MIRA INFORM REPORT

 

 

Report Date :

08.01.2014

 

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

 

Name :

BASF HONG KONG LTD.

 

 

Registered Office :

45/F., Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central

 

 

Country :

Hong Kong

 

 

Date of Incorporation :

20.12.1977

 

 

Com. Reg. No.:

00614211

 

 

Legal Form :

Private Limited Company

 

 

Line of Business :

Manufacturer, Importer, Exporter and Wholesaler of Plastic additives, coating effects, and water & paper treatment

 

 

No. of Employees :

240.  (Including associates)

 

 

RATING & COMMENTS

 

MIRA’s Rating :

Ba

 

RATING

STATUS

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

Satisfactory

 


 

Status :

Good

Payment Behaviour :

No complaints

Litigation :

Clear

 

NOTES :

Any query related to this report can be made on e-mail : infodept@mirainform.com while quoting report number, name and date.

 

 

ECGC Country Risk Classification List – September 30, 2013

 

Country Name

Previous Rating

(30.06.2013)

Current Rating

(30.09.2013)

Hong Kong

A2

A1

 

Risk Category

ECGC Classification

Insignificant

 

A1

Low

 

A2

Moderate

 

B1

High

 

B2

Very High

 

C1

Restricted

 

C2

Off-credit

 

D

 


 

HONG KONG - ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

 

Hong Kong has a free market economy, highly dependent on international trade and finance - the value of goods and services trade, including the sizable share of re-exports, is about four times GDP. Hong Kong levies excise duties on only four commodities, namely: hard alcohol, tobacco, hydrocarbon oil, and methyl alcohol. There are no quotas or dumping laws. Hong Kong's open economy left it exposed to the global economic slowdown that began in 2008. Although increasing integration with China, through trade, tourism, and financial links, helped it to make an initial recovery more quickly than many observers anticipated, it again faces a possible slowdown as exports to the Euro zone and US slump. The Hong Kong government is promoting the Special Administrative Region (SAR) as the site for Chinese renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Hong Kong residents are allowed to establish RMB-denominated savings accounts; RMB-denominated corporate and Chinese government bonds have been issued in Hong Kong; and RMB trade settlement is allowed. The territory far exceeded the RMB conversion quota set by Beijing for trade settlements in 2010 due to the growth of earnings from exports to the mainland. RMB deposits grew to roughly 9.1% of total system deposits in Hong Kong by the end of 2012, an increase of 59% from the previous year. The government is pursuing efforts to introduce additional use of RMB in Hong Kong financial markets and is seeking to expand the RMB quota. The mainland has long been Hong Kong's largest trading partner, accounting for about half of Hong Kong's exports by value. Hong Kong's natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. As a result of China's easing of travel restrictions, the number of mainland tourists to the territory has surged from 4.5 million in 2001 to 34.9 million in 2012, outnumbering visitors from all other countries combined. Hong Kong has also established itself as the premier stock market for Chinese firms seeking to list abroad. In 2012 mainland Chinese companies constituted about 46.6% of the firms listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and accounted for about 57.4% of the Exchange's market capitalization. During the past decade, as Hong Kong's manufacturing industry moved to the mainland, its service industry has grown rapidly. Growth slowed to 5% in 2011, and less than 2% in 2012. Credit expansion and tight housing supply conditions caused Hong Kong property prices to rise rapidly and inflation to rise 4.1% in 2012. Lower and middle income segments of the population are increasingly unable to afford adequate housing. Hong Kong continues to link its currency closely to the US dollar, maintaining an arrangement established in 1983.

 

Source : CIA

 


COMPANY NAME & address

 

BASF HONG KONG LTD.

 

 

ADDRESS:       45/F., Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong.

 

PHONE:            852-2731 0111,  852-2731 1222,  852-2731 1500

 

FAX:                 852-2731 5631,  852-2734 9631

 

E-MAIL:            basf@basf-china.com.hk

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:  Mr. Ulf Hinrich Loleit

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Incorporated on:             20th December, 1977.

