Chinese shares edge up after rebound by coal producers

BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares reversed an early decline to closely slightly higher Monday, with a strong performance by coal stocks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.28 percent, or 7.52 points, to 2,652.78. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.4 percent, or 40.82 points, to 10,314.04.

Combined turnover increased to 180.19 billion yuan (26.50 billion U.S. dollars) from Friday's 169.5 billion yuan.

Shares in Shanghai tumbled below the 2,600 mark in the morning, as financial and real estate stocks led the decline.

A strong rebound in coal stocks reversed the trend as investors took the view that rising oil prices might push up demand for coal, analysts said.

China Shenhua, the nation's biggest coal producer, rose 3.16 percent to 28.05 yuan. Datong Coal Industry gained 9.84 percent to 37.73 yuan.

China Yangtze Power rose 4.11 percent to 14.94 yuan after it announced a 107.5-billion-yuan-purchase of generation units at the Three Gorges Dam, its parent company and the world's largest hydropower project.

The State Council, or cabinet, announced a support plan Monday for the petrochemical industry. The cabinet urged oil producers and refiners to improve their product mix. It also vowed to improve the pricing mechanism for oil products and establish an oil product consumption tax that would be favorable for petrochemical companies.

It also pledged to build 20 oil refining bases, each with a capacity of 10 million tonnes.

However, the news came out after the market closed, too late to have an impact on Monday's trading.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, fell 1.52 percent to 12.97 yuan. Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, fell 1.23 percent to 10.46 yuan.

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China to issue 13.1 bln yuan local bonds, 28.6 bln yuan book-entry T-bonds

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of
Finance (MOF) said Wednesday it would issue 13.1 billion yuan (1.92 billion U.S.
dollars) of three-year local government bonds from May 14 to 18 on behalf of
three provinces at a fixed annual coupon rate of 1.71 percent.

The plan allocates 3.1 billion yuan for Hubei
Province, 9 billion yuan for Sichuan Province and 1 billion yuan for Dalian city
in Liaoning Province.

The three local bonds will begin trading on May 20.

The ministry would also issue a batch of book-entry T-bonds
of 28.6 billion yuan, the eighth of its kind this year.

The one-year, short-term bonds have a fixed annual
coupon interest of 0.89 percent, with the selling period lasting from May14 to
18. Trading begins on May 20.

Chinese shares gain 1.74% on retail sales, gov't stimulus

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares rose 1.74 percent Wednesday as investor confidence was boosted by April retail salesfigures, which analysts said indicated that government stimulus efforts were having a positive impact.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.74 percent, or 45.59 points, to close at 2,663.77. The Shenzhen Component Index edged up 1.13 percent, or 115.22 points, to 10,294.37.

Gains outnumbered losses by 514 to 315 in Shanghai and 475 to 242 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover climbed to 222.89 billion yuan (32.63 billion U.S. dollars) from 176.3 billion yuan on Tuesday.

Retail sales rose 14.8 percent in April year on year to 934.32 billion yuan, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Wednesday.

The growth rate was 0.1 percentage point higher than in March.

Government stimulus policies, such as cuts in purchase taxes for small cars and subsidies for farmers to buy agricultural equipment, had played a big part in retail sales, said Yuan Gangming, an economic researcher at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

The April figures, including retail sales and fixed-asset investment, which were released Tuesday, had shown clearer signs of economic recovery and boosted investor confidence, said Yang Bo, analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.

PetroChina, one of the country's major state-owned oil producers, helped lift the market as the company announced a plan late Tuesday to raise 100 billion yuan through debt financing in 2009 to support its major strategic projects.

Its shares rose 6.07 percent, or 0.76 yuan, to 13.29 yuan, and led the oil and coal sector up by 2.67 percent.

Jinniu Energy Resources went up 8.38 percent to 35.42 yuan, and Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining climbed 7.36 percent to 31.67 yuan.

