Page 9 - Sphere No.15 (Nov 2005)

FOSSIL FUN
To celebrate
its eighth anniversary,
Chongqing Metropolitan
Plaza held a dinosaur exhibi-
tion with the Chongqing Museum of Nature that showcased
fossils up to 140 million years old. H
Welcome to Hutchison Essar
Hutchison Max Telecom Limited, a major player in the
Indian mobile telecommunications market, has been renamed
Hutchison Essar Limited. The move follows the consolidation
earlier this year into Hutchison Max Telecom of Hutchison Essar
Mobile Services, Hutchison Telecom East, Hutchison Essar South,
Aircel Digilink India
and Fascel. Further,
Hutchison Essar has signed agreements to acquire
BPL Mobile Communications Limited and BPL
Mobile Cellular Limited, which hold licences in
Mumbai, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It
has also entered into a conditional agreement to
acquire Essar Spacetel Limited, a company that has
applied for licences in seven areas not presently
serviced by Hutchison Essar.
NO HOLDS BARRED
3, the UK’s first video
mobile network, and Granada, a world leader in
television production and distribution, are bring-
ing the latest ITV hit show, Celebrity Wrestling, to
video mobiles for the first time. Thanks to the new
agreement, more than three million customers on 3’s
network can watch the show’s highlights.
I N D I A
C H I N A
Hutchison Telecommunications
International Limited (Hutchison Telecom) announced strong
growth for the six months to 30 June 2005. The operating
profit before disposal of investments reached HKD1,014
million, a 297.6 per cent increase compared
with the first half of 2004, boosted by strong operating
results in India and Israel and a reduction of losses in
Thailand. All markets reported growth in customer base,
which rose overall by 30.9 per cent to 14.1 million. The vigor-
ous growth in worldwide customer base fuelled the surge in
turnover to HKD10,757 million, an increase of 56.1 per cent
compared with the same period a year earlier.
Hutchison Telecom has announced management
appointments to further drive development of its mobile
business. Agnes Nardi has been made an executive direc-
tor, moving over from Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong
(HTHK) where she was managing director of the mobile
business. Peter Wong, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong
Kong fixed line business Hutchison Global
Communications, will assume the additional responsibility
of CEO of HTHK.
Meanwhile, independent shareholders of Hutchison
Global Communications Holdings (HGCH) have approved a
proposal by Hutchison Telecom to take HGCH private.
H O N G K O N G
T
T
S PHERE 7
CKI Profits Increase
Entering its 10th year since listing, Cheung
Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited reported continued
growth momentum in its interim results for 2005. Profit
attributable to shareholders increased by 10 per cent to
HKD1,528 million for the six months to 30 June, 2005 and
earnings per share were HKD0.68.
HIGHLIGHTS
z Interim dividend of HKD0.24 per share, up nine per cent
z Substantial profit contribution recorded from:
z Hongkong Electric: HKD872 million
z Australian portfolio: HKD612 million
z Investments in Mainland China: HKD327 million
z Strong balance sheet and financial platform:
z Cash on hand of HKD6,074 million
z Net debt to equity ratio of 25 per cent
H O N G K O N G
E
A HELPING
HAND
Celebrity
Nancy Sit (second right)
was joined by PARKnSHOP
volunteers to cook rice with
the elderly in the Helping
Hand cooking competition. R
H O N G K O N G
T
U N I T E D K I N G D O M
Newsbites
Hutchison Telecom Rings Up Strong Numbers