Merrill Lynch launched as underwriter its second Hong Kong dollar equity-linked notes for Cheung Kong Holdings, the issuer of the notes. The product known as Giant Notes are linked to a basket of three blue-chip stocks -- HSBC Holdings, Hang Seng Bank Ltd. and China Petroleum Chemical Corp. They have an investment period of two years and pay a guaranteed 6% coupon after six months.
A profit lock-in mechanism provides a potential minimum bonus of 10%, depending on the share price performance of the underlying shares. The notes also offer potentially unlimited upside returns.
The minimum subscription...