 

Organization:                 Private Limited Company.

 

Capital: Nominal:           HK$54,000,000.00

 

Issued:                          HK$54,000,000.00

 

Business Category:        Specialty Chemicals Manufacturer and Trader.

 

Group Sales:-                (Year ended 31-12-2012)

€78,729 million  (The BASF Group)

€13,916 million  (Asia Pacific Region)

 

Company Employees:    240.  (Including associates)

 

Group Employees:         112,617.  (As at 30-09-2013)

 

Main Dealing Banker:     The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Hong Kong.

 

Banking Relation:           Good.


Company name

 

BASF  HONG  KONG  LTD.

 

 

ADDRESS

 

Registered Head Office:-

45/F., Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong.

 

Immediate Holding Company:-

BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd., Hong Kong.

 

Ultimate Holding Company:-

BASF SE (or known as BASF Societas Europaea)

Carl-Bosch-Strabe 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany.

[Tel: 49-621-60-0;  Fax: 49-621-60-42525]

 

Affiliated Companies:-

BASF Group of Companies

Asia Pacific Region

BASF (China) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia.

BASF (Thai) Ltd., Thailand.

BASF Asia Pacific (India) Pvt. Ltd., India.

BASF Asia Pacific Service Centre Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia.

BASF Australia Co. Ltd., Australia.

BASF Auxiliary Chemicals Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Battery Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Care Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Catalysts (Guilin) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Catalysts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Catalysts India Pvt. Ltd., India.

BASF Central Asia LLP, Kazakhstan.

BASF Chemcat (Thailand) Ltd., Thailand.

BASF Chemicals Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Co. Ltd., South Korea.

BASF Construction Chemicals (China) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Construction Chemicals (Sichuan) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Electronic Materials (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Gao-Qiao Performance Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Heesung Trading Corporation, South Korea.

BASF HOCK Mining Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Idemitsu Co. Ltd., Japan.

BASF India Ltd., India.

BASF Intertrade (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Japan Ltd., Japan.

BASF Metals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Metals Japan Ltd., Japan.

BASF New Zealand Ltd., New Zealand.

BASF Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Pakistan.

BASF Paper Chemicals (Huizhou) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Paper Chemicals (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Performance Products Ltd., China.

BASF Petronas Chemicals Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia.

BASF PJPC Neopentylglycol Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Polyurethane Specialties (China) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Polyurethanes (China) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Polyurethanes (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Qingdao Pigments Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia.

BASF Shanghai Coatings Co. Ltd., China.

BASF South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Singapore.

BASF Specialty Chemicals (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., China.

BASF Taiwan Ltd., Taiwan.

BASF Vietnam Co. Ltd., Vietnam.

BASF Vitamins Co. Ltd., China.

Ciba (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Australia.

Engelhard China Ltd., China.

Novolyte Technologies Ltd., China.

P.T. BASF Care Chemicals Indonesia, Indonesia.

P.T. BASF Indonesia, Indonesia.

Shanghai BASF Polyurethane Co. Ltd., China.

 

 

BUSINESS REGISTRATION NUMBER

 

00614211

 

 

COMPANY FILE NUMBER

 

0057377

 

 

MANAGEMENT

 

Managing Director:  Mr. Ulf Hinrich Loleit

 

 

CAPITAL

 

Nominal Share Capital: HK$54,000,000.00

 

(Divided into 54,000,000 shares of HK$1.00 each)

 

Issued Share Capital: HK$54,000,000.00

 

 

SHAREHOLDER  

 

(As per registry dated 20-12-2012)

Name

 

No. of shares

BASF East Asia Regional Headquarters Ltd., Hong Kong.

 

54,000,000

========

 

 

DIRECTORS  

 

(As per registry dated 21-10-2013)

Name

(Nationality)

 

Address

Soeren Piet BAUERMANN

Apartment 16A Seymour, 9 Seymour Road, Mid-Level, Hong Kong.