Industry support plans for the machinery and nonferrous metal sectors, released earlier in the week, were also helping maintain market growth, the analysts said.

Nonferrous metal stocks rose 2.19 percent, while Xiamen Tungsten rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 16.27 yuan.

The machinery sector grew by 1.36 percent. Hailu Heavy Industry jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent to 26.5 yuan, and Hongcheng General Machinery gained 9.99 percent to 8.04 yuan.

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IIF: Private capital flow to emerging markets to drop hugely

By Wu Ye, Qu Shaohui

BEIJING, June 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Dramatic decline in
net private capital flows to emerging markets will be seen in 2009, according
tothe Institute of International Finance (IIF).

Ina report released Thursday at the Spring
Membership Meeting,the IIF predicted that the volume of private capital
flows to emerging markets this year will likely be 141 billion U.S. dollars,
which is less than one-half of the 2008 total of 392 billion dollars and far
below the record of 888 billion dollars seen in 2007.

Regional divergences are also highlighted in the IIF
report. Most significantly, projections of flows to "Emerging Asia" and Latin
America have been revised upwards while revising down the estimates of net flows
to "Emerging Europe."

In Asia, the net private capital flows to emerging
markets is projected 88 billion dollars this year ascompared to59
billionin 2008 and record 296 billionin 2007. Aggregate net
repayment of private sector capital by "Emerging Europe," of 33 billion dollars,
is now foreseen in 2009, after net inflows of 214 billion dollars in 2008.

Nevertheless, a modest revival of flows is now
starting to become evident and the IIF projects that the 2010 volume of private
capital flows to emerging markets will reach 373 billion dollars.

The IIF said that following a period of extreme
weakness between October 2008 and March 2009, flows to emerging markets appear
to have improved somewhat over the last two months, albeit to levels far below
the early months of 2008.

William Rhodes, First Vice Chairman of the IIF's
Board of Directors, Chairman and President, Citibank and Senior Vice Chairman,
Citi, stressedthat moderate recovery in capital flows inemerging
markets partly reflects a rise in investor confidence both in response to
measures taken bygovernments in emerging markets, including China, to
stimulate their economies and to the international support that emerging markets
are now starting to receive.

In the report, IIF projected that net private capital
inflows to China, which moderated from a peak of 153 billion dollars in 2007 to
88 billion dollars in 2008, are set to stabilize at around 60 billion dollars
this year and next year.

Rhodes also noted, "The International Monetary Fund
must deploy its expanded resources with skill to assist its member countries to
achieve economic recovery. And, it is also important that every effort be made
to increase the resources available to the World Bank Group, including the
International Finance Corporation, and to the regional development banks,
including the Asian Development Bank. These institutions have major roles to
play at this time."

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Global airline loss forecast doubles to 9 bln U.S. dollars

KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its global airline financial forecast for 2009 on Monday, nearly doubling the global loss to 9 billion U.S. dollars.

The increased loss prediction reflected "a rapidly deteriorating revenue environment", the IATA said as its 65th Annual General Meeting officially opened here.

In March this year, the IATA forecast the loss for 2009 at 4.7 billion U.S. dollars

The association also revised its loss estimate for 2008, raising the figure to 10.4 billion U.S. dollars from the previous estimate of 8.5 billion U.S. dollars.

The aviation industry has faced the most difficult situation due to the current economic meltdown, said Giovanni Bisignni, IATA's Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), describing it as "unprecedented".

"The ground has shifted. Our industry has been shaken," he said, noting the recession was the most significant factor impacting the industry's bottom line.

The IATA also revised its revenues forecast for 2009 to 448 billion U.S. dollars, an unprecedented decline of 15 percent from 2008.

On air cargo, the IATA forecast global airlines would carry 33.3 million tonnes of freight, a decline of 17 percent from 2008.

Passenger demand is expected to contract to 2.06 billion travelers, down 8 percent compared with 2008, according to the association.

