SinoCast China Financial Watch articles from July 2006

SinoCast China Financial Watch archives from July 2006

Chinese Bank May Win $100B Bailout.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, August 01, SinoCast -- The state will inject capital into Agricultural Bank of China, which is growing fast yet debt-laden, worth as much as a tenth of the country's foreign exchange...

Insurer Ping An Inks Big Bank Deal.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHENZHEN, August 01, SinoCast -- China's second largest insurer has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Shenzhen Commercial Bank, close to its dream of upgrading itself into a...

China Moves towards No.1 VC Market.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, August 01, SinoCast -- With the coming introduction of a series of supportive rules, the policy climate for venture capital investments will radically improve in China, which is hoped to...

ATANOR Lands China JV Deal.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) ANHUI, August 01, SinoCast -- Global herbicide maker ATANOR Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones just agreed to set up a joint venture in Anhui Province, central China, with a local partner. The...

CITIC Pacific Targets Mainland Steelmaker.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, August 01, SinoCast -- CITIC Pacific Limited (0267.HK), a member of the state-owned CITIC Group, is taking aim at Jiangxi Hongdu Iron & Steel, which lies root in special steel manufacturing,...

Fortis, Sun Life Eye China Annuity Market.
July 31, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, August 01, SinoCast -- Two insurance companies in China partner with their connected financial institutions respectively to boost the enterprise annuity business. Shanghai-based Taiping...

ICAP to Challenge Tullett Prebon in China.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 31, SinoCast -- Beijing grants the second money brokerage license to ICAP, who will fight head and head with its British archrival Tullett Prebon for a piece of the action in the...

Finance Companies in China Profitable.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 31, SinoCast -- A total CNY 1.2 billion of net profits are shared by 28 group finance companies in China that have issued books for the first half of 2006, led by the financing...

Japan Banks Follow Firms in Wuxi.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) WUXI, July 31, SinoCast -- Two Japan's prominent lenders Mizuho Corporate Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, are expanding operations in China, Asia's biggest economy save Japan. Mizuho Corporate...

H1 Net Grows 1257% at China Cement Maker.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 31, SinoCast -- China's cement industry, the world's largest, is enjoying rebounding performances on increasing demands from both at home and abroad. In the first six months of 2006,...

Little Sheep Gets 3i Support, Eyes IPO.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) INNER MONGOLIA, July 31, SinoCast -- Inner Mongolia Little Sheep Catering Chain Co., Ltd., a leading chafing dish chain in China, is on the track to prepare for going public after receiving private...

Haier New York Life Expands into Nanjing.
July 28, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) NANJING, July 31, SinoCast -- Haier New York Life, a joint venture between China's Haier Group and New York Life Insurance Company, opens its Jiangsu branch in Nanjing city in another step toward...

Bottom Line Down at Wuhan Steel.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 27, SinoCast -- Wuhan Iron and Steel (600005.SH), a top-class steel maker in China, in the first six months posted a 13.01 percent year-on-year fall in revenues from the main business,...

Wumart Stores Sweetend by Deals.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 27, SinoCast -- Wumart Stores, Inc. (8277.HK), the largest retail chain in Beijing, sees its market value surge by almost 900% from nine months ago, powered by two recent acquisitions....

SABMiller, InBev Up Ante in Zhejiang.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) ZHEJIANG, July 27, SinoCast -- Foreign beer brands, including SABMiller from London and Belgium-based InBev, are seeking for a bigger share in Zhejiang, a booming coastal province of China. China...

CIMC Hits A Wall in Holland.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHENZHEN, July 27, SinoCast -- China International Marine Containers (Group), the largest container manufacturer in the world, scraps a plan of acquisition in the Netherlands which could diversify...

China Bombed with Over $20b Hot Money.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 27, SinoCast -- As much as USD 23.38 billion of global capital flowed to the Asian No.2 economy in the four months ended May, on speculation that the local currency will be revalued...

Higher Threshold for Non-Chinese Insurers.
July 26, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 27, SinoCast -- China last week published new rules on administration of the local representative offices of foreign insurance institutions, lifting the hurdle for foreign capital...

China's Big Four Banks Slow down.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 26, SinoCast -- While the overall banking industry continues to grow at a cutthroat pace, the four largest players are answering the state's call to curb credit growth to achieve a...

Mixed Close for China Bank Stocks.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 26, SinoCast -- Beijing's Friday decision to raise the deposit reserve ratio poses a limited impact on the equity market, as three of the six banking stocks posted a price gain and the...

China Resources Close to SZITIC Takeover.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHENZHEN, July 26, SinoCast -- China Resources (Holdings) Co., a Hong Kong-registered comprehensive group, is targeting a lion's share in Shenzhen International Trust & Investment Co., people close...

