Posted on: Friday, March 19, 2004

BUSINESS BRIEFS
2 groups cancel convention plans

Advertiser Staff

Two groups have canceled conventions scheduled for this year at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

JTB, a Japanese travel company, had planned to hold a meeting of 3,000 this month at the convention center but moved it to JTB's Aloha Tower Marketplace office.

Unicity International, a nutritional and personal care products company, canceled a meeting of 5,000 scheduled for June because attendance numbers dropped.

Securities sale nets HEI $200M

Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. said yesterday it has raised $200 million through the sale of bonds and stock.

The money will allow HEI to pay off bonds that carried a higher interest rate.

The company, which supplies power to 93 percent of Hawai'i, said the new financing will add $4.4 million, or 2 cents per share, to its 2004 earnings.