 

Albert Gerhard HEUSER

Flat A, 49/F., The Summit, 41C Stubbs Road, Hong Kong.

 

Ulf Hinrich LOLEIT

Flat 1104, 11/F., Tower B, Queen’s Garden, 9 Old Peak Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.

 

Gopalan PILLAY

Flat A, 33/F., Tower 2, Dynasty Court, 23 Old Peak Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong.

 

 

SECRETARY

 

(As per registry dated 03-09-2013)

Name

Address

Co. No.

Tricor Secretaries Ltd.

Level 54, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong.

0014900

 

 

HISTORY

 

The subject was incorporated on 20th December, 1977 as a private limited liability company under the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance.

Originally the subject was registered under the name of Ciba-Geigy (Hong Kong) Ltd., name changed to Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Hong Kong) Ltd. on 15th January, 1997, to Ciba (Hong Kong) Ltd. on 26th July, 2007, and further to the present style on 28th December, 2009.

Formerly the registered head office was located at 13/F., Warwick House, Taikoo Place, 979 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, moved to combine with its laboratory and godown at 61-69 Yau Ma Hom Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories, Hong Kong in August 1998.  In November 2005, the registered office was relocated at Suite 1104-1106, 11/F., Tower 2, The Gateway, Harbour City, 25 Canton Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, and subsequently to the present address in January 2010.

Apart from these, neither material change nor amendment has been ever traced and noted.

 

 

OPERATIONS

 

Activities:                      Manufacturer, Importer, Exporter and Wholesaler.

 

Lines:                           Plastic additives, coating effects, and water & paper treatment

 

Company Employees:    240.  (Including associates)

 

Group Employees:         112,617.  (As at 30-09-2013)

 

Materials/Commodities:  Imported from Europe, Israel

 

Markets:                       Hong Kong (main), China, Europe.

 

Group Sales:-

FY

The BASF Group

Asia Pacific Region

Year ended 31-12-2008

€62,304 million

€  8,664 million

Year ended 31-12-2009

€50,693 million

€  7,997 million

Year ended 31-12-2010

€63,873 million

€11,642 million

Year ended 31-12-2011

€73,497 million

€13,316 million

Year ended 31-12-2012

€78,729 million

€13,916 million

9 months ended 30-09-2013

€55,824 million

€  2,919 million

 

Terms/Sales:                 On various terms.

 

Terms/Buying:               As per contracted.

 

GOVERNMENT CONTRACT AWARDED SINCE 1999:

Date

GN No.

Particulars

Amount

28-05-1999

GN3001

Supply of polyelectrolyte (Type I)

HK$4,338,880 F.I.S./Hong Kong with ±20% variation (not exceeding HK$5,206,656)

26-10-2001

GN6719

Supply of anionic polymer

HK$901,120 F.I.S./Hong Kong with ±30% variation (not exceeding HK$1,171,456)

27-10-2006

GN6881

Supply of cationic polymer

US$2,565,000 (F.I.S./Hong Kong)

27-10-2006

GN6881

Supply of polyelectrolyte (Type IV)

HK$6,807,500 (F.I.S./Hong Kong)

30-09-2010

GN6287

Supply of polyelectrolyte (Type IV)

HK$7,047,000 (F.I.S./Hong Kong)

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Nominal Share Capital:   HK$54,000,000.00

 

(Divided into 54,000,000 shares of HK$1.00 each)

 

Issued Share Capital:     HK$54,000,000.00

 

Group Operating Income:-

Period

The BASF Group

Asia Pacific Region

Year ended 31-12-2008

€6,463 million

€   254 million

Year ended 31-12-2009

€3,677 million

€   503 million

Year ended 31-12-2010

€7,761 million

€1,271 million

Year ended 31-12-2011

€8,586 million

€1,133 million

Year ended 31-12-2012

€8,976 million

€   905 million

9 months ended 30-09-2013

€5,624 million

€   206 million

 

 

Profit or Loss:                Operation is profitable.

