*PCCW* News aus HK - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

[bill135]

Chartanalyse in HK$ unter:

http://www.financial-viewpoint.de

PCCW (1186): 1% ain`t no big deal, so what`s all the fuss?
10 Aug ,2000

What`s the fuss? The fact that PCCW`s parent company, Pacific Century Group -- owned totally by
Mr. Richard Li -- did not announce in a more timely manner that 240 million shares were dumped to
unnamed institutional investors. The shares represent fully 1% of the capital to be in issue following
the PCCW-HKT merger, and 1% is a big deal. Since the shares were also placed at HK$15.81 each, a
discount of 3% to Tuesday`s closing price of HK$16.30 after a HK$1.4 or 7.9% fall, the trade is being
blamed for disrupting the market, and the company is being criticized for not being more timely with
the announcement.

The block trade was completed on Wednesday after the market close, but someone must have
gotten wind of the deal considering the steep drop in PCCW and a sell-off of HSI futures. The
company did not announce the trade until 30 minutes after the market opened on Wednesday.

The response of PCCW deputy chairman Francis Yuen was defensive as he reportedly said they
"actually did more than required" since the time-limit for reporting such transactions is five days.
Despite the huge block trade obviously having an impact on prices, Yuen said, "We don`t think this
was price-sensitive information (and) it is very common for directors and substantial shareholders to
dispose of their shares," according to the South China Morning Post.

Yuen`s response begs three observations:


it appears that the company and Mr. Li will obey the letter of the law but not the spirit
it appears that Yuen could be totally out of touch with reality if he really believes that a single
trade of 240 million shares, nearly five times the rough eyeball average of about 50 million
shares per day traded over the past several months, is not price-sensitive
though it is common for directors and substantial shareholders to dispose of their shares, it
doesn`t make it right to do so in such a way as to hurt minority shareholders


The Tracker Fund or "TraHK" was reported to have been one of the major purchasers buying 145
million shares or 60% of the amount dumped by Li Jr. The Tracker Fund, essentially Hong Kong`s
version of Vanguard`s assorted U.S. index funds, needed to adjust its holdings in order to account
for PCCW`s inclusion in the Hang Seng Index as well as the increased weighting of the merged
PCCW-HKT entity over that which was associated just with HKT. Because the merged entity has a
larger weighting that HKT alone, TraHK needed more PCCW shares than what they will receive once
the merger is completed.

Part of Tuesday`s action also may have included the Tracker Fund dumping around 90 million HKT (8)
shares. HKT ended its solitary listed life with an 11.6% plunge to HK$16.70 on volume of HK$2.2
billion. The 90 million shares estimated to have been dumped by TraHK would therefore have
accounted for about 70% of HKT`s volume on its last day.

The Tuesday ruckus and after-hours trade spurred Wednesday`s action with PCCW accounting for
33% of market turnover yesterday with 336 million shares, HK$5.39 billion, changing hands
compared to the market`s total turnover of HK$16.1 billion. PCG`s sale of 240 million shares was
booked after the market opened on Wednesday.

Despite the noise about TraHK, the timeliness of the announcement, and Mr. Yuen`s defense, the
one thing that should most interest investors is why Mr. Li should dispose of 240 million shares at a
discount to the market price and pocket HK$3.8 billion? The official response refers to "the
potentially volatile supply and demand situation immediately prior to the delisting of HKT and the
imminent inclusion of PCCW in the Hang Seng Index." The statement makes it look like PCG, out of
pure altruism, was acting only for the good of the market.

However, one might remember that the original reverse takeover of Tri-com by PCCW in April 1999
was a HK$2.46 billion deal. PCG said it will use its HK$3.8 billion "to fund its existing on-going
obligations and commitments." Since PCG is 100%-owned by Richard Li, it looks like the HK$3.8
billion will go to funding Richard Li`s "existing on-going obligations and commitments." In other
words, it sure seems like he cashed out big time. Maybe even Richard figures that PCCW is rather
expensive at its current punter price.

[Goltmann]

!

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[bill135]

Chartanalyse in HK$ unter:

http://www.financial-viewpoint.de

PCCW hat eine Wolfewave Verkaufsformation, Kursziel nach Wolfewave ~13HK$

Aug 14,2000 - 12:07:52 HKT


i-CABLE Communications (1097), the pay television and Internet arm of Wharf Holdings (0004), rose
as much as 10.8 percent, extending a rally that began last Thursday on rumors that Pacific Century
CyberWorks Ltd. (1186), Richard Li`s Internet and telecoms vehicle, plans to buy a stake in the
company.

At 11:39 a.m. Hong Kong time, i-Cable shares traded at HK$3.725, up 7.19 percent today and up by
31.6 percent since Thursday.

PCCW, which is completing its takeover of Cable&Wireless HKT, the largest local phone company,
said last week it was in talks about distributing its Network of the World (NOW) broadband service
via i-CABLE`s pay television network in Hong Kong.

i-Cable issued a statement on Friday saying it didn`t know why its share price had moved so sharply.
It said it had no disclosable negotiations or agreements to report.

PCCW was quoted at HK$15.55, down 2.81 percent.