Minmetals Land raises $123 million from placement

Alas, our suggestion yesterday that Wednesday's sell-down in Belle International might be the last equity placement in Asia this year was not correct. There were, in fact, two deals in the market yesterday.

Minmetals Land, the real estate arm of steel and metals importerexporter China Minmetals Corp, raised HK$955.5 million $123 million towards land acquisitions and to fund its property developments and an institutional shareholder cashed in HK$499.8 million $65 million from the sale of about 75% of its shares in supermarket operator Wumart Stores.

Both deals saw good demand, although with global equity markets under increasing pressure -- Hong Kong's Hang...