 

Condition:                      Keeping in an active manner.

 

Facilities:                      Making active use of general banking facilities.

 

Payment:                      Reliable.

 

Commercial Morality:     Good.

 

Bankers:-

The Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd., Hong Kong.

Calyon Corporate & Investment Bank, Hong Kong Branch.

Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch.

 

Standing:                      Very Good.

 

 

GENERAL

 

BASF Hong Kong Ltd. [BHKL], incorporated in December 1977, was originally registered as Ciba-Geigy (Hong Kong) Ltd. [CGHK].

CGHK was a merger of Ciba and Geigy, two businesses established in Hong Kong in 1947 and 1946 respectively.  In 1996, CGHK and Sandoz were merged; Ciba-Geigy’s industrial divisions spun off to form a specialty chemical firm - Ciba Specialty Chemicals.  On 15th January, 1997, CGHK was renamed as Ciba Specialty Chemicals (Hong Kong) Ltd. [CSCHK].

CSCHK was a member of the Ciba Group.  Ciba Holding AG [Ciba Holding] was the ultimate holding company of Group.  Its shares were listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, traded on SWX Europe, and its American Depositary Shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange until 20th July, 2007.  Ciba Holding was a global leader in the discovery and manufacture of innovative specialty chemicals that provide colour, performance and care for plastics, coatings, paper and other products.  Its products and services were also used to provide clean water and to treat water streams in industrial and municipal applications.

CSCHK was a specialty chemicals manufacturer and trader.  Employing 200 persons and having a laboratory area of 10,000 sq.ft., CSCHK was engaged in manufacturing PC boards, multi-layer PCBs, ICs and other specialty chemicals.  CSCHK also imported and wholesaled specialty chemicals such as additives, colours, consumer care and performance polymers, etc.  Having a long history and getting a firm foothold in Hong Kong, CSCHK’s business had been good.  On 26th July, 2007, CSCHK changed its name to Ciba (Hong Kong) Ltd. [Ciba HK].

On 15th September, 2008, BASF SE (or known as BASF Societas Europaea) [BASF] made a public tender offer to acquire all publicly held shares in Ciba Holding at a price of CHF 50 in cash per share.  The offer was accepted by shareholders in November 2008, and 94.59% of the company’s shares were acquired by BASF.  On 9th April, 2009, BASF completed the acquisition of Ciba Holding.  The purchase price was €2,178 million.

Following the acquisition, Ciba HK became a member of the BASF Group.  Subsequently, the name of Ciba HK has been changed to BHKL on 28th December, 2009.

The businesses of Ciba Holding, which was acquired on 9th April, 2009, were managed as a separate division in the Performance Products segment in the second quarter of 2009.  As of the third quarter of 2009, the former Ciba businesses have been integrated into the operating divisions of Performance Products.

Presently, BASF’s worldwide business is managed by operating divisions that have been aggregated into 5 segments since 2013: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Solutions, Agricultural Solutions, Oil & Gas.

Chemicals

In the Chemicals segment, the Group supplies products to customers in the chemical, electronics, construction, textile, automotive, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries as well as many others.  It also ensures that other BASF segments are supplied with chemicals for producing downstream products.  Its portfolio ranges from basic chemicals, glues and electronic chemicals for the semiconductor and solar cell industries, to solvents, plasticizers and large-volume monomers, as well as starting materials for detergents, plastics, textile fibers, paints and coatings, and pharmaceuticals.

Performance Products

Performance Products lend stability and colour to countless everyday items and help to improve their application profile.  Its product portfolio includes vitamins and food additives as well as ingredients for pharmaceuticals and for hygiene, home and personal care items.  Other Performance Products improve processes in the paper industry, oil and gas production, mining and water treatment.  They can also enhance the efficiency of fuels and lubricants, the effectiveness of adhesives and coatings, and the stability of plastics.

