Chalco Reports Loss; Stocks Decline

123jump.com Staff
25 Aug, 2010
New York City

Stocks in China dropped following weak international sentiment. China now accounts for 59% broadband connections in Asia Pacific. Chalco reported a loss in first quarter and plans to expand into other mineral areas. Cosco Pacific first half net surged 82%.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong, China – Stocks in China dropped following weak international sentiment. China now accounts for 59% broadband connections in Asia Pacific. Chalco reported a loss in first quarter and plans to expand into other mineral areas. Cosco Pacific first half net surged 82%.[/R]

China stocks declined in trade today on global and Asian cues following 27% drop in existing U.S. home sales in July. Stocks in Hong Kong also followed the trend but lost marginally after Chalco reported loss.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong dropped 0.11% or 23.73 to close at 20,634.98. The CSI 300 Index in China declined more than the Shanghai Composite at 2.36% or 68.8 to close 2,843.02.

Global fixed broadband subscribers increased 10% year-on-year in the second quarter to reach 449 million, fueled by growth in the Asia Pacific region, a U.S-based research firm said Tuesday. Chinese broadband user base accounted for 59% of the Asia Pacific region by the end of June.

“Key growth in broadband subscribers was found in the Asia Pacific region, adding approximately 3 million subscribers,” said Jason Blackwell, an analyst at ABI Research.

Tencent Holdings Ltd acquired a Google-backed Chinese social networking company in a deal valued at $60 million, the country’s biggest internet firm said Tuesday.

Tencent bought Comsenz, a Beijing-based social network provider, which has investments from Google, Sequoia Capital and Morningside Ventures, the Shenzhen-based Tencent said.

Cruise ships departing from Shanghai will climb to 66 this year from 32 last year, while inbound and outbound traffic will rise 36% to 250,000 tourists, the city’s tourism authority estimated.

Cosco Pacific first half profit surged 81.7% to $190 million from a year earlier. In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the firm said revenue increased 40% to $222.6 million and the container throughput jumped an annual 18.7% to 22.43 million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units).

Coal bed methane, the clean energy trapped between coal seams, will make up one-third of unconventional gas supply in China by 2030, though demand growth is slow now, an industry report said.

Hong Kong and China Gas, also known as Towngas, announced Tuesday that its profit attributable to shareholders in the first half of 2010 declined 1.13% from a year ago to HK$2.97 billion according to its filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, one of China’s major insurance companies, said Tuesday its net profit for the first half of 2010, rose 27.9% to 9.87 billion yuan, driven by strong growth in its insurance and banking business, according to its filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Retail sales at the World Expo have increased every month, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said Tuesday. Sales were 413 million yuan in May, 527 million yuan in June and 542 million yuan in July.

Increase in attendance and more products as the Expo progressed were cited as the main reasons for the increase in sales.

China Metallurgical Group Corp said it signed an agreement with Kermas Mining Fund LP to build all facilities for a ferrotitanium mine in northeastern South Africa, Dow Jones Newswires reported citing one of the company’s unit Vice President Xu Yongjie.

Aluminum Corp of China, the nation’s biggest producer of the metal, is seeking to invest in coal and power projects in the nation as well as in Southeast Asia to access cheaper power and raw materials.

Chairman Xiong Weiping plans to diversify into coal, iron ore and rare earths as higher fuel costs crimped profit margins. The company posted a net loss of 96 million yuan for the quarter ended June 30 according to interim results released Monday.