Far Eastern Group (
Far Eastern Department Stores Co (
Far Eastern Group, whose operations also include shipping, seeks to use the Hong Kong share listings to avoid government restrictions on investments in China.
"The parent company is rich, but it's hitting the 40 percent limit," Hsu, 66, said at the group's Taipei headquarters. "If the 40 percent roof gets lifted, then the pressure is much less" to list shares overseas.
The group plans to offer an initial share sale of at least one unit a year as it expands in China, Hsu said.
Shares of Far Eastern Department rose 2.3 percent to NT$49.40 at the close of trade in Taipei, reversing an earlier 1.7 percent decline. Trading volume was more than double the stock's 90-day average.
Far Eastern Textile Co (遠東紡織), which owns 17 percent of the Department Stores unit, rebounded from a decline to add 2.7 percent to NT$51.20. The benchmark TAIEX rose 1.9 percent.
"If there's a listing for the subsidiary then there's a positive reaction in its share price," said Michelle Cheng, who rates Far Eastern Department shares a "buy" at BNP Paribas in Taipei. "It helps them get around investment rules."
Asia Cement's share sale in Hong Kong will be delayed until the second quarter from this quarter, Hsu said, citing declining stock markets. It will also trim the size of the sale to US$250 million from an earlier estimate of US$300 million, he said.
"In January and February there was a lot of cancelations because of the markets," Hsu said. "We are slightly late, but not that late."
Demand for new shares is waning in China and Hong Kong after companies raised US$127 billion in the two markets last year. In Hong Kong, the world's third-biggest IPO market last year, three offerings aiming to raise HK$9.4 billion (US$1.2 billion) were pulled this year as the benchmark Hang Seng Index sank.
Far Eastern Department Stores owns the Sogo chain of department stores in Taiwan and the Pacific Department Store group in China. The Taipei-listed unit is around 33 percent owned by Far Eastern Group companies.
A Chinese retail company approached Far Eastern for merger talks with the China department store unit, a move which would derail a listing, Hsu said. He declined to name the potential partner or whether they would proceed with the merger.
Far Eastern Polychem Industries Ltd (
"The GEM didn't quite work," Hsu said. We're "waiting for the chance to relist."
Hsu, chairman of eight companies in the Far Eastern Group, is listed this year at No. 31 on Forbes' rankings of the richest people in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, with a net worth of US$1.4 billion.
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