Functional Materials & Solutions

In the Functional Materials & Solutions segment, the Group bundles system solutions, services and innovative products for specific sectors and customers, in particular for the automotive, electrical, chemical and construction industries as well as for household appliances, sports and leisure products.

Its portfolio comprises catalysts, battery materials, engineering plastics, polyurethanes, automotive and industrial coatings and concrete admixtures as well as construction systems such as tile adhesives and architectural coatings.

Agricultural Solutions

Crop protection products guard against fungal diseases, insects and weeds, increase the quality of agricultural products and secure crop yields.  Its research in plant biotechnology concentrates on plants for greater efficiency in agriculture, better nutrition, and use as renewable raw materials.  Research and development expenses, sales, earnings and all other data pertaining to BASF Plant Science are not included in the Agricultural Solution segment; they are reported in other.

Oil & Gas

As the largest German producer of oil and gas, the Group focuses its exploration and production on oil- and gas-rich regions in Europe, North Africa, South America, Russia and the Caspian Sea region.  Together with its Russian partner Gazprom, its is active in the transport, storage and trading in natural gas in Europe.

BASF has expanded its Pudong site in Shanghai, China.  In December 2010, ground was broken on a new Innovation Campus for the Asia Pacific region which will open in 2012. Moreover, the BASF Greater China head office will be relocated to the Pudong site from downtown Shanghai.

In order to serve the growing market of western China, BASF will build a large MDI plant in Chongqing.  The plant will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons.  The project broke ground in April 2011, and commercial operation is scheduled for 2014.

BASF currently has subsidiaries in 80 countries.  In Greater China it has maintained a number of sales offices, for example in Hong Kong (the subject BHKL), Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao and Taipei.  BASF’s business in Greater China includes products such as petrochemicals, inorganics, polymer dispersions, polyurethanes, engineering plastics, coatings, finishing products for the textile and leather industries, electronic materials, intermediates, catalysts, construction chemicals, paper chemicals and care chemicals.

For the year ended 31st December, 2012, the sales of the Group amounted to €78,729 million, grew by 7.1% as compared with €73,497 million in FY 2011; income from operation was €8,976 million, grew by 4.5% as compared with €8,586 million in FY 2011.

For the 9 months ended 30th September, 2013, the sales of the Group amounted to €55,824 million, grew by 3.1% as compared with €54,148 million in the same period of FY 2012; income from operation was €5,624 million, decreased by 0.9% as compared with €5,677 million in the same period of FY 2012.

For the year ended 30th September, 2013, the Group has 112,617 employees.

On the whole, in view of the parentage of BHKL, consider it good for normal business engagements.

 


 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

 

Currency

Unit

Indian Rupees

US Dollar

1

Rs.62.38

UK Pound

1

Rs.102.25

Euro

1

Rs.84.97

 

 

INFORMATION DETAILS

 

Report Prepared by :

NNA

 

 

RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

RATING

STATUS

 

 

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

>86

Aaa

Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums

 

Unlimited

71-85

Aa

Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction. It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Large

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Fairly Large

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

 

Satisfactory

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

 

Small

11-25

Ca

Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected to be in default upon maturity

 

Limited with full security

<10

C

Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised

 

 

Credit not recommended

----

NB

New Business

----

 

This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as follows:

 

Financial condition (40%)            Ownership background (20%)                 Payment record (10%)

Credit history (10%)                    Market trend (10%)                                Operational size (10%)

 

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL : This information is provided to you at your request, you having employed MIPL for such purpose. You will use the information as aid only in determining the propriety of giving credit and generally as an aid to your business and for no other purpose. You will hold the information in strict confidence, and shall not reveal it or make it known to the subject persons, firms or corporations or to any other. MIPL does not warrant the correctness of the information as you hold it free of any liability whatsoever. You will be liable to and indemnify MIPL for any loss, damage or expense, occasioned by your breach or non observance of any one, or more of these conditions

This report is issued at your request without any risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL) or its officials.