FACTBOX- Who's who in biotech seed arena 11 Nov 2009 16:06

Nov 10 (Reuters) - While Monsanto Co is considered a leader in research, development and marketing of genetically modified crops, a handful of other corporate giants are also staking a claim to feeding the world with biotech corn, soy and other crops.

The companies all say they are focused on products that will increase crop yields, aid farmers and offer better nutrition for consumers. Here's a look at some of the top players:

* Monsanto Co <MON.N> - Based in St. Louis, the company posted record net sales of $11.7 billion and net income of $2.1 billion for fiscal 2009. Among its key products are corn, soybeans and cotton that tolerate weed-killing treatments and resist pests.

* Pioneer Hi-Bred - Subsidiary of DuPont <DD.N> based in Johnston, Iowa. Produces, markets and sells hybrid seed in nearly 70 countries worldwide and is the closest rival to Monsanto for market share in U.S. biotech corn seed market. Revenue totaled $4 billion in 2008.

* Syngenta AG <SYNN.VX> - The Basel, Switzerland-based company operates in 90 countries and generated 2008 sales of $11.6 billion. Collaborating with International Rice Research Institute to improve rice.

* Dow AgroSciences - Subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co <DOW.N> based in Indianapolis, Indiana. With global sales of $4.5 billion, company offers insect-protected corn and cotton, among other seed products, and is expanding its research into wheat.

* BASF <BASF.DE> - Based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, this leading global chemical company is increasingly focusing its health and nutrition division on plant biotechnology to increase crop yields. Like its rivals, BASF is working on a drought-tolerant corn seed. Revenue in its agricultural division totaled 3.4 billion euros in 2008.

* Bayer CropScience AG - The unit of Bayer AG <BAYGn.DE>, had 2008 sales of 6.4 billion euros and operates in 120 countries. The company is pursuing 56 "bioscience" research projects involving six crops

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Hong Kong IPO Pipeline - Nov 10 10 Nov 2009 12:38

    HONG KONG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - The following are some of the 
major companies planning initial public offerings on the Hong 
Kong stock exchange. 
    Please contact Kennix Chim (+852) 2843-6313 to submit entries 
for this diary. 
    Click on the square bracket for the latest story. 
    * Denotes new entry or update 
=============================================================== 
DEBUT  COMPANY           SHRS    PRICE      MANAGERS   PROCEEDS 
DATE                     (MLN)  (HK$/SHR)              (US$MLN) 
=============================================================== 
*Nov  Mingfa (relaunch)   900   2.39      Merrill Lynch,   278 
 13   [ID:nHKG280979]                     Deutsche Bank 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  China High        250     4.00       Macquarie,      129 
 13   Precision                            Daiwa, 
      Automation Group Ltd                 SHK Financial 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  CPMC Holdings    200     5.39        CICC, BOCI     139 
 16   [ID:nHKG286200] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
Nov   Longfor Properties  1,000 6.06-7.10 Citigroup, UBS,  916 
 19   [ID:nHKG69996]                      Morgan Stanley 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  Fantasia Group    1,458  1.75-2.20  Deutsche Bank,   414 
 25   [ID:nSP240578]                      CITIC Securities, 
                                          ICBCI, BOCI, 
                                          Goldman Sachs 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  Sany Heavy         500     4.10-4.80  HSBC           310 
 25   Equipment International 
      Holdings Co Ltd 
      [ID:nHKG225038] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  China Minsheng   3,320   8.50-9.50   UBS, BOCI     4,070 
 26   Banking Corp                         CICC, Macquarie 
      <600016.SS>                          Haitong Securities 
      [ID:nSP400540]  
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Nov  Sands China      1,870   10.38-13.88 Goldman Sachs  3,349 
 30   [ID:nN08513238]                      UBS, Citi, 
                                           BNP Paribas, 
                                           Barclays, CLSA 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Dec  China Longyuan    2,100     N.A.    Morgan Stanley   1,300 
2009  Power Group                         UBS 
      [ID:nHKG249839] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
Dec   Clive Palmer's      N.A.    N.A.   Macquarie, 2,000-3,000 
2009  Resourcehouse                      UBS 
      [ID:nHKG146030] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Dec  UC RUSAL            N.A.    N.A.   BNP Paribas,     2,000 
2009  [ID:nLU240742]                     Credit Suisse, 
      [ID:nHKG255026]                    BOCI, ML 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*End  China Forestry     N.A.    N.A.    UBS,             200 
2009  Holdings Co Ltd                    Cazenove Asia 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
NIL   Excellence Real    3,000   2.10-2.60 Morgan Stanley, 1,000 
      Estate (postponed)                   UBS, ICBC 
      [ID:nHKG275903] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
2009  Wilmar             7330     N.A.    BOCI,          3,000 
/2010 International's                      Goldman, 
      <WLIL.SI> China unit                 Morgan Stanley 
      [ID:nSIN488550] 
      [ID:nHKG239989] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
End   Risun              N.A.     N.A.   Goldman          300 
2009 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
End   China SCE           N.A.    N.A.   Deutsche Bank,     400 
2009  Property Holdings                  Morgan Stanley 
      [ID:nHKG320663] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
Q4    Lung Ming           N.A.    N.A.                500-1,000 
2009  [ID:nHKG44842] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
2009  China Pacific       N.A.    N.A.      CICC,        3,500 
/2010 Insurance (Group)                     CS, UBS, 
      Ltd <601601.SS>                       Goldman 
      [ID:nSHA309267] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
Q1    AIA <AIG.N>         N.A.    N.A.    Morgan Stanley, 4,000 
2010  [ID:nHKG20632]                      Deutsche Bank  
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
2010  Xinjiang Goldwind  242-278  N.A.      N.A.          1,000 
      Science & Technology 
      <002202.SZ> 
      [ID:nSHA150131] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*2010  Swire Properties   N.A.    N.A.      N.A.          3,870 
       [ID:nHKG129751] 
       [ID:nHKG152788] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
*Q1    SouthGobi Energy  N.A.    N.A.      Citi, Macquarie  250 
 2010  Resources <SGQ.V> 
       [ID:nHKG72545] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
2012  Shenyang Beifang    N.A.    N.A.      N.A.          1,000 
/2013 Jiaotong Group       [ID:nSHA292372] 
--------------------------------------------------------------- 
 (Reporting by Kennix Chim and Fion Li; Editing by Ken Wills) 
 ((alison.leung@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6369; Reuters 
Messaging: alison.leung.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to 
news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)) 
    