The global airline revenues from cargo transport are expected to drop 11 percent, while the revenues for passenger transport are expected to decrease by 7 percent, it said.

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World downturn cuts 1Q output growth in China's Guangdong to 0.9%

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GUANGZHOU, May 3 (Xinhua) -- First-quarter industrial output growth slowed to a crawl in south China's Guangdong Province as the global downturn took its toll on the export hub.

The provincial economic and trade commission said Sunday that the output of major industrial enterprises rose just 0.9 percent from a year earlier to 303.788 billion yuan (44.5 billion U.S. dollars).

The growth rate was 12.7 percentage points lower than the year-earlier level and 4.2 percentage points below the national average.

However, the rate was 0.1 percentage point above the level in the first two months.

Aggregate profits of large enterprises, defined as those with annual sales of at least 5 million yuan, fell 33.73 percent to 21.72 billion yuan in the first two months, the commission said.

However, thanks to efforts to boost the provincial economy, Guangdong's fixed-asset investment rose 17.8 percent to 65 billion yuan in the first quarter, including 14.13 billion yuan for technical upgrading, up 50.4 percent.

China surpasses U.S. to become Brazil's biggest trading partner

BRASILIA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- China replaced the United States to become
Brazil's biggest trading partner, said Brazil's Ministry of Development,
Industry and Exterior Trade on Monday.

According to the trade balance released by the ministry, the sum of
Brazil's exports and imports with China reached 3.2 billion U.S. dollars in
April, over the 2.8 billion dollars in its trade with the U.S.

Trade Minister Welber Barral said the change was "historic," as the U.S.
has been Brazil's biggest trading partner since the 1930s.

According to Brazil's official statistics, the bilateral trade volume
between Brazil and China reached 36.44 billion dollars in 2008, increasing 55.9
percent from 2007, among which Brazil's export volume to China hit 16.4 billion
dollars, import volume 20 billion dollars, rising 50.8 percent and 56.9 percent
from the previous year respectively.

However, Barral said that the Brazilian government is trying to diversify
the exports to China, which till now are mainly soya, cellulose, fuel, and
manufactured products.

S Korean banks' corporate loan growth recovers in April

SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Growth of South Korean banks' lending to
companies restored in April thanks to government credit guarantees, the central
bank said Monday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), local banks' outstanding loans to
companies stood at 472.4 trillion won (381.6 billion U.S. dollars), marking a
month-on-month increase of 3.22 trillion won (2.6 billion U.S. dollars).

The April rise compared with a 2.1 trillion-won (1.7 billion-U.S. dollar)
increase in March, the central bank said.

The rise in loan growth comes as bank loans to smaller companies picked up
with state-run agencies' providing loan guarantees, the BOK said.

Local banks' loans to smaller companies climbed by 3.2 trillion won (2.6
billion U.S. dollars) to come in at 412.3 trillion won (333.1 billion U.S.
dollars), while those to larger companies marked an increase of mere 19.1
billion won (15.4 million U.S. dollars) to reach 60.1 trillion won (48.5 billion
U.S. dollars, the BOK added.

The South Korean government has endeavored to help local lenders increase
loans to smaller firms by providing credit guarantees as lenders stayed
concerned over their financial health.

S Korea sees increase in bond issuance in April

SEOUL, May 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's bond issuance rose 14.2 percent last month from March as sales of treasuries and bonds by the central bank expanded, the nation's bourse operator said Monday.

The total bonds issued in the nation last month amounted to 65.06 trillion won (52.2 billion U.S. dollars), up from 56.98 trillion won (45.7 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).

The April rise came as the Bank of Korea (BOK) sold massive amounts of bonds in a bid to absorb short-term funds from the market, according to the bourse operator.

The rise is also attributable to the government's increased sales of treasuries after it expanded its supplementary budget, the operator said.

The value of the nation's outstanding bonds came in at 948.69 trillion won (761.17 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of April, up 24.63 trillion won (19.76 billion U.S. dollars) from the previous month, it said.

