Shanghai Index Gains; Gold Production Surges

Chandrasekhar Atreya
02 Dec, 2010
New York City

Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher after U.S. private employers expanded employment in November and manufacturing expanded. Expectations ran higher that the United States may offer more capital to IMF to help ease European debt crisis. PetroChina plans to expand oil and gas network.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong, China – Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed higher after U.S. private employers expanded employment in November and manufacturing expanded. Expectations ran higher that the United States may offer more capital to IMF to help ease European debt crisis. PetroChina plans to expand oil and gas network by 80%. Gold production in China surges 8.83%.[/R]

Stocks in Shanghai rallied on news that the United States may offer more cash to the International Monetary Fund to help ease the European debt crisis. The market sentiment was also boosted after private companies expanded employment in November and manufacturing expanded as well.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.71% or 20.16 to close at 2,843.61. The CSI 300 Index added 0.61% or 19.04 to close at 3,155.06.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong added 0.86% or 200.68 to close at 23,450.48.

The sixth phase of construction at Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Port has been almost completed and the facilities will become operational later in December, further boosting the container handling capacity of the city.

This phase is expected to add 2.1 million TEUs of annual capacity and handle 730,000 units of auto roll-on/roll-off annually, the city’s port operator said on Wednesday.

Shanghai posted the second-highest average housing price in the country when average prices in 100 major cities in China edged up only 0.82% in November from a month earlier to 8,487 yuan per square meter, a report said Wednesday.

Shanghai’s average housing price was 23,333 yuan in November after Shenzhen’s 24,601 yuan, according to the China Real Estate Index System Statistics Study released by China Index Academy.

The U.S. based Starbucks, the coffee giant, outlined plans on Wednesday to triple the number of its cafes in China, offer more products in grocery stores and open new stores.

The company responded by limiting new store openings, cutting costs including slashing jobs and closing hundreds of underperforming stores after hit with sales slowdown. Traffic in stores started increasing recently along with revenue and profitability.

PetroChina Co, the main operator of the country’s oil and gas pipelines, aims to expand its network by 80% in the next five years to meet increasing demand.

The company plans to lay another 40,000 kilometers of pipelines by 2015, according to a company newsletter from parent China National Petroleum Corp released on Wednesday. The newsletter also added that PetroChina now operates 70% of the country’s oil pipelines and 90% of the gas pipelines.

Natural gas output at Changqing oil field, operated by PetroChina, will increase by 5.5% annually to 20 billion cubic meters this year, a company official said on Wednesday.

“Changqing oil field became China’s largest natural gas processing base after the fourth processing plant of the Sulige gas field in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region went operational,” said Ran Xinquan, the General Manager in charge of the oil field.

Fuji Xerox expects to double its revenue in China by 2013 as it expands its distribution channel and unveils new products aimed at small and medium enterprises, the Japanese company said on Wednesday.

“China has become our most important and rapidly growing market and according to our research a strong GDP growth often boosts office equipment demand,” said Masataka Jo, Fuji Xerox China’s CEO and President.

China’s gold production rose 8.83% annually to 277.02 tons in the first 10 months of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Wednesday.

The ten major companies of China, including China National Gold Group Co, Zijin Mining Group Co, Shandong Gold Group Co and Shandong Zhaojin Group Co, together produced 135.02 tons, or 48.74%, of the total, the ministry said in its online statement.

Stock Movers

Brokerages gained after the securities regulator said it will launch a trial program for yuan funds to raise money in Hong Kong.

GF Securities Co climbed 3.2% to 36.08 yuan and CITIC Securities Co added 2.7% to 13.20 yuan. Changjiang Securities Co also gained 2.4% to close at 12.17 yuan.

Car makers gained on news that growth in new energy car industry is accelerating with the news that government will invest in this sector to boost production.

SAIC Motor Corp added 1.2% to 17.13 yuan and Dongfeng Automobile Co gained 1.3% to 5.38 yuan.