   
Keywords: HONGKONG IPO DIARY 

Blogged with the Flock Browser

SocGen's top analyst sees market lows next year 10 Nov 2009 12:53

* Edwards sceptical of efficacy of extreme policy responses

* Anticipates recession for Chinese economy

* Expects demand for Japanese government bonds to wane

(Adds details on Japan)

HONG KONG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Albert Edwards, a top analyst with French bank Societe Generale <SOGN.PA>, expects global markets to hit a new low in 2010, adding that he would not be surprised if the global economy enters another recession next year.

Edwards, one of the leading equities bears and a long-term critic of the policies of Western central banks, is sceptical of popular opinion that extreme policy response will safeguard the West against a repeat of Japan's lost decade of the 1990's.

Edwards said he expected that at some point China would go into recession, calling people's excessive faith in growth stories a "sick joke".

Japan would run into difficulty funding itself next year as demand for Japanese government bonds waned and bond yields rose further, he said.

The significance of higher Japanese government bond yields was that it would cause some Japanese investors, who have been investing overseas in search of higher returns, to bring that money back home, he said.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

FACTBOX:Asia-Pacific central banks' divergent views on gold 05 Nov 2009 19:43

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold crested $1,097.25 an ounce on Wednesday, a day after India's purchase of 200 tonnes of bullion sparked speculation of further central bank buying despite the metal's record-breaking run towards $1,100. [ID:nSP375900]

Asia's main central banks now hold bullion worth around $101.2 billion tonnes of gold. The world's biggest holder of gold, the U.S. Federal Reserve sits on 8,113.5 tonnes of gold worth $284.4 billion.

For a timeline on gold's meteoric rise see [ID:nSP532257]

For a graphic on the world's top gold reserve holders: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/119/GLD_TP121109.gif Here is an overview of Asian countries' holdings of and positions on the metal.

Reserve value based on current price of $1,090.85 an ounce or $35.057 million per tonne

CHINA

HOLDINGS: 1,054 tonnes

VALUE: $36.95 billion

LAST MAJOR PURCHASE: Announced in April it had bought 454 tonnes of domestically produced gold over the past six years.

STATUS: The world's top gold producer, and Asia's top gold holder, China has the world's sixth largest reserves. Researchers with the ruling Communist Party have recommended buying more gold to boost holdings.