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China's Q1 bilateral trade with three major partners fall

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China's bilateral trade with the United States,
the European Union and Japan, its three major trade partners, continued to fall
in the first quarter, the General Administration of Customs said in a report on
Monday.

The bilateral trade volume between China and the U.S. dropped to 62.08
billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter, down 15.7 percent year on year.
Export volume to the U.S. declined to 25.52 billion dollars, falling 14.9
percent from the previous year.

China's trade surplus against the U.S. dropped to 28.96 billion dollars in
the first quarter, down 13 percent year on year.

In March, export to the U.S. contracted for the fifth month in a row to
16.45 billion dollars, but it was the first month-on-month growth since the
fourth quarter last year, according to the report.

The bilateral trade volume between China and the European Union slumped to
75.19 billion dollars, down 19.8 percent year on year. Export to the European
Union fell to 17.21 billion dollars, contracting by 20.2 percent year on year.

Germany, Netherlands and the U.K. ranked the top three among China's
European trade partners, with bilateral trade volume at 21.63 billion dollars,
8.07 billion dollars and 7.7 billion dollars, respectively.

China's trade volume with Japan slumped to 46.07 billion dollars, a drastic
year-on-year decrease of 23.8 percent, which was 4 and 8.1 percentage points
higher than decline of trade with the European Union and the United States.

Australia is not the only nation in deficit: PM

CANBERRA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Australia was not the only nation that fell into deficit due to the global financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Monday.

"There is a global recession. Every government around the world is engaged in temporary borrowings for temporary deficits in order to plug the gap which has been left by a private sector in retreat, and to do so temporarily," Rudd told reporters in the New South Wales city of Wollongong.

According to the Australian Associated Press, the federal budget, due to be handed down on Tuesday, has been expected to include a deficit of at least 60 billion Australian dollars (40 billion U.S. dollars) for 2009/10.

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BOC signs strategic agreement with large hydro power corporation

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China (BOC) announced Friday the signing
of a strategic cooperation agreement with Sinohydro Corporation, China's largest
water conservation and hydropower group.

Besides traditional financial services, BOC would introduce more
professional services to the company under the agreement, including direct
financing, project financing and overseas engineering insurance, said the bank.

BOC has accumulatively offered 40 billion yuan (5.88 billion U.S. dollars)
of credit quota to Sinohydro Corporation, which has a network of 17 subsidiaries
in China and 42 overseas branches worldwide.

Opposition says Australian to face high taxes and interest rates

Newly elected opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull is seen speaking during a news conference in Jakarta in this April 9, 2007 file photo.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery

CANBERRA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Australians could face higher taxes and higher interest rates for a decade or more to pay for the federal government's 100 billion Australian dollars (73 billion U.S. dollars) spending in the past year, the federal opposition said on Sunday.

"I understand why they have some deficit and some
debt, but the problem is they have nearly committed up to 100 billion Aust
dollars (73 billion U.S. dollars) in new initiatives since the last budget,"
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Television.

Treasurer Wayne Swan will hand down the 2009/10
budget on Tuesday, which has been expected to show the deficit growing by up to
70 billion Aust dollars (51.1 billion U.S. dollars) and tax revenue down by 200
billion Aust dollars (144 billion U.S. dollars) over the next four years because
of the global financial crisis.

Turnbull will deliver the coalition's response to the
budget on Thursday.

"We will be responsible, we will not be reckless,
will be fair dinkum with the Australian people about what can be afforded, we
will give detailed policies with full costings prior to the next election,"
Turnbull said.

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China's banking sector issues first social responsibility report

BEIJING, May 10 (Xinhua) -- China Banking Association (CBA) issued the
first report of its kind in the country on banking sector's social
responsibility on Sunday.

The report, China Banking Sector Social Responsibility Report, introduces
the banking sector's efforts in promoting public welfare and environmental
protection.

