STOCKWATCH: Wharf Holdings -- 2 (outlook neutral: Salomon Smith Barney)

At 11:30 am, Wharf was up 0.70 hkd at 20.95, on trade of 2.14 mln shares.	    The Hang Seng Index was up 7.52 points at 12,958.01.	    Robert Fong, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, said Wharf's 2000 net profit of 2.50 bln hkd was higher than his estimate of 2.10 bln hkd, but it was generally in line with market consensus.	    He said the group's debt declined to 22.70 bln from 29.80 bln hkd a year earlier, after a reduction in listed investments from 5.30 bln hkd to 1.80 bln.	    During the reported period, Fong said the company took benefits from the steady growth in i-Cable, a 79.40 pct owned unit which made a 2000 net profit of 20.16 mln hkd compared with a loss of 236.86 mln the previous year.	    From an investor point of view, however, it would be better to directly own the shares in i-Cable rather than Wharf, which is likely to suffer from the slow take-up in its commercial property, Gateway 2 in Kowloon, and the limited scope for its share price to appreciate at present, he said.	    He said his house has a "neutral" rating for Wharf. 

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