Ongoing national debate about the need to reduce exposure to the dollar and U.S. assets, in case America's ultra-loose fiscal and monetary policy rekindles inflation and erodes the value of the dollar and U.S. Treasuries, may see it chase more gold.

JAPAN

HOLDINGS: 765.2 tonnes

VALUE: $26.8 billion

LAST MAJOR PURCHASE: Japan's holding of gold has been kept at 24.60 million troy ounce since mid-2001.

STATUS:The government, which manages the reserves rather than the central bank, has said it will manage them by paying maximum attention to the safety and liquidity of the reserves.

INDIA

HOLDINGS: 557.7 tonnes

VALUE: $19.6 billion

LAST MAJOR PURCHASE: Purchase of 200 tonnes of gold from the International Monetary Fund on Nov. 3 propelled it into the global top ten for the first time. [ID:nSP375900]

STATUS: India is the world's biggest consumer of gold, primarily in the form of jewellery and investment among its billion-plus people. However its central bank had given few indications of being a front-runner in the move to diversify into bullion, and the proportion of gold as part of its total foreign reserves fell over recent decades.

TAIWAN

HOLDINGS: 423.6 tonnes

VALUE: $14.9 billion

In October 2006, the central bank said the island had $10.1 billion of gold in its reserves.

LAST MAJOR PURCHASE:

STATUS: Taiwan's central bank is studying whether to increase the amount of gold in its forex reserves. Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves, which rank behind China and Japan in Asia, rose to a record high of $332.2 billion at the end of September, mainly due to the euro and yen appreciating against the U.S. dollar. The figure that the central bank announced does not include gold.

AUSTRALIA

HOLDINGS: 79.9 tonnes

VALUE: $2.8 billion

STATUS: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policy is not to comment on its reserve management, but historic, economic and political factors mean it is not likely to be a big gold buyer.

The bank sold much of its gold reserves in 1997, noting then that there was little need for it to hold the metal given there was so much of it in the ground in Australia.

It also does not have major reserves to diversify. Of over A$43 bln in reserves, just A$2.9 bln is in gold.

Politically, the idea of the RBA, the central bank of one of the world's largest gold producers, buying foreign gold from the IMF, would not go down well with one of the country's economic backbones -- the mining industry.

SRI LANKA

HOLDINGS: 5.3 tonnes

VALUE: $185.8 million

LAST MAJOR PURCHASE: On Nov. 5 the Sri Lankan central bank governor said it has been buying gold for the past five or six months. [ID:nHKG262718]

STATUS: The Central Bank Governor said the country hasn't stopped buying gold yet, as it is a natural means of diversifying.

Source: Reuters, World Gold Council

Blogged with the Flock Browser

-CECIC to list wind power unit in HK mainland 04 Nov 2009 14:54

SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - China Energy Conservation Investment Corp (CECIC) plans to list its wind power unit in Hong Kong next year, and on the mainland afterwards, a senior executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

China's Social Security Fund, Everbright Ltd <0165.HK>, and China Development Bank have become strategic investors, which take a 40 percent stake in total, Li Longsheng, vice president of CECIC, said on the sidelines of a conference.

"We will list the wind power unit first," said Li, "(We) will list H-shares in Hong Kong, then return to A-share. It will be really fast," said Li, who declined to comment on the size of the IPO.

The company's capital is expected to be 1.6 billion yuan after raising money from strategic investors, Li added.

CECIC, controlled by the central government, is already operating wind power generators with a total install capacity of 300 megawatts (MW), according to its website (www.cecic.com.cn).

Li said the company also plans to list its renewable energy unit in the future.

"Urban waste management, water treatment, power generation from sludge, and biomass power generation in rural areas...we have pilot projects in these areas," said Li. The renewable energy unit expects to achieve installed capacity of 120,000 kilowatts in its five biomass power generation projects by 2010. By 2015, it expects to build another 50 projects with a total installed capacity of 1,320 MW, the company's website said.

CECIC's revenue in 2008 was less than 20 billion yuan, but the company aims at expanding the revenue to 100 billion yuan by 2012, he said.

