China Stocks Fall; Everbright Bank Up 18%

Chandrasekhar Atreya
18 Aug, 2010
New York City

Stocks in China fell after real estate companies declined. China more than doubled its Korean debt holdings. Credit card delinquency drops despite the number of card holders on the rise in China. Li Ka-shing controlled company paid for two HK plots at the top end of market price.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong, China – Stocks in China fell after real estate companies declined. China more than doubled its Korean debt holdings. Credit card delinquency drops despite the number of card holders on the rise in China. Li Ka-shing controlled company paid for two HK plots at the top end of market price.[/R]

Chinese stocks retreated for the first time in four days on losses in real estate developers overshadowing the first day trading gain of 18% in China Everbright Bank Co.

The stocks in Hong Kong fell tracking mainland weakness, despite solid gains in New York and Europe.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong fell 0.54% or 114.70 to close at 21,022.73. The CSI 300 Index in China fell 0.17% or 4.93 points to close at 2,937.36.

China more than doubled its South Korean debt holdings this year as policy makers shift part of the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves out of dollar holdings.

Korean Treasury bonds held by Chinese investors rose by 111% to 3.99 trillion won in the first half of the year, according to data from the Seoul-based Financial Supervisory Services.

China said it will allow the yuan accumulated overseas to flow back to the nation as it bids to make the currency more appealing globally.

The yuan accumulated overseas through cross-border trade settlements and central bank swaps are allowed to be channeled back into the Chinese mainland’s interbank bond market under a trial program, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement Tuesday.

China Everbright Bank Co rose as much as 20% on its debut in Shanghai after completing the largest public offering in China this year.

Credit card holder delinquency rates dropped in the second quarter despite a rise in credit card issuances, the People’s Bank of China said Tuesday.

Delinquencies with late payment of over six months totaled 7.3 billion yuan in the second quarter, down 17.1% from the first quarter, the PBOC said in a statement on its Web site.

About 61 car models from 13 auto makers got approval for a national subsidy for their fuel efficiency, according to Ministry of Industry and Information Technology yesterday.

Vehicles with engine capacity of 1.6 liters or less will be entitled to a 3,300 yuan subsidy per car as these cars are expected to save fuel consumption by 20%. Cars including 5 models from Shanghai GM and the new Ford Fiesta are on the list as are domestic car makers including Chery and Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki.

Trade between China and Russia in the first seven months of the year reached $30.7 billion, 49.6% annual increase, according to Chinese Ministry of Commerce data released Tuesday.

Shanghai established a textile industry association Tuesday to enhance competitiveness and boost innovation among the city’s garment exporters. The association located in the city’s Hongqiao area has already attracted 15 leading companies as members.

Last year the value of textiles exported from the city totaled $15.2 billion at one-tenths of Shanghai’s overseas shipments.

Shanghai’s exports hit a record volume in July, with rising industrial production and robust retail sales that pointed to a steady economic growth. Imports and FDI also grew in July albeit at a slower rate than in June.

Exports from Shanghai jumped 38.8% on an annual basis to $16.9 billion in July, a record for a single month. The growth rate picked up from a 32.3% gain in June, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said Wednesday.

Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong billionaire, paid more than market rate for two sites in the city, four days after the government tightened loan rules to arrest a housing bubble.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, controlled by Li, bought one property in the Ho Man Tin district for HK$4.1 billion.

Shanghai Movers

Poly Real Estate dropped 1% to 13.16 yuan, China Vanke lost 1.7% to 8.79 yuan and Gemdale Corp fell 2.3% to 6.9 yuan after a central bank official said China shouldn’t make any short-term changes to its property market measures.

Everbright Bank jumped 18% to close at 3.66 yuan after gaining as much as 20% in its debut trading.

Yunnan Copper Industry Co added 1.9% to 21.19 yuan after it returned to profit in the first half of the year.

SAIC Motor Co gained 4.1% to 16.12 yuan and FAW Car Co, the auto makers in China with Volkswagen AG, gained 1.9% to 17.18 yuan.