News Briefs

China’s domestic firms raise $113.8 bln by overseas listing

By the end of last July, China’s domestic enterprises had raised 113.8 billion US dollars through listing their shares on overseas bourses, China’s top securities regulator said on October 5.

Statistics from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) showed 154 Chinese enterprises had started initial public offering (IPO) overseas by the end of last July.

Tsingtao Brewery Corporation started listing H-shares on the Hong Kong bourse in June 1993, becoming China’s first firm to list outside the mainland.

Meanwhile, China opened up its capital market to foreign investors by launching qualified foreign institutional investors (QFII).

By the end of July, China had approved nine Sino-foreign securities ventures, 33 joint venture fund management companies, 113 foreign securities institutions and 38 foreign assets management companies, according to CSRC.

China is also considering allowing high-quality overseas firms to list in China in an effort to stabilize foreign direct investment, Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said in July.

China gives VC companies more freedom

China’s securities watchdog has said venture capital (VC) companies under partnership could be allowed to become shareholders of listed companies, China Daily reported on October 14.

It is a long-awaited move to encourage VCs to bolster domestic companies’ listings on the mainland, the newspaper said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said it would modify the regulations on measures for the administration of securities registration and clearing, which would enlarge the scope for investors. Under the new rule, companies under partnership could open trading accounts to sell shares on the open market.

The new measures could lift the legal barriers for VC firms under partnership to invest in companies that are to be listed. It was expected to boost the healthy development of private equity (PE) firms as well as the NASDAQ-style Growth Enterprise Board (GEB), the newspaper said, citing an official with the CSRC.

Previously, only individuals and specifically qualified companies could open trading accounts.

Latest figures show that 28 companies have been given the green light to list on the GEB. Among them, 23 are backed by VC or PE companies.

China seeks full financial service coverage to all townships in 3 years

China aims to have all of its townships covered by basic financial services in three years’ time as banking-related networks are still unavailable to nearly 3,000 townships, chairman of the country’s banking regulator said.

Liu Mingkang, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) chairman, announced this plan at a national financial services promotion meeting held on October 17 in southwestern Guizhou Province.

He said the CBRC would coordinate efforts with ministries and local governments to speed up the construction of financial networks.

“Due to unbalanced economic development, the problem of insufficient financial service coverage in less developed regions and rural areas is outstanding,” said Liu.

The country still had 2,945 townships not covered by banking-related services by the end of June. About 2,400 such townships concentrate in the country’s less developed western region.

Sales lift prices of new homes

The prices of new homes in Shanghai surged nearly one-fifth last week amid robust sales of luxury villa developments in Pudong New Area.

The average price of new homes, excluding those meant for relocated residents under urban redevelopment plans, rose 19 percent to 18,355 yuan (USD 2,687) per square meter between October 12 and 18, the highest in seven weeks.

The transaction volume, meanwhile, rose 18 percent to 335,200 square meters, according to research released on October 18 by the Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co.

“Due to the increase in supply by real estate developers and a pretty strong buying sentiment following the property fair held during the National Day holiday, the transaction volume rose notably over the past week,” said Lu Qilin, a researcher at Shanghai Uwin. “The hot sales of Seasons Villas in Pudong helped push up the average price significantly.”

A total of 28 units at Seasons Villas, a luxury project developed by Hutchison Whampoa and previously only available for lease, were sold last week at an average price of 77,907 yuan (USD 11.41 thousand) per square meter, according to Uwin.

The supply of new homes soared 81 percent in the city to 407,400 square meters during the eight-day holiday period, Uwin data showed.

China’s gold producer eyes new overseas deals

The state-controlled China National Gold Group Corporation is planning to step up presence in central Asia, Russia and Africa as part of its plan to scout for new investment destinations, China Daily reported on October 21.

The company is considering two new precious metals projects in these regions and expects to finalize the deals early next year, the newspaper said, citing Tong Junhu, overseas business manager of China Gold.

The nation’s largest gold producer also said it has achieved breakthroughs in Russia and Mongolia but declined to divulge any details.

China Gold is the controlling shareholder of Zhongjin Gold Co. Ltd., the first gold stock in China. Zhongjin’s interim report said it would acquire five gold mines in the second half of this year, adding some 100 tons of new gold reserves.

Profits of China’s central SOEs down 13.7% in first three quarters

Profits of China’s 135 central-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) fell 13.5 percent in the first nine months from the same period a year ago, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

The profits totaled 551.96 billion yuan (USD 81.17 billion) from January to September. The decline rate was 2.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

Their business revenue was 8.67 trillion yuan (USD 1.27 trillion), down 2.9 percent year on year, 1.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

The enterprises paid taxes of 804.65 billion yuan (USD 117.83 billion), up 5.3 percent year on year.

Chinese investment overseas almost triples in Q3

Chinese investment abroad surged 190.4 percent year on year to 20.47 billion US dollars in the third quarter, the Ministry of Commerce said on October 27 in a statement on its website.

The first nine months saw the overseas investment rise 0.5 percent year on year to 32.87 billion US dollars in 1,612 companies in 112 countries and regions, the statement said.

The figures excluded investments by financial institutions.

The ministry attributed the investment growth to policies the ministry put into place this year to encourage domestic companies to invest overseas amid the global economic downturn.

The policies included measures to ease procedures for investment approval, support with financial services and credit, overseas investment guidance, and arranged trade and investment delegations to Europe and North and South America.