┣━Industry━┫

China Merchants Property 2008 Profit Up

» China Merchants Property Development Co. said net profit rose 6 percent to 1.2 billion yuan in 2008, boosted by asset disposals from a Nanjing property unit.

» The developer's operating revenue in 2008 declined 13.1 percent to 3.6 billion yuan.

» In December the company sold all the assets of Nanjing Fucheng Real Estate Co to ARA Managers (Asia Dragon), a Singapore fund, raising 1.6 billion yuan and leading to a sharp rise in investment gains.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-30/110130482.html

China International Marine Cuts Spending

» China International Marine Containers (Group) Co. said it will cut its capital spending in 2009 by more than 50 percent to 2.5 billion yuan in expectation of a difficult year.  

» The company posted a 55.6 percent fall in 2008 net profit to 1.4 billion yuan after weak demand and sluggish sales forced a halt in production and inventory writedowns.

» The company’s operating revenue fell 2.9 percent to 47.3 billion yuan.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130562.html

Oil and Gas Profits Down

» In the first two months of the year, China reported a 86 percent year on year drop in profits of oil and gas exploitation business to 10.9 billion yuan, due to declining crude price and rising costs.

» The country's petrochemical industry posted a combined 23.5 billion yuan profit, down 58 percent year on year.

» Oil processing volume also dropped 6.9 percent from the same period last year.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130725.html

Beiqi Foton 2008 Net Profit Down 11%

» Beiqi Foton Motor Co, one of China’s largest commercial vehicle makers, reported that net profits fell 10.9 percent to 346 million yuan in 2008.

» The automaker sold 409,000 vehicles in 2008, including trucks and buses, up 1.9 percent from 2007.

» Beiqi Foton had a 2009 sales target of 426,000 vehicles, up 4 percent.

» The company said that profitability will continue to be affected by the economic crisis this year, particularly in the domestic market. It plans to reinforce its sales efforts overseas.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130542.html

Wuhan Iron Buys Stake in Consolidated Thompson

» Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp has agreed to buy a 19.9 percent stake in Canadian mining company Consolidated Thompson for US$240 million.

» The deal will give Wuhan Iron and Steel a 25 percent stake in the Bloom Lake Mine.

» The transaction is pending approval from regulators in both countries.

From the wires

Australian Gov't Approves Valin-FMG Deal

» Australian government approved Hunan Valin Iron and Steel Group's AU$ 1.3 billion investment in Fortescue Metals.

» The approval was granted with conditions concerning Valin's seat in FMG's board of directors.

» The deal will enable Valin to raise its stake in FMG to 17.4 percent.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130936.html

┣━Finance━┫

Chinese Mutual Fund 2008 Losses Hit 1.5 Trln

» China's 424 mutual funds suffered total losses of 1.5 trillion yuan in 2008, mainly due to the slump in the domestic A-share stock market.

» Equity funds were hit hard, accounting for nearly 97 percent of total losses.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130703.html

Anhui to Issue 4 Bln in Local Bonds

» A total of 4 billion yuan in Auhui provincial government bonds were successfully sold to underwriters through an auction on March 31.

» The coupon was fixed at 1.6 percent, equivalent with the national book-entry treasury bonds.

» This is the second issuance of local bonds, following that of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130862.html

Beijing Sets up Municipal Finance Bureau

» The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance was established on March 30 as China's first municipal and provincial level finance bureau.

» The bureau will be in charge of the planning and development of the city's finance industry.

» The bureau is under the Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130951.html

Chinese Shares Gain on New Index Launch   

» Chinese shares closed higher March 31 as insurance and growth enterprise stocks rose following the news that a new index for growth enterprises will be launched in May.

» The Shanghai Composite Index gained 15.17 points, or 0.64 percent to 2,373.21. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 71.54 points or 0.8 percent to 8,981.95.

» Combined turnover expanded to 200.03 billion yuan from 191.9 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Chinese Yuan Drops against the Dollar

» The People's Bank of China set the central parity rate for the Yuan against the U.S. dollar at 6.8359 on March 31.

» The Yuan hit as low as 6.8417 against the dollar today, compared with Monday's closing value of 6.8376.

┣━Politics & Law━┫

Nanjing Yangtze Tunnel Construction Halfway to Completion

» Construction of the twin tunnels under the Yangtze River reached its midway point on March 30.

» The 5,853-meter tunnels have a maximum diameter of 14.9 meters – the largest tunnel diameter in the world – and are located 65 meters under the Yangtze, with 13 kilograms of water pressure per square centimeter.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-30/110130464.html

HFMD Cases in Guizhou and Shenzhen

» Up to March 28, Guizhou province reported 135 hand-foot-mouth disease cases, with one in critical condition, according to the Guizhou Provincial Bureau of Health.

» Shenzhen reported 90 hand-foot-mouth disease cases between March 24 and 31, up 45% compared with last week, according to the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130911.html

Full article in Chinese: http://www.caijing.com.cn/2009-03-31/110130913.html