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1. Ocean Park signs $5.5b revamp loans

2. Activists hope poll can delay vote on Tamar

3. Henderson seeks $5.5b loan to refinance debt

1. Ocean Park signs $5.5b revamp loans
Wendy Leung, The Standard 14 June 2006

Ocean Park signed 15-year loans totaling HK$5.5 billion with the government and 25 banks Tuesday to finance its redevelopment plan.

Construction will start in December, Ocean Park chairman Allan Zeman said.

The Hong Kong government will lend HK$1.39 billion with the remainder coming from commercial banks.

The three mandated lead arrangers are Bank of China, DBS and HSBC.

The 29-year-old publicly-owned Ocean Park has enjoyed a revival in popularity since Hong Kong Disneyland opened last September. Last year was its busiest to date with 4.03 million visitors. It has already matched that figure 10 months and 28 days into its current financial year.

"Disney complements us," Zeman said. "We expect between 4.2-4.3 million visitors this year. And those estimates are very conservative," Zeman said, adding that after its revamp, the park will attract five million a year. "We keep prices as low as we can. As long as I am chairman, our prices must be lower than Disney's," he said

Rival theme park Disney expects 5.6 million visitors this year.

Ocean Park submitted its Environment Impact Assessment report to the Environmental Protection Department earlier this month.

The theme park's revamp will feature environmentally friendly buildings designed by different architects from around the world, Zeman said.

2. Activists hope poll can delay vote on Tamar
DIKKY SINN , SCMP 14 June 2006

Harbour activists have begun a last-ditch effort to delay the government from presenting for legislative approval a $5.1 billion plan to relocate the administration's central offices to Tamar.

The activists have launched another opinion poll on the public's attitude towards the project.

The move comes despite the plan being almost certain to be endorsed by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee next week.

The Society for the Protection of the Harbour has commissioned the University of Hong Kong 's Public Opinion Programme to conduct the survey to gauge views on whether further public consultation is needed.

Spokesman Winston Chu Ka-sun yesterday said the opinion poll would be carried out objectively.

"We are waiting anxiously for the result. The public are free to express their opinions on whether there should be consultation. We are doing the poll to give them a chance to express views. If 70 per cent of the public say there should be further consultation, I wish the government and political parties would respect the result. If 70 per cent indicated further consultation is not necessary, and they are happy with it, we will have nothing more to say."

Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit said if the majority favoured further consultation, the polling result would be meaningful and forceful evidence, as opposed to the 70 per cent public support claimed by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen for the project.

"If the polling result shows the public wants more information, the government needs to answer some unanswered question, then let the public be satisfied ... before the government comes back to Legco for funding," he said.

Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat said it was unlikely to delay the funding application beyond June 23, when the government will table the project to the Finance Committee.

"The issue has been discussed for three years. It's time to take a stance," Mr Lee said.

Meanwhile, Civic Exchange and the group Designing Hong Kong Harbour District have displayed their alternative model for the Tamar site, on view until Monday at the Fringe Club in Central.

3. Henderson seeks $5.5b loan to refinance debt
TIM LEEMASTER , SCMP 14 June 2006

Henderson Land Development, the third-largest property developer in Hong Kong by market capitalisation, is seeking a $5.5 billion syndicated loan to refinance existing debt coming due in August, according to people familiar with the situation.

The company will pay 25 basis points above the Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor) while participating banks will earn in the low 30 basis points in fees on the five-year loan.

The new loan replaces a similarly sized, five-year loan taken out in 2001 that cost the company 43 basis points above Hibor in interest. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were among the banks that arranged that loan.

Corporate funding costs have been falling as cash-rich lenders compete fiercely to make loans. Sun Hung Kai Properties, the city's largest property developer, paid a paltry 24 basis points above Hibor when it arranged a $12 billion loan earlier this year. CLP Holdings, the territory's biggest power utility, paid an even lower 21 basis points above Hibor on a $6 billion loan it took out two years ago.

Henderson Land 's new loan will hold the value of its outstanding loans at $15.5 billion, according to Bloomberg data. The firm took out a $10 billion loan two years ago that cost 28 basis points above Hibor on the five-year tranche and 38.5 basis points above Hibor on the seven-year portion. Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, HSBC and Citigroup were among the banks arranging that deal.

Analysts at Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse cut their rating on the company to "underperform" from "neutral" yesterday citing a lack of clarity from management on the company's strategic direction.

The Credit Suisse report also cited the company's failure to buy out minority shareholders from subsidiary Henderson Investment earlier this year.

On Monday, the company shelved a planned initial public offering of a $3.9 billion real estate investment trust, citing weak market conditions.