Page 5 - Sphere No.16 (Apr 2006)

H O N G K O N G
THAI FIRST
Hongkong Electric Holding Limited (HEH)
has finalised financial arrangements for the construction
of a 1,400 megawatt power
station in Ratchaburi Province,
Thailand, the group’s first power
generation project outside Hong
Kong. In Australia, HEH’s wholly-
owned subsidiary, Hongkong
Electric International Finance
(Australia), has signed an AUD617
million (HKD3.57 billion) loan
facility to refinance existing
investments in Australia.
Husky Challenge
Husky Energy sponsored
the 2006 Western Engineering
Competition in Calgary, an event
that attracted 250 of the region’s
brightest students. In the Senior
Team Design competition
entrants were asked to find a
way of providing access to a
remote village cut off by flooding
and inaccessible by air. Competing
teams had to work within a budget, a materials list and
logistical constraints to deliver a realistic solution.
TOP CHINA DOGS
The arrival of the Year of
the Dog was celebrated in style.
The acclaimed dog circus from
Japan made its Hong Kong
debut at Wonderful Worlds
of Whampoa, while the
Shanghai Westgate Mall
held a “Cute Dogs Fash-
ion Show”. Meanwhile,
Chongqing Metropolitan
Plaza staged a series of
traditional activities
including a Sichuan
magic show and a
kung fu demon-
stration.
E
BOOK MARKS
TOM Group subsidiary
Cite Publishing Group won six prizes
at the Best Books Awards, the
annual event organised by the
China Times. R
E
Irish Jig
3 Ireland now has the widest 3G coverage in
Ireland, with 72% of the population able to access mobile con-
tent, from high speed audio and music video downloads
to the latest football highlights. The company has also
announced the appointment of Robert Finnegan as
managing director. T
H
I R E L A N D
C H I N A
C A N A D A
H O N G K O N G
C H I N A
C
SPHERE 3
T
E
H
R
P
C CORPORATE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
PROPERTY & HOTELS
RETAIL & MANUFACTURING
PORTS & RELATED SERVICES
Satisfactory Growth for HWL
Hutchison Whampoa Limited recorded satisfact-
ory results in 2005. Profits attributable to shareholders amount-
ed to HKD14,343 million, an 11 per cent increase compared to
last year’s profit which has been restated after the adoption
of new accounting rules. Despite fierce competition through-
out 2005, the 3 Group is continuing to achieve both improved
operating and financial performance, and operating losses
will have significantly less impact on consolidated Group
earnings in 2006 than in 2005. The 3 Group’s revenues grew
138 per cent and achieved full-year positive EBIDTA before
customer acquisition costs.
HIGHLIGHTS
l Total revenue grew 33 per cent to HKD241,862 million
l Earnings per share increased 11 per cent to HKD3.36
l 3G customer base currently totals over 11.9 million worldwide
l Given the present economic trends, the Group’s business is
expected to continue to perform well in 2006