Temasek Likely to Raise Minsheng Bank Stake.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 26, SinoCast -- Temasek Holdings, an investment vehicle of the Singapore government, will likely spend CNY 8.94 billion for two-thirds of the 3.5 billion new shares to be issued by...

Backdoor Listing Rumored for Guotai Junan.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 26, SinoCast -- China's preeminent broker Guotai Junan Securities recently significantly increases its holding in a Shanghai-listed company, causing an industry-wide guess whether it is...

Taiwanese Life Insurers Mull Mainland JVs.
July 25, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 26, SinoCast -- Taiwanese insurance companies are fighting for a piece of the action in mainland China as the island's insurance market gets saturated. Shin Kong Life Insurance Co.,...

China's ICBC Plans Record IPO.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 25, SinoCast -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will likely raise as much as USD 21 billion in the world's largest ever initial public offering, according to underwriters'...

Egypt Bank to Erect Shanghai Branch.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 25, SinoCast -- National Bank of Egypt is set to upgrade its Shanghai representative office into a branch in answer to the increasing trade between the nations. The branch, to be NBE's...

ICBC Credit Suisse Grabs China Share.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 25, SinoCast -- ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co, China's first fund management firm controlled by a bank, finished selling its third fund, on the heels of two earlier successes....

Economy Hotels Expand in China.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 25, SinoCast -- Shanghai Motel Management Co., Ltd. plans to increase the number of its Motel 168 hotels to over 50 by end of 2006 from the current 30 to capitalize on the economy hotel...

China Issues Forex Quota to Banks.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 25, SinoCast -- Beijing-based State Administration of Foreign Exchange grants a total USD 4.8 billion of quota to a Hong Kong bank and two mainland ones, who will help mainland clients...

Allianz Expands into West China.
July 24, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) CHENGDU, July 25, SinoCast -- The Sino-German joint venture Allianz China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. recently won the go-ahead to prepare a branch in the hinterland province of Sichuan, marking another...

Beijing Moves to Curb Loan Growth.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 24, SinoCast -- China's central bank announced Friday evening that it would adjust the ratio to which commercial lenders should put reserves in it for new deposits, for the second time...

China Construction in Global Vision.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 24, SinoCast -- China Construction Bank, Asia's most profitable lender, will beef up its overseas operations to reflect its state-owned corporate clients' go-out strategy, a senior...

CITIC Securities Tops Home Peers by H1 Net.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 24, SinoCast -- CITIC Securities, China's brokerage industry rising star, in the first six months of 2006 saw the net profits jumped 848 percent year on year to CNY 630 million, topping...

Carrefour Loses Dia Partner in Shanghai.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 24, SinoCast -- China's retail market bellwether Lianhua Supermarket Holding Co. this week stops the alliance with Spanish-based Dia Group, a unit of Carrefour, due mostly to severe...

Water Affairs Group Taps China Demand.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 24, SinoCast -- China Water Affairs Group Ltd. (0855.HK) accelerates the pace of expanding in mainland China to share the long-term considerable return in the water affairs sector. It...

Tokyo Tie-up to Fuel Tianan Insurance.
July 21, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 24, SinoCast -- Tianan Insurance, a Shanghai-based nonlife insurer, is on the right track to grow into a full-line insurance group, helped by its foreign shareholder Tokio Marine &...

Local Banks Expand for Dec Opening.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 21, SinoCast -- China's deposit-taking institutions are struggling to reform themselves now that the five-year grace period for the local market will end on December 11 under the WTO...

Ping An Eyes Shenzhen Bank Deal.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHENZHEN, July 21, SinoCast -- Moving to bolster its non- policy business, China's second-largest insurance group shows intent to buy the stake in Shenzhen Development Bank held by a US buyout fund,...

CBA to Manage Funds in China.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHENZHEN, July 21, SinoCast -- Commonwealth Bank of Australia formed on Thursday a fund management joint venture in China, becoming the first Australia's investor to enter the fund industry in the...

US Property Buyer in $10B China Bet.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 21, SinoCast ?C An American investment institution intends to spend as much as USD 10 billion buying commercial properties in China in coming one to two years, said a source at 3invest...

Goldman Sachs Still Awaits OK for China Meat Deal.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 21, SinoCast -- Wall Street bulge-bracket firm Goldman Sachs is still waiting for the green light from several regulators in Beijing to acquire China's largest meat- processing company...

Rabobank Stirs Dutch Wind in China.
July 20, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 21, SinoCast -- Rabobank announces it will continue to focus on China's rural cooperative banking aiming to help boost reforms in the sector. Its rivals in the Netherlands, including...