The report said the banking sector donated 1.01 billion yuan (148.09 U.S.
dollars) on public welfare covering education, culture, sports, health, science
and environmental protection in 2008.

The banking sector has provided loans worth of 205.36 billion yuan (30.2
billion U.S. dollars) by March end to earthquake-hit areas for relief and
reconstruction, said China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Saturday.

The banking sector has been giving loans to disadvantaged groups, for
example students who have difficulties to continue with their college education,
the report said.

Founded in 2000, CBA is a non-governmental organization with 81 full members
and 37 associate members.

Japan's Nintendo sees record high profit amid crisis

TOKYO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan's game maker Nintendo Co. said on Thursday that its group net profit in fiscal 2008 rose 8.5 percent from the previous year to a record high of 279.09 billion yen (2.8 billion U.S. dollars), bucking the corporate trend of declining profits amid global economic downturn.

Nintendo's strong performance was due to the popularity of its DS and Wii game consoles, as well as the software to go with them, the company said.

The company's operating profit increased 14 percent to 555.26 billion yen (5.6 billion dollars) for the business year ended March 31.

It is the fifth straight year that Nintendo's net profit has reached a record high, reflecting a robust growth of world's game market.

Nintendo is eyeing further profit growth for the current business year. It projects that its group net profit will rise 7.5 percent from the previous year to 300 billion yen (3 billion dollars) for fiscal 2009.

Review into investments by SOEs

BEIJING,May 7-- China¡¯s state-owned asset regulator will launch an investigation into investments made by centrally administered state-owned enterprises in the financial sector in a bid to help them avoid risks.

A total of 28 SOEs, including Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China COSCO Holdings Co, have invested in financial derivatives but most of them suffered losses.

The overriding concern of the SOEs, when they invest in financial derivatives, is to ensure they avoid risks and not to speculate, said Li Wei, vice director of the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission.

Air China lost 7.5 billion yuan (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) on fuel-hedging contracts by the end of last year, and China Eastern's wrong-way bets on hedging dragged its revenue down 6.4 billion yuan.

Li said SOEs which plan to invest in financial derivatives must meet four conditions - abiding by hedging rules, hiring financial institutions for consultation, controlling risks and getting the commission's approval.

"SOEs are short of financial talent to deal in such investments, which led to an underestimation of risks and violations, so the commission will issue suggestions after an investigation," Li said.

He also urged local state-asset regulators to investigate locally administered SOEs.

The SOEs have seen their first annual decline in net profit last year since 2002, diving more than 30 percent from a year ago to 665.29 billion yuan.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)

GM posts net loss of $6 bln for first quarter

CHICAGO, May 7 (Xinhua) -- General Motors Corp. (GM) posted a net loss of 6 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of this year amid a global economic downturn and low sales that have helped push the automaker to the brink of bankruptcy, reports reaching here from Detroit said Thursday.

According to a report by the Detroit News, GM spent 10.2 billion dollars more than it took in during the first quarter, a cash burn that was partially offset by 15.4 billion dollars in federal loans that has kept the company afloat since December.

GM ended the quarter with 11.6 billion dollars in cash and marketable securities, down from 14.2 billion dollars at the end of 2008.

The automaker's revenue was 22.4 billion dollars down from 42.4billion dollars in the first quarter last year.

The automaker, surviving on federal loans, has until June 1 to reach money-saving concessions with the United Auto Workers and bondholders or face a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

GM President and Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson has said a bankruptcy filing is probable but not the preferred route.

"The rumors and speculation about bankruptcy had some impact in terms of our overall retail share performance," Chief Financial Officer Ray Young said Thursday. "That clearly impacted our overall level of sales and production," he said.

The loss comes on a day in which GM is restarting concession talks with the United Auto Workers and presses ahead with plans to cut plants, jobs, dealerships and eliminate about 44 billion dollars in debt as part of a broad restructuring plan.

