COSCO (HONG KONG) RAISES $105 MILLION IN FUNDS

COSCO (HONG KONG) RAISES $105 MILLION IN FUNDS    COSCO (Hong Kong) Group, the Hong Kong-based listed arm of the China Ocean Shipping Co. group, has raised $105 million in U.S. dollar transferable loan certificates and floating rate notes from financial institutions.
   COSCO (Hong Kong) said that the issue was arranged by FleetBoston Financial and four other leading financial institutions, with HSBC acting as agent. Participants included banks from the    U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and China.
   The funds raised will be used for general corporate purposes, COSCO (Hong Kong) said.
   “China’s imminent entry into the World Trade Organization, the global economy growing at a steady pace, marked improvement in the local economy, and recovery of the global shipping business, are all factors that have created a favorable business environment,” the company said.
   COSCO (Hong Kong) Group, together with its subsidiaries COSCO (Hong Kong) Shipping, COSCO Pacific and COSCO International have all performed satisfactorily since the beginning of this year, it added.
   The activities of COSCO (Hong Kong) include bulk shipping, container port operations and container leasing.