CECIC also operates China's biggest on-grid solar power project with installed capacity of 10 MG in the northern region of Ningxia, which is only the first phase of a total 50-MW project. [ID:nN30215430]

China's renewable energy sector has grown remarkably in recent years, as Beijing pushes for sustainable development, but overcapacity is already threatening polysilicon and wind power equipment industries as a result of blind expansion. (Reporting by Rujun Shen and Edmund Klamann; Additional reporting by David Lin; Editing by Ken Wills)

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The top 5 restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau 03 Nov 2009 13:35

INGAPORE, Nov 3 (Reuters Life!) - The Miele Guide to Asia's finest restaurants is written by food experts who know and love the region (www.mieleguide.com).

This is a list of the top 5 restaurants in Hong Kong, long renowned as a regional gastronomic hub, and Macau. It is not endorsed by Reuters.

1. L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Hong Kong

A stunning restaurant that excels in all areas. The service is as close to perfection as you can find. The food is delicately magnificent, with dishes that are comforting and others that are novel and will thrill the palate and the imagination. The wine list is impeccable. And both the location and the setting are divine. While we highly recommend dining at the counter, where you can watch executive chef Sebastien Lepinoy and his team cook and plate the delicacies on offer, those seeking a little more privacy can opt to eat in the restaurant's small but chic dining room. In many ways, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon represents the future of dining: a restaurant that offers amazing but not overly challenging food, with perfect service and in a cool but entirely unpretentious setting.

Shop 401, 4F The Landmark

15 Queen's Road, Central Hong Kong

www.robuchon.hk 2. Robuchon A Galera, Macau

Robuchon a Galera, the supremely high-brow French restaurant in the splendidly over-the-top Hotel Lisboa, is proof that formal fine dining isn't dead. The restaurant's blue and gold-themed neo-Empire interiors are theatrically luxurious and just a little over-the-top. The over-burdened breadbasket, dessert and petit four trolleys are always greeted enthusiastically. The flatware is appropriately Christofle, and Bernardaud porcelain lithophane votive lights dot the starched tablecloths. But the real draw is the consistently outstanding food on offer and a wine list that would make any oenophile weep. Executive chef Francky Semblat creates masterful dishes that are elegant, rich and flavourful.

3F New West Wing

Hotel Lisboa

2-4 Avenida de Lisboa

www.hotellisboa.com

3. Yung Kee, Hong Kong

Yung Kee is virtually synonymous with Hong Kong, and no visit to the city is complete without a taste of its world famous roast goose. The restaurant itself runs like a well-oiled machine: uniformed doormen help people alight from their cars; a walkie-talkie-wielding receptionist tells the lift operator which floors guests should be taken to and informs the floor manager who's coming up so she can greet them by name. Regulars also know to order certain things in advance: the roast goose livers, the tea-smoked pork belly, or, when in season, the hairy crab dishes and platefuls of tiny rice birds, which are eaten whole (except for the beak). Executive chef Choi Wai-Chor ensures that the food is consistently good, authentically local, and comfortably unchanging.

32-40 Wellington Street

Central Hong Kong

www.yungkee.com.hk

4. Nobu, Hong Kong

Nobu Matsuhisa's sexy black and tan restaurant in Hong Kong has, in just three years, established itself as a firm favourite in one of Asia's toughest food cities. Fantastically located on the second floor of the InterContinental Hotel, Nobu Hong Kong has breathtaking, panoramic views across Victoria Harbour. The restaurant is chic yet casual, perfect for every occasion from a first date to a family meal. Norwegian-born executive chef Oyvind Naesheim, who was previously second-in-command at Nobu's very popular London outlet, is maintaining Nobu's stratospheric culinary standards, with the assistance of executive sushi chef Hideki Endo and the rest of his team.

2F InterContinental Hong Kong

18 Salisbury Road

Kowloon

www.noburestaurants.com

5. Caprice, Hong Kong

It might be difficult to find a more glamorous dining room anywhere in Asia. Caprice, the Four Seasons Hong Kong's signature French restaurant, is fantastically chic and romantic. Four large crystal chandeliers hang over well-dressed diners. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame unbeatable views of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon's skyline. Even the open-kitchen, sparkling under crystal-clad cooker hoods, is breathtaking. The food, of course, is brilliant. Chef Vincent Thierry's dishes are modern interpretations of French classics, some of which are inventively and subtly perked up with well-chosen Asian ingredients. And pastry chef Ludovic Douteau's desserts are masterpieces.

Caprice

Hong Kong

6F Four Seasons Hong Kong

8 Finance Street, Central Hong Kong

www.fourseasons.com/hongkong/dining/caprice.html

Blogged with the Flock Browser