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A&B purchases Maui, Kauai sites

An affiliate of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has completed its $131.5 million purchase of resort properties on Maui and Kauai from Japan-based Shinwa Golf Group, which put the real estate on the market last year in a loan restructuring.

The deal includes three golf courses and 270 acres of undeveloped land at the Wailea Resort on Maui, and two Kauai golf courses and an undeveloped hotel site at the Kauai Lagoons Resort.

A&B originally developed the Wailea Resort beginning in the 1970s, and sold it to Shinwa in 1989 for $197.5 million.

In the purchase, A&B is partnering with an affiliate of Vancouver-based golf and resort management company GolfBC Group.

Campbell Estate hires Colliers

The Estate of James Campbell has hired the local real estate firm Colliers Monroe Friedlander to take over management of some 500,000 square feet of Campbell commercial property the estate had been managing itself.

"It's part of our transition plan," as the estate moves toward becoming a commercial limited liability company in 2007, said Theresia McMurdo, an estate spokeswoman. At that time, about $2 billion in assets will be divided among Campbell heirs.

The estate owns 62,200 acres of land on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, the most visible being the City of Kapolei in West Oahu.

The commercial property to be run by Colliers Monroe Friedlander includes the Kapolei Shopping Center, a Kapolei office building, the Macy's block on Fort Street in downtown Honolulu and Whalers Village, a Maui shopping center.

McMurdo said some, but not all, of the 32 positions being eliminated in the 128-position Campbell staff under a previous announcement are related to the management change.

NetEnterprise lands Judiciary deal

Honolulu-based NetEnterprise said it has won a competitive four-year state contract to upgrade and maintain the state Judiciary's computer network.

The contract starts with a one-year term, and is renewable up to four years. A dollar value has not yet been set.

NetEnterprise, founded in 1998, has hired at least two people in connection with the project and has about 60 employees.

General Growth to split stock 3-for-1

CHICAGO >> General Growth Properties Inc., owner and manager of Ala Moana Center and Victoria Ward Ltd., said yesterday its board approved a three-for-one split of the company's stock to make individual shares more affordable and boost liquidity.

General Growth, which last month landed the management, leasing and marketing contract for Queen Kaahumanu Center on Maui, plans to hold a shareholder meeting on Nov. 20 to vote on the stock split and a share increase that will be used for the split. The company, the second-largest U.S. shopping-center owner, also said it raised its dividend to 90 cents a share, payable Oct. 31 to shareholders of record on Oct. 15. The dividend represents a 25 percent gain over the previous dividend of 72 cents.

Analyst rates HEI stock 'neutral'

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., which also owns American Savings Bank, had its stock rated "neutral" yesterday in new coverage by analyst James L. Bellessa Jr. at D.A. Davidson & Co. His 12-to-18-month price target is $42.

HEI's stock has one "buy" rating and four "holds" by the five analysts who cover the company, according to Bloomberg News.

In other news ...

Hawaiian Airlines pilot Robert Konop filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court yesterday asking that an air safety conservator be appointed to assure the continued safe operations of the carrier and to assure that Hawaiian meets ongoing Federal Aviation Administration standards to retain its operating certificate.

Mortgage rates down for fourth straight week

Mortgage interest rates fell for the fourth consecutive week, prompting a 3.2 percent increase in refinance activity, an industry tracker said. The rate on the benchmark 30-year loan averaged 5.67 percent for the week ending Sept. 26, down from 5.85 percent a week earlier, Mortgage Bankers Association of America reported yesterday.

The 15-year fixed rate decreased to 4.97 percent from 5.16 percent one week earlier and the rate on a one-year adjustable loan fell to 3.45 percent from 3.56 percent.

Housing prices forecast to rise in California

LOS ANGELES >> The cost of buying a home in California will likely continue to rise next year, keeping the prospect of owning a median-priced, single-family home out of reach for fewer than one in five households, according to a California Realtors Association forecast. The median price of a single-family home is projected to hit $414,100 in 2004, a 13 percent jump from the projected median price this year of $366,450, the CRA said.

The number of homes sold next year, however, will decline by 4.5 percent over 2003 to 548,500, the organization said.

UC loses legal battle over venture data

SAN FRANCISCO >> The University of California has lost a legal battle to conceal data about its venture capital holdings, a setback that the school's administration warned may damage its future investment returns. The state Supreme Court ended the university's attempt to keep the information secret by rejecting an appeal of a lower court decision siding with an employee group and newspaper.