Page 7 - Sphere No.5 (Feb 2002)

E N E R G Y & I N F R A S T R U C T U R E
applause
Hong Kong’s leading office and business
supplier bigboXX.com, has won the “Best
Practice Award for Technology Deployment”
given by Best Practice Management Magazine.
ESDlife has won a 2001 “Stockholm Challenge
Award” in the Public Services and Democracy
category for its innovation in creating a one-
stop government and commercial service portal
under a public-private sector partnership.
Husky’s Spending Plans
Husky has announced a capital
spending plan of C$1.4 billion
(about US$ 878.9 million) for
2002. The company will invest
C$1.2 billion in its upstream segment,
with spending focused on oil and gas
production in the British Columbia
foothills and the Alberta Plains.
Capital expenditures in the frontier and
international areas are set at C$210 million
with spending focused on the Wenchang
Offshore China Exploration Project and the
White Rose development.
Capital expenditure in the midstream
segment is expected to total C$130 million
with C$92 million allocated for the Husky
Lloydminster Upgrader.
S PHERE
5
Fresh, Fishy Idea
Corporate travellers to
Hong Kong no longer have
to return to an empty hotel
room after a long day in the
city. Not since Harbour Plaza
North Point started providing
company for its guests. The hotel has a
number of aquarium fish, which it places in
the rooms of travellers (in fishbowls, of course)
to offer companionship during those lonely
nights away from home. The creative idea
recently caught the attention of the Hong
Kong Tourism Board, which bestowed the
“Bingo Award” in recognition of this novelty
in hospitality.
Development Gets Govt. Sanction
The Government of Newfoundland and
Labrador, as well as the Federal Government,
announced in December they had accepted
the findings of the Canada Newfoundland
Offshore Petroleum Board Report, which
approves Husky Energy’s proposals to
develop the White Rose oil field. Husky is
currently working towards partner sanction
with its JV partner Petro-Canada, and has
set a “first oil” target date for 2005.
Meanwhile, Husky has also signed a MOU
with the First Nation people of Frog Lake and
Kehewin Cree to set up a workforce base to
promote education and employment. Husky
now has agreements with five First Nations:
Frog Lake, Kehewin Cree, Woodland Cree,
Lubicon Cree and Loon Lake.
VIP Visits
Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri, in Shanghai to
attend the APEC summit last
October, hosted a dinner party at
Seasons Villas Clubhouse for the
city’s Indonesian community. Impressed
by the first-rate services provided, the
President expressed her appreciation to
the management of Hutchison Whampoa
Properties, which developed the property.
Around the same time, international singing
star Robbie Williams joined a long list of
celebrities who have chosen to stay at the
Harbour Plaza Hong Kong . Williams
checked in during the Hong Kong leg of
his Asian tour.
E - C O M M E R C E
noted
In addition to being renowned as a paradise
within a paradise, the architecture of Our
Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort has won the
“Excellence in Construction – 2001” award
presented by the Associated Builders and
Contractors (ABC) USA.
The Harbour Plaza Golf Club in
Dongguan has been named the “Golf
Club with the Best Club Service”
in China by China Golf Magazine.
This follows a top-4 ranking in
the “Best Golf Club in China”
category by Asian Golf Monthly as
well as being voted as having one
of “China’s 18 Signature Holes”.
P R O P E R T Y & H O T E L S
TOM announced in
December that it had
entered into an
agreement to acquire up
to 100% of Business Weekly
Publishing, Taiwan’s
leading Chinese-language
magazine and book publisher.
Under the agreement TOM will acquire
Business Weekly and two of its subsidiaries—
Nong Nong Magazine Co. and Business
World Consulting Co. TOM also has the
option to acquire Business Weekly’s four other
businesses—E-Business Weekly Publishing,
To‘go Publishing, Sunbright Publishing
and Abovewebs.com.
A month earlier, TOM agreed to acquire
100% of Sharp Point Publishing Co.,
Taiwan’s largest youth magazine and
book publisher. The deals make TOM
the largest magazine and book publisher
group in Taiwan.
In the Mainland, TOM announced that it
would acquire 100% of China Travel
Network Co. (CTN) and, under a separate
agreement, 45% of itravel Ltd. (itravel) from
CTN Holdings. TOM already owns 55% of
itravel, which operates the travel website
GoChinaGo.com. Building on its Internet
business, TOM’s broadband Internet value-
added service subsidiary, Beijing GreaTom
United Technology Co. (GreaTom), has
formed a strategic alliance with KT Freetel
Co. , a subsidiary of Korea Telecom, to
jointly develop wireless Internet multimedia
services in China.
TOM Continues on AcquisitionTrail
Online Bookstore
ESD life (esdlife.com), the
award-winning bilingual portal
delivering both government
and personal services in Hong Kong,
launched Hong Kong’s first Online
Government Bookstore in October 2001. Users
can now buy Hong Kong SAR Government
publications by visiting bookstore.esdlife.com.
In January this year, ESDlife also launched
wedding.esdlife.com to assist couples with their
wedding arrangements.
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applause