Ailing Agricultural Bank Issues Better Book.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 20, SinoCast -- China's second-largest lender by asset said its operating profit increased as much as 17.9% in the first half while it improved asset quality, which could entice the...

ICBC Targets World No.3 IPO.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 20, SinoCast -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China can get a dual listing in October after selling first-time shares in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, local media reported, marking a...

Top Stock Analysts Jump Ships to CITIC.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 20, SinoCast -- China's brokerage industry powerhouse CITIC Securities (600030.SH) is snatching top analysts from home rivals with the aim of upgrading the research ability. It so far...

Sinopec Raises Crude Output in H1.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 20, SinoCast -- Asia's No.1 refiner Sinopec in the first six months produced roughly 1.4 million barrels of crude oil, up 3.07 percent year on year, boding well for the full-year...

Intl Jewellery Brands Expand in China.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 20, SinoCast -- The international jewellery companies are expanding their retail business in mainland China as local consumers tend to buy jewellery products for appreciation amid the...

AIA, Allianz May Join China's Pilot Scheme.
July 19, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) GUANGDONG, July 20, SinoCast -- China is to come up with long-term foreign-exchange life insurance policies in Guangdong province under a pilot program, partly aiming to curb underground policies. The...

CUP Denies in Heavy Card Fee Plan.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 19, SinoCast -- China UnionPay Co., the only national bankcard association in the country, denies rumors that it is weighing a charging plan involving more than 100 items. Earlier...

ICBC Mulls over USD15B Dual Listing.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 19, SinoCast -- The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is set to launch an initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong simultaneously with regulators' approval, local media...

China Minsheng to Issue 3.5b New Shares.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 19, SinoCast -- China Minsheng Banking Corp. (600016.SH), whose shares are floating at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, announced on Monday a plan to sell new stock for better expansion. It...

30%-plus Growth Forecasted at 3 China Banks.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 19, SinoCast -- China Minsheng Banking Corp, one of IFC's local partners, said its net profit would soar up to 37%, the latest lender benefiting from a red-hot Chinese economy that...

SoftBank Invests in Tourism Properties.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) CHONGQING, July 19, SinoCast -- In an unprecedented move, Japan's SoftBank will invest as much as CNY 1.3 billion in developing properties in a sightseeing spot of Chongqing, China's most populous...

While China's Trade Soars, FDI Staggers.
July 18, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 19, SinoCast -- The foreign trade volume increased as much as 23.4% in the first half, the statistics office said on Tuesday, partly leading to the country's bulged foreign exchange...

China Swells Online Banking.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 18, SinoCast -- China's online banking market has been growing fast since its inception with over CNY 70 trillion amount involved in such business in 2005. The number of online banking...

Foreigners Grab More Deposits in Shanghai.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 18, SinoCast -- Foreign banks' share in the foreign-exchange deposit market was on the rise in the first half of this year, Shanghai's banking regulator said, as they succeeded in...

In China, Broker Earns More than Banker.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 18, SinoCast -- About 15 securities firms have issued their interim reports so far and two posted a net profit of more than CNY 500 million each, but the industry champion, China...

Huatai Securities H1 Income Rises Almost 5500%.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 18, SinoCast -- China's Huatai Securities in the first six months posted an about 55 folds year-on-year surge in revenues which hit CNY 725 million, thanks to a recovering stock market....

CCCG Weighs $2B Dual Listing.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 18, SinoCast -- China Communications Construction Group is preparing for an initial public offering at the equity markets in both Chinese mainland and Hong Kong for the moment, people...

Five Chinese Insurers Invest in Railway.
July 17, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 18, SinoCast -- Five Chinese insurance companies are making strategic investment in Daqin Railway Co., Ltd. ahead of its initial public offering in Shanghai, sparked by the latest...

A Busy Week for China Banking Buy.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 17, SinoCast -- This week witnessed two cross-border investment deals in the rapidly changing Chinese lending landscape, and the buyers are Rabobank from the Netherlands and...

JPMorgan Is CITIC's Advisor Not Winner, People Says.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 17, SinoCast -- A source close to China CITIC Bank denies a rumor that the state-run bank is in talks at the equity partnership level with JPMorgan Chase & Co, on the eve of its...

HK Broker Tai Fook Serves West China.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) CHENGDU, July 17, SinoCast -- Hong Kong's leading broker Tai Fook Securities Group Limited (0665.HK) recently opened a subsidiary in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province Sichuan. Tai Fook on...

