Friday 26th October 2012

Dear Reader,

NEW ARTICLE
Cashing up at Next Media
If Next Media (0282) completes the sale of its Taiwan units, it will have a profitable HK business and net cash of about HK$4.4bn with no use for it. Rather than drag shareholders into a new business as City Telecom (1137) has done, we expect Next to do the right thing and distribute the proceeds in a special dividend. The potential payout is $1.79 per share, and majority shareholder Jimmy Lai will get 74% of that to use as he pleases. (26-Oct-2012)

RECENTLY ON WEBB-SITE
Air China's balance sheet worries
We look at the highly-geared balance sheet of Air China, the bizarre and unfinished mini-subscription by its parent launched 6 months ago, and the likely need for a much larger equity financing if it is going to run on free-market principles, which in turn has implications for Cathay Pacific's 20% stake. (24-Oct-2012)

IN OTHER NEWS
Hao Tian (0474) buys a yacht for HK$65m
Company announcement, 25-Oct-2012
The yacht, named "aquarius" has been floating around the "Chung Nam Network" for years - its holding company, Uprite Ltd, was acquired by Willie (0273) in May-2008 from a company 75%-owned by Eugene Chuang Yue-chien, brother of Willie's Chairman. Uprite was then injected into a BVI vehicle, Cordoba Homes Ltd, in which numerous listed companies in the network invested. We now consider Hao Tian to have joined the network.

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