GM's restructuring plan involves cutting 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, 7,000 more than originally planned, and closing16 of its 47 U.S. manufacturing plants by 2012.

GM also reiterated Thursday that it plans additional cuts among the ranks of salaried employees and executives.

"This is a defining moment in the history of General Motors, and we are committed to our plan, which we believe will lead to a stable and sustainable operating structure with a strong balance sheet," Henderson said.

"Our goal is to fix this business once and for all to position ourselves to win in the long-term," he added.

Chinese industry gets $2.9 bln boost for technical upgrade

BEIJING, May 7 -- Industry is getting a shot in the arm from the central government in the form of 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion) allocated to help firms upgrade technology to boost domestic demand and encourage economic restructuring.

The government will distribute the money through rebates on loan interest payments for key industries including the steel, non-ferrous metals, petrochemical and textile sectors, the State Council said at a meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The move is expected to trigger an overall investment of 460 billion yuan.

The State Council said the support for technological upgrades is part of its 4 trillion yuan stimulus package introduced to mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis.

The government announced plans to revitalize 10 key sectors last year, encouraging technological advances and fostering more balanced development of the industries.

The State Council also said yesterday it will encourage alternative-energy vehicle research, support the development of integrated circuits, next-generation Internet and the country's own third-generation communication network based on the TD-SCDMA standard.

It will also promote the development of key components for solar and nuclear energy.

(Source: China Daily)

Bank of England expands asset purchasing program by 50 billion pounds

LONDON, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England announced Thursday that it would expand its asset purchase program by 50 billion pounds to 125 billion pounds.

Meanwhile, the central bank left interest rates at a record low0.5 percent. So far, the central bank has bought about 54 billion pounds of assets, the majority of which were government bonds, and is on track to spend 75 billion by June.

"This indicates that the bank believes the British economy still needs support despite recent mounting signs that the rate of economic decline is moderating," said Howard Archer, chief United Kingdom and European economist from IHS Global Insight.

The central bank has cut interest rates by 4.5 percentage points since October last year in order to pull the British economy out of recession as soon as possible.

The central bank acknowledged in a statement that "the world economy remains in deep recession" but that "surveys at home and abroad show promising signs that the pace of decline has begun to moderate."

Chinese shares rise slightly

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BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares rose slightly Thursday after the central bank pledged to maintain ample liquidity in the financial system on the previous night.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.19 percent, or 4.93 points, to close at 2,597.45 Thursday. The Shenzhen Component Index, however, fell 0.4 percent, or 40.13 points, to 10,108.94.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 583 to 336 in Shanghai, and 508 to 280 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover surged to 269.3 billion yuan (40.13 billion U.S. dollars) from 236.2 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

The central bank said Wednesday the government would stick to its moderately easy monetary policy, ensure ample liquidity at banks and continue to instruct financial institutions to extend new loans despite the earlier credit surge.

Encouraged by the news, banking sector rose an average of 2.05 percent. Bank of Nanjing and Shenzhen Development Bank both increased by more than 4 percent.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the largest lender by market value, was up 0.94 percent to close at 4.28 yuan, and the China Construction Bank advanced 1.99 percent to 4.61 yuan.

Steel, alternative energy and non-ferrous metal sectors rose by more than 1 percent as the State Council, or the Cabinet, announced Wednesday the government would earmark 20 billion yuan to support technological upgrading in these industries. The allocation was expected to attract 460 billion yuan of private-sector investment.

Fujian-based Sansteel Minguang jumped by almost the 10-percent daily limit to close at 10.91 yuan. Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron Steel rose 5 percent to 9.24 yuan and Laiwu Steel Corp. 4.39 percent to 9.04 yuan.

In the non-ferrous sector, Yunnan Copper surged 3.14 percent to close at 21.02 yuan, and Zijin Mining, the nation's largest gold producer, edged up 0.45 percent to 8.93 yuan.