China and Taiwan Agree to Boost Trade

Mayank Mehta, Chandrasekhar Atreya and Sanjay Barot
14 Jun, 2010
New York City

China and Taiwan have agreed to boost trade between mainland China and Taiwan, after the third round of talks ended in Beijing yesterday. China will reduce tariff on about 500 items coming in from Taiwan and in the reverse direction Taiwan will reduce tariff on about 200 items.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong, China - Xinjiang Goldwind Sci & Tech Co. Ltd shelves its $1.2 billion HK IPO. China and Taiwan agree on boosting of trade by reducing tariff on selected items. China Aoyuan Property''s revenue hits 1.09 billion yuan in Jan-May.[/R]

Stocks in Hong Kong rose after U.S. reported increased consumer confidence. The Hang Seng Index had its longest streak of five continuous days of gain since March 11 and closed 0.9% higher at 20,051.91 at close.

China and Taiwan have agreed to boost trade between mainland China and Taiwan, after the third round of talks ended in Beijing yesterday. China will reduce tariff on about 500 items coming in from Taiwan and in the reverse direction Taiwan will reduce tariff on about 200 items.

The stocks in Taiwan rose after the announcement. The effect on China stock exchanges can be gauged when they open after holidays.

Appreciation of the Chinese currency will not resolve the trade imbalance the United States has with China. It will neither solve the consumer debt, low savings rate and high unemployment rate in the U.S., said Qin Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry in a statement posted today on the ministry’s Web site.

China will reform its exchange rate mechanism based on the economic developments around the world and on its own economic performance, he said.

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co has for the time being shelved its planned IPO in Hong Kong citing poor market conditions. However Agricultural Bank of China will proceed with its IPO of about $15 billion in Hong Kong according to an e-mail sent to its investors.

The bank has planned to start taking orders from institutions from June 24 and then price the IPO on July 6, before it starts trading in Hong Kong from July 16, as per this e-mailed statement sent to its investors.

[HK Movers

Bank of China Limited added 1.2% to HK$3.94 after the lender was upgraded to “hold” from “buy” by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

Bank of Communications Co., Ltd advanced 1.1% to HK$8.30 after the lender was downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.

China Aoyuan Property Group Limited rose 1.7% to HK$1.15 after the developer has posted 1.09 billion yuan contracted sales revenue for the first five months of this year, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 3%, and its contracted sales area amounted to 94,000 square meters.

China Shenhua Energy Company Limited, the coal producer, rose 1.6% to HK$30.30.

China Southern Airlines Company Limited climbed 2.9%, after the company said on Saturday, it had the third largest number of passengers in the world in 2009, only behind American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, the Chinese airline.

Dongfang Electric Corporation Limited rose 3.1% to HK$24.65.

Geely Automobile Holdings Limited rose 5.3% to HK$2.58 after the company sold 31,041 vehicles in May, jumping 14.6% year on year but slipping 4.3% month on month.

Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd, the gold producer, rose 1.6% to HK$5.71.