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BUSINESS ITEMS:
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Jardine-Land firm signs China contracts: The Standard Business News reported on Friday that Consolidated Catering Services (China) had become the first HK company to enter into the support business in China with the signing of a contract in Guangzhou. The agreement to form the joint venture, Nan Lian Food Company, was signed between Daily Living Services, a newly formed subsidiary of China Nanhai Oil Joint Service Corporation, and Consolidated Catering Services, a joint venture between Jardine Matheson and Dairy Farm, a subsidiary of HK Land. The new company was expected to serve initially 10 oil rigs carrying a total of 1 000 - 1 500 people. The report said Daily Living Services supplied food, clothing, laundry, cleaning materials and household supplies, and organised services for offshore oil rigs and supply bases and to staff living areas of foreign petroleum companies in the Nanhai area.
Citibank offering 20-year mortgages: Citibank has joined the growing number of banks here offering 20-year mortgages to home buyers to "prove its commitment to the local community". It informed its developer clients of the move by letter and these would inform their potential customers. The bank was willing to finance up to 80 per cent of the market value of a flat for a maximum consideration of $1 million. The bank's senior vice-president, Mr. Kent Price, said the bank felt strongly about the residential market and was prepared to take the good times with the bad.
Pioneer Concrete buys China quarry: Pioneer Quarries Group has bought a quarry in China for $35 million to expand its market share and widen sources of supply. The slowing down of the local property market was likely to result in no growth in demand for aggregates, the Company's chief executive said, but he emphasised that investment in new quarries reflected the company's confidence in the economic development of HK and China. The quarry is at Chung Hsin Chau and is a co-operative venture between a Pioneer subsidiary and the Chinese Navigational Mineral and Metal Import and Export Corporation (Zhuhai branch).
Land Policy criticised: Commenting on remarks by Mr. Bill Brown of The Chartered Bank that industry should remain the backbone of our economy, Ta Kung Po renewed its criticism of the Government for what it called its high land price policy and for ignoring the practical needs of industry. It said only a booming manufacturing industry would bring about employment and wealth, and not property transactions which involved astronomical figures.
Better Confidence: In an interview with ATV-Chinese "Newsline", the chairman of the HK Factory Owners' Association, Mr. Hwang Jen, said he had much better confidence in HK's prospects after his China visit. He said the biggest problem facing local industrialists was not the 1997 question, but mounting protectionism and high land prices. He did not repeat previous alarmist remarks.
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