China Forestry Holdings Co, the timber supply company partly owned by the Carlyle Group, had its credit rating raised by Standard Poor's Ratings after it bought back some of its debt.

S P increased China Forestry's rating one level to CCC-, according to a statement on Friday. It has a "negative outlook" on the company's ratings.

The timber company proposed to buy back of as much as $120 million outstanding on its 7.75 percent notes due November 2015, according to a statement to Hong Kong Stock Exchange on July 15. Potentially faster repayments of its notes will reduce the risk of default in the next six months, Standard Poor's said.

HSBC interested in Turkish bank

HSBC Holdings Plc may be interested in buying a bank in Turkey, Bloomberg HT television reported, citing Martin Spurling, chief executive of HSBC's Turkish unit.

HSBC will expand in Turkey by opening 30 new branches to reach 363 in the first half of 2012, Spurling said, according to the Istanbul-based news channel.

StanChart: loan growth may slow

Benjamin Hung, chief executive officer for Hong Kong operations at Standard Chartered Plc, said he expects loan growth to slow in the second half of 2011.

The competition among lenders for deposits in the city will continue to be intense, Hung told reporters in Hong Kong on Friday.

Zhuzhou CSR H1 net 937m yuan

Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co posted net income of 937.6 million yuan for the first half of the year, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday.

Revenue increased by 59.6 percent to 4.23 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, 2011, from 2.65 billion yuan a year earlier. The group recorded the strongest growth of 1.58 billion yuan in revenue from train power converters, auxiliary power supply equipment and control systems.

Melco Crown applies for listing

Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd, the Macao casino venture between Australia's James Packer and Hong Kong's Lawrence Ho, applied to list its stock in Hong Kong and said it may issue new shares.

The listing will provide the Melco Crown with "an additional source of capital'", Ho, the company's chief executive officer and son of Macao casino billionaire Stanley Ho, said in a filing on Friday.

Melco Crown plans to invest $1.7 billion to build its Macau Studio City, which Lawrence Ho said in June may have 400 gambling tables. Raising the capital to develop the project may help the company get government approval to have a casino in it, according to Jefferies Co analysts.

Home prices rise in week ended July 31

Hong Kong home prices rose 0.11 percent in the seven days ended July 31 from a week earlier, according to Centaline Property Agency Ltd.

The Centa-City Leading Index, an indicator of housing prices in the city, gained to 99.11, according to a statement posted on the company's website on Friday.

Cnooc parent may start LNG terminal

China National Offshore Oil Corp, the nation's largest offshore oil producer, may start operations at its Jieyang liquefied natural gas import terminal in Guangdong province in mid 2014, said a marketing official with the company on Friday.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 08/06/2011 page2)