Hopewell Holdings Limited
Sustainability Report 2010/11 5
Our Business
We have a long history of working in the hospitality business.
The 5-star China Hotel in Guangzhou was our first hotel project in
Mainland China, dating back to the early 1980s, when we pioneered
the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement for this project.
In Hong Kong, we currently operate Panda Hotel through a wholly
owned subsidiary of the Group, with over 1,000 guest rooms
serving both business and leisure travellers. In addition, we operate
restaurant and catering businesses in our commercial properties.
Highway Division
In regard to our highway business, we focus on the initiation,
promotion, development, investment and operation of highway
projects in the Pearl River Delta Region. This division is run by
Hopewell Highway Infrastructure Limited (HHI), in which HHL, its
parent company, has an approximate 70% stake. HHI was listed on
the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2003. The four highway
projects we have initiated include the 122.8 km Guangzhou-
Shenzhen (GS) Superhighway on the east bank of the Pearl River
Delta Region, and Phases I, II and III of the Western Delta Route with
an aggregate length of about 98.2 km on the west bank. Phases I
and II of the Western Delta Route commenced operation in 2004 and
2010 respectively. The construction of Phase III is expected to be
completed by the first half of 2013. Over the past decade, the high-
quality and well-connected highways initiated by HHI have helped
to boost the economic growth of the cities along those routes. Our
interests in the GS Superhighway and the Western Delta Route are
held through two co-operative joint ventures, in accordance to the
applicable Mainland China law.
In July 2010, HHI successfully issued two-year RMB corporate bonds
to institutional investors, becoming the first non-financial institution
to issue RMB corporate bonds in Hong Kong. The bond issue has
opened up new financing channels for our highway business. In May
2011, the second issuance of RMB corporate bonds reflected strong
market confidence in our Group.
Energy Division
Our power plant operations in Mainland China date back to the mid-
1980s. At that time there was an acute shortage of infrastructure
facilities and power supply, and we undertook proactive initiatives
to participate in the infrastructure development of the country.
Building on our successful experience of over 20 years in the
sector, our subsidiary entered into a joint venture with Shenzhen
Energy Group Company Limited to operate a coal-fired power plant
in Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, which started commercial
operations in 2009.
Despite the increased coal price, the Heyuan Power Plant brought
profit to the Group during its first year of operation. The Group
currently holds a 35% effective stake in the 1,200 MW ultra
super-critical coal-fired power plant, which supplies electricity to
Guangdong Province, particularly Heyuan and Huizhou. To date, it
is one of the most environmentally efficient coal-fired power plants
in the Province.
We are also actively developing our own technology for large-scale
vertical-axis wind turbines in recognition of the on-going and
consistently strong global demand for clean renewable electricity.