79 per cent-owned investment banking arm Hong Leong Capital private, it said in a stock exchange filing. The deal comes a month after Quek made an offer to take his Hong Kong-listed investment firm Guoco private for US$1.1 billion. Reuters
