China Aerospace International Holdings

China Aerospace International Holdings Limited

Company type	Public
Industry	Conglomerate (high-technology manufacturing, real estate investment)
Predecessor	Conic Investment Co., Ltd.
Founded	July 25, 1975 (1975-07-25) in British Hong Kong
Headquarters	Hong Kong , Hong Kong
Area served	Hong Kong, Mainland China
Key people	Lt. Col. Liu Chaoying (former leader in late 1990s)
Products	Electronics, plastic components, real estate investments
Owner	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (38.37%)
Parent	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

China Aerospace International Holdings Limited (abbr. CASIL) is a holding company incorporated in Hong Kong and operates as a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is publicly traded on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong as a red chip entity, although it is not part of the "red chip index."

Initially specializing in electronic products and plastic components, CASIL has evolved under government ownership into a multifaceted conglomerate concentrating on high-technology manufacturing and sales, alongside real estate investments.

Conic Investment

The company now known as China Aerospace International Holdings Ltd. was originally established as Conic Investment Co., Ltd. (), founded on 25 July 1975 in British Hong Kong. It functioned as the parent company for Conic Group (), which encompassed entities such as Cony Electronic Products (founded 1973), Chee Yuen Industrial Company (mainly owned by Alex Au, established 1969), Far East United Electronics (established 1970), Grand Precision Works, Jeckson Electric Company, Hong Yuen Electronics, Soundic Electronics, along with other manufacturers of electronics and plastics. Conic Investment also held ownership of the Contec brand ().

Within the broader Conic Group, Conic Film Productions Limited (incorporated 1979) managed album releases for artists including Sam Hui starting in 1984. Its audio branch, Contec Sound Media Limited (incorporated 1981), released music for Sam Hui, Michael Kwan, and Paula Tsui. The group operated Conic TV Studio (currently Centro TV), which was a precursor to Centro Digital Pictures and was led by Robert Chua and John Chu; Chu later took over the studio. Additionally, Conic Video Club was launched in 1982 as an affiliated company.

By 1980, Conic Investment ranked among the leading electronics manufacturers in Hong Kong. That same year, it secured a land lease to establish a CRT television factory within Tai Po Industrial Estate and expanded into mainland China through a joint venture repair facility located in Fuzhou for servicing Conic and Contec products.

Conic Investment made its public debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange on 25 August 1981. The publicly listed firm acquired a 50% stake in the former Conic Group; meanwhile, other subsidiaries remained privately held under Honic Holdings (), formed in 1979. Private entities included Conic TV, Conic Film Productions, Contec Sound Media, among others.

In 1983, Conic Investment purchased the Sun Hing Commercial and Industrial Building from Cheung Kong Holdings for HK$110 million through a combination of cash and share issuance, establishing this property as its headquarters. It also acquired Conic Semiconductor from Honic for HK$55 million; this unit was recognized as Hong Kong’s largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels.

In 1982, facing financial setbacks—later exposed as part of an accounting fraud—chairman Alex Au invited China Resources, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, to participate in a capital increase via Sin King Enterprises Company Limited. This arrangement resulted in China Resources and Bank of China Group gaining controlling interest amounting to 35% by 1984. Following this change in control, Alex Au along with five directors resigned and were replaced by nominees from Sin King. Investigations that ensued revealed fraudulent accounting practices and unauthorized withdrawals; several former executives were detained. Alex Au absconded to Taiwan amid accusations involving loan defaults and kidnapping incidents.

Post-acquisition, Conic Investment redirected its strategy toward operations in mainland China under the new management. Sin King attempted to privatize and remove the company from public trading in 1987 but abandoned these efforts after reporting significant net losses for that fiscal year.

China Aerospace International Holdings

In 1993, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) acquired Conic Investment through a backdoor listing and subsequently renamed it China Aerospace International Holdings Limited (CASIL). While the English designation stayed the same, the Chinese name was revised in 2008. Although several former Conic subsidiaries continued operations, the majority of manufacturing activities transitioned to mainland China in response to Hong Kong's evolving economic landscape.

During the late 1990s, leadership of the company was under Lt. Col. Liu Chaoying, who is the daughter of Liu Huaqing.

In 2000, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong reprimanded four ex-directors of CASIL for insufficient transparency concerning related-party dealings involving CASIL, CASC, and XCOM Multimedia Communications—a shareholder in CASIL’s joint venture CXSAT, which manufactured digital satellite receiver decoders.

By 2005, CASIL divested its former headquarters—the Conic Investment Building located in Hung Hom—selling it to Global Coin Limited, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong Holdings, for HK$330 million.

CASIL maintained a 14.29% ownership in APT Satellite International via its subsidiary CASIL Satellite, which was the parent company of publicly listed APT Satellite Holdings, operating Apstar satellites. In 2011, CASIL Satellite was sold back to CASC for HK$132.3 million.

In 2014, Li Guolei, serving as a director at CASIL’s subsidiary China Aerospace Industrial Limited, died by suicide amid an anti-corruption probe conducted by mainland authorities.

The company also participated in a joint venture named Hainan Aerospace Investment Management, which was involved in developing the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site complex zone. This partnership exited in 2016; current plans reportedly envision transforming the site into an aerospace-themed park.

Subsidiaries

current

• CASIL Semiconductor (); previously known as Conic Semiconductor () (100%)
• CASIL Electronic Products (); formerly Cony Electronic Products () (100%)
• Chee Yuen Industrial Company () (100%)
• Jeckson Electric Company () (100%)
• Jeckson Electronics Company (), formerly Far East United Electronics () (100%)
• Hong Yuen Electronics () (100%)

former

• CASIL Satellite (100%)
• CASIL Telecommunications

former, Conic era

• Bony Electronics (100%) (), now dissolved
• Contec Electronics, Inc. (80%), incorporated in the United States
• Hop Cheong Plastic Manufactory (100%) (), dissolved
• Hung Nien Electronics (100%) (), dissolved
• Jecko Electronics (100%) (), dissolved
• Jeckwell Electronics (100%) (), dissolved

Joint ventures

previous

• Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electronic Company () (50%)

Shareholders

Position	Entity	Ownership Percentage	Notes
1	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation	38.37%	state-owned enterprise under Central Government supervision; ownership held through Jetcote Investments Limited, Burhill Company Limited, and Sin King Enterprises Company Limited

See also

• , previously known as Telefield International (Holdings), established by former Conic Investment staff member Cheng Han Ngok (Steve Cheng; )
• APT Satellite Holdings, Hong Kong-based affiliated company
• China Energine, another Hong Kong-based affiliated company

Further reading

• Atari Incorporated and others v. Soundic Electronics Ltd and others (legal case)