Bestway Plans HK$10 Billion Gold, Copper Asset Buy (Update1)

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bestway International Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-based maker of plastic products, signed a letter of intent to buy gold and copper assets, it said in a statement to Hong Kong's stock exchange.

A Bestway unit plans to buy 51 percent to 100 percent stakes in China Finance Gold International Investment Ltd. and China Finance Energy International Investment Ltd. from Sino Finance International Investment Group Ltd.

The deal, which may include one or more transactions, will involve at least HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) of gold and copper assets "and other related business," Bestway said.

Bestway will have an exclusive right to buy the assets in the next 12 months under the non-binding letter of intent, it added. It may pay for the purchase in cash, the issue of new shares, convertible bonds or provisionary notes, it said.

China Finance Gold and China Finance Energy, which mainly explore for gold and copper, operate and manage mines in North America, Australia, Mongolia and China, the statement said.