Hong Kong: San Miguel Brewery Hong Kong Ltd. announced on February 28 it had not received any privatisation proposal from its controlling shareholder. Its controlling shareholder is Neptunia Corp. Ltd., which is controlled by Philippines' San Miguel Corp. "The company is not aware of the source of such speculation," the company said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Shares of the company have surged 25 percent over the past month to end at HK$2.10 on Friday, largely on speculation that it would be privatized. Last week, the Hong Kong-listed brewer reported a yearly net profit of HK$11.6 million (US$1.49 million) for 2004, against a HK$32.8 million loss in a year ago period.