STOCKWATCH: CITIC Pacific -- 2 (Cathay Pacific seen as major revenue booster)

At 11:09 am, CITIC Pacific was up 0.35 hkd at 23.90 on trade of 1.02 mln shares. 	    The Hang Seng Index was down 24.65 points at 13,497.39.	    Robert Sassoon, an analyst with SG ecurities, said he is looking at a net profit of 3.20 bln hkd for CITIC Pacific in 2000, up around 8-9 pct year-on-year.	    He said the earnings growth would be driven by Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which recorded a net profit of 5.00 bln hkd in 2000 compared with 2.18 bln in the previous year.	    CITIC Pacific owns a 25.40 pct stake in Cathay Pacific.	    "Cathay Pacific will be the major revenue booster, although this could partly be offset by the lesser contribution from CLP, after a partial sale of the stake (in the power company)," he said.	    Last year, CITIC Pacific sold a 2.0 pct stake in CLP Holdings Ltd for 1.5 bln hkd, reducing its stake in CLP to 4.1 pct. 	    CLP posted total earnings of 5.76 bln hkd in 2000, compared with 6.66 bln the property project in Discovery Bay.... but it will not be significant," he said.	    He said his house has a "buy" rating for CITIC Pacific, based on its business growth potential in China.

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