StanChart Buys into China Realty Firm Greentown.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 17, SinoCast -- Standard Chartered Private Equity Limited invests as much as HKD 370 million in a mainland property developer Greentown China Holdings (3900.HK), the second deal in the...

Mengniu Takes on Shanghai Bright in Pasteurized Milk.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 17, SinoCast -- Chinese bellwether Mengniu Dairy (2319.HK) enters the pasteurized milk market in eastern China starting to challenge Shanghai Bright Dairy & Food Co. (600597.SH)....

Ming An Insurance Close to IPO.
July 14, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 17, SinoCast -- Ming An Insurance Co., (H.K.) Ltd. clears the way for a public listing after HK's zillionaire Li Ka-shing committed an equity investment in it, and it was allowed to...

China Minsheng, Canada's Royal Bank Close to Fund JV.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 13, SinoCast -- China Minsheng Banking Corp. (600016.SH), partly owned by Singapore's Temasek Holdings, plans to team up with Royal Bank of Canada in selling mutual funds, people close...

JPMorgan Said to Buy into China CITIC Bank.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 13, SinoCast -- JPMorgan Chase & Co may trump many European rivals in the race of stake bidding for China's seventh-largest bank, as Wall Street firms accelerate foray into the world's...

Rabobank, IFC Make China Investment.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) HANGZHOU, July 13, SinoCast -- Rabobank of the Netherlands and the International Finance Corporation wrap up an agreement to acquire a combined 15 percent stake in Hangzhou United Rural Cooperative...

It's Westward Ho for HSBC.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) XI'AN, July 13, SinoCast -- British banking group HSBC said it won regulatory clearance to open a branch in the northwestern city of Xi'an, leading a trend that foreign banks branch out into the...

Dairy Maker Taizinai Parts with IPO.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) HUNAN, July 13, SinoCast -- Hunan Taizinai Group, the biggest lactobacillus dairy drinks maker in China, has mothballed a plan of overseas listing, sources familiar with the company said. Based in the...

China Re May Form Overseas Investment Unit.
July 12, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 13, SinoCast -- China Reinsurance (Group) Company expects to extend the asset management business into overseas markets by setting up a new outlet. China Re is to take further steps to...

ANZ Buys 20% stake in Tianjin Bank.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) TIANJIN, July 12, SinoCast -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group recently has won the government nod to acquire a minority stake in Tianjin City Commercial Bank, in the northern port city of...

ICBC May Cut Hong Kong Tranche of Its $12b IPO.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 12, SinoCast -- China's largest bank may delay its initial share sale in Hong Kong and the city also risks not being the bank's main listing place, local media reported. Industrial and...

Beijing Bank Wants International Color.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 12, SinoCast -- China Minsheng Banking Corp, the first private-run lender, is set to appoint a retired manager of HSBC Holdings as its new president, marking a new height of the...

Morgan Stanley Arm, Prudential Win China Nod.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 12, SinoCast -- China has just granted two new QFII (qualified foreign institutional investor) licenses, mirroring regulators' loosening control on the capital market. Morgan Stanley...

Sinochem Devours Chemical Assets.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 12, SinoCast -- The state-owned Sinochem Corporation is acquiring about a quarter of Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd. in a move to boost its chemical business. Both have...

China Re Expands 12.8% in First Half.
July 11, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) BEIJING, July 12, SinoCast -- China Reinsurance (Group) Company, the nation's sole state reinsurer, reported its revenue in the first half of 2006 rose by 12.8 percent from a year earlier. The revenue...

H1 Net Rises 30% at Shanghai Lender.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- The net profit is growing faster than total asset at Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, a partner of Citigroup, the bank cited unaudited figures for the first half of...

Morgan Stanley Chilly in Shanghai's Summer.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- While the Wall Street investment bank has been lucky enough to share the over-a-decade boom of China International Capital Corp (CICC) in Beijing, it is failing its...

Good Days Finally Come for China Brokers.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- China's securities industry is enjoying rebounding performances thanks to the recovering stock market as well as regulators' efforts of seeking new financing channel for...

GE Energy Taps China Wind Demands.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- Several global top wind power equipment manufacturers are rushing into China, the second biggest economy in Asia. Atlanta-based GE Energy on June 28 announced the...

Shanghai Firm Bets Big on Fell Cell.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- FOSUN Pharmaceutical (Group) Corporation (600196.SH), a medicinal maker and retailer, is extending its business into the new energy sector through an equity investment...

Allianz, ING To Tap Henan Insurance Market.
July 10, 2006... (From SinoCast China Financial Watch) SHANGHAI, July 11, SinoCast -- Two Sino-foreign joint venture insurance companies are expected to make inroads into Henan, China's largest province by population, in the second half of this year,...