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What's news [China Daily: Hong Kong Edition](China Daily: Hong Kong Edition Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Equities decline most in 2 weeks as M2 slows China's stocks fell, sending the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to its lowest point in almost two weeks, after Premier Li Keqiang indicated money-supply growth slowed. China Vanke Co and Poly Real Estate Group Co slid more than 1 percent, leading declines for property issues. Ningbo Port Co rose to a three-year high on speculation the government will set up more free trade zones with neighboring countries. M2, the broadest measure of money supply, rose 12.8 percent last month compared with a 13.5 percent pace in July. The slowdown in money-supply expansion follows July's plunge in new credit to the lowest level since 2008. Dalian Wanda said to prepare $6b offering Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co, the commercial real estate unit of billionaire Wang Jianlin's conglomerate, is planning an initial public offering in Hong Kong that may raise up to $6 billion, said a person with knowledge of the matter who spoke anonymously. China International Capital Corp and HSBC Holdings Plc are working on the IPO for the Beijing-based subsidiary of Dalian Wanda Group Co. Dalian Wanda Commercial may start the offer early next year, the person said. The company operates 95 shopping malls and 60 five-star hotels across China, according to Dalian Wanda Commercial's website. It plans to add 24 malls and 18 five-star hotels this year, the website shows. EU chamber calls for opening car servicing The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China urged the nation's government to allow more competition for vehicle after-market service as current regulations are the "key driver" of the monopoly situation. China's policies, while playing a positive role in regulating market order, have led to parts supply being purely controlled by auto producers as a result of the obligations set for them. Parts are distributed only to the makers' authorized dealers, resulting in "an excessively high repair part price", the chamber's working group on auto components said on Tuesday in a report. Chinese antitrust regulators have probed the vehicle industry on claims that it is charging excessively for spare parts. The investigations, which led at least seven automakers to cut spare parts prices, prompted the European chamber to say last month that foreign companies were being targeted. Qualcomm sees China growth amid probe Qualcomm Inc is working with 90 partners on devices in China and sees opportunities for growth even as the chipmaker grapples with an anti-monopoly probe in the world's largest smartphone market. The company also sees opportunities to expand cooperation on semiconductors in China, Chairman Paul Jacobs said in Tianjin on Wednesday at a conference sponsored by the World Economic Forum. With new technology initiatives, the outlook for the company in China is "very positive", he said. While Qualcomm is counting on smartphone sales in China to fuel growth, it faces business challenges as the National Development and Reform Commission conducts an anti-monopoly probe. Interest-rate swaps rise on new economic data The benchmark interest-rate swaps rose on Wednesday, snapping a three-day drop, on signs that Asia's largest economy is picking up. The nation posted a record $49.84 billion trade surplus in August, more than the median estimate for a $40 billion excess in a Bloomberg survey, a report showed on Monday. New yuan loans almost doubled to 700 billion yuan ($114 billion) last month from July, according to a separate Bloomberg survey before data due as early as Wednesday. The cost of one-year interest-rate swaps, the fixed payment to receive the floating seven-day repurchase rate, increased two basis points to 3.63 percent in Shanghai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The rate has fallen 159 basis points, or 1.59 percentage points, this year. Zimbabwe spending $180m to service loans Zimbabwe has spent $180 million in unbudgeted expenditures to service outstanding loans from China in an effort to improve relations and encourage new financial support, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Wednesday. "In the first six months of this year we have had to cough up $180 million, which was not in the budget, just to make ourselves look good," Chinamasa told business leaders in Harare. Aluminum, zinc prices extend three-week drop Aluminum and zinc fell to three-week lows in London as equities slid amid concern China's money supply is expanding at a slower pace. Nickel dropped for a second day. The MSCI All-Country World Index of shares slid for a third day on indications Chinese money-supply growth slowed before data due this week. The dollar reached a 14-month high on Wednesday against a 10-currency basket amid speculation the US Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than expected. An index of the six main industrial metals traded on the London Metal Exchange fell the most on Tuesday since March 7. Weibo shares surge in New York trading Weibo Corp, the largest microblogging site in China, surged in New York after T.H. Capital recommended buying the stock, saying investors are overestimating the threat from competing services. American depositary receipts of the Beijing-based company jumped 6.8 percent to $21.49 on Tuesday, the largest advance since June 17. The stock had the biggest gain on the Bloomberg China-US Equity Index, which slid 1.1 percent as China Mobile Games & Entertainment Group Ltd, 21Vianet Group Inc and Cheetah Mobile Inc declined. Sina Corp, the Web portal operator that owns 59.8 percent of Weibo, rose for a fourth day. Weibo, which competes with Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat instant messaging app, is in a "high" earnings growth phase, analysts at T.H. Capital wrote on Tuesday. American blockbuster the box-office winner American blockbuster The Expendables 3 was the biggest winner at China's box office for the week ending on Sunday, earning 219 million yuan (about $35.7 million). The action movie, which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, was closely followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, another Hollywood blockbuster, which pulled in 182 million yuan, China Film News reported on Wednesday. But Always, a domestic romance that debuted last Friday, grossed 51 million yuan for the week. Goldman says 2014 is a year to end 'iron age' Iron ore declined sooner than expected this year as supplies exceeded demand and prices are unlikely to recover, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which said 2014 will mark the end of the "iron age". The 2016 forecast for seaborne ore was cut to $79 a metric ton from $82 and the 2017 outlook was reduced to $78 from $85, according to the New-York based bank, which stuck with a forecast for $80 next year. The raw material tumbled into a bear market this year as the biggest producers expanded low-cost output, betting higher volumes would more than offset falling prices while less competitive mines were forced to close. Steelmakers said to sell bonds for M&A China may allow steelmakers to sell bonds to raise capital for mergers and acquisitions, said people familiar with the matter, as the slowing economy and tougher government anti-smog efforts take a toll on the industry. The National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, which regulates the interbank bond market, sent a document to underwriters last week seeking opinions on its proposal, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak about the matter. The plan is to help build more competitive steel companies and consolidate the industry. Stocks fall most in seven months in HK Hong Kong stocks fell, with the city's equity benchmark dropping the most since February, amid concern the Federal Reserve may raise rates sooner than anticipated, and after Premier Li Keqiang indicated money-supply growth slowed last month. China Resources Land Ltd, the second-largest mainland developer listed in Hong Kong, led declines after home sales slid. Sands China Ltd slipped 2.3 percent as casino shares retreated after Nomura Holdings Inc said it expects Macao gaming revenue to fall this month. Tencent Holdings Ltd was the biggest drag on the Hang Seng Index. China Daily - Xinhua - Reuters - Bloomberg Rising above the rest A model who appears to float in the air gets shoppers' attention at a mall in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province. People performing levitation tricks are popular in marketplaces and on street corners of many cities in Asia and Europe. Liu Yang / China Daily (China Daily 09/11/2014 page14) (c) 2014 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |