Shares of Chinese companies listed in U.S. exchanges performed relatively well in July, spurring investor optimism. By term “relatively well” I mean compared to the DJIA or compared to previous months of the year. As the following chart tracking Chinese equities in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York testifies, July was a comeback month for Chinese and American shares alike. The DJIA eked out a modest 2.1% gain for the month but the true beneficiaries were the U.S. listed Chinese equities. Looking at the performance of the China ADR Index in dark orange, the index gained an impressive 8.0% just in one month, closing in on the Hang Seng and the DJIA.

Most Chinese investors are increasingly turning bitter realizing that Olympics related hopes of a fast recovery of the stock market is fading away. But remember, we pointed out in our last Newsletter that Olympics related investment activity is tiny compared to the overall size of the economy and thus we don’t expect the Games to have a significant impact on equity markets. This projection turned to be true as the month of August passed away without any significant change in the direction of the Shanghai Composite Index or the China ADR Index. But solar companies rallied all over the board in August thanks to robust earnings. As the following table of Chinese ADRs sums it up, the best three stocks for aug 2008 were from the solar sector: Suntech (STP), Trina Solar (TSL) and Solar Fun (SOLF).

Huaneng Power (NYSE:HNP), China's largest independent electricity provider announced 2008 first half interim results today. The bottom line is this: total operating revenue were 30,737 million yuan ($4,493 million) vs. 23,144 million yuan ($3,383 million) in 2007 H1 total loss was 544 million yuan ($70.53 million) vs. profit of 2,875 million yuan ($420.3 million) same period last year

While the DJIA rallied on oil, GDP and jobs data, index for Chinese companies listed on American exchanges fell, fell hard. The China ADR Index (CAI) is a market cap weighted index and as such large cap Chinese stocks listed on the NYSE have a substantial impact on it. The index fell 16.54 points today and is down 28.92% year-to-date (YTD). This is in sharp contrast to NASDAQ listed Chinese ADRs measured by the China Nasdaq Index (CQI). The index is up today thanks to the larger Chinese ADRs of Ctrip.com (CTRP) and Baidu.com (BIDU).

Major Terms of the Investment Agreement Pursuant to the Investment Agreement, the Company and Tangshan Investment Company agreed to contribute by way of cash to the establishment of Fengrun Thermal Power Company in the proportion of 84% and 16%, respectively, for the purposes of constructing and operating Fengrun Thermal Power Project.

Chinese power generators arde in trouble with Datang Power no exception. The company reported net revenue increase of 4.4% for the fisrt six months of 2008 yet net profit plunged 77.5%. The company pays no dividend - not surprisingly...

The Jinzhou Thermal Power Project involves a total investment of approximately RMB2,980,000,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$3,397,947,548). The registered capital of Jinzhou Thermal Power Company, i.e. RMB596,000,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$679,589,510), accounts for about 20% of the total investment of the project. The Company’s total capital commitment in the Jinzhou Thermal Power Project is in the sum of RMB2,980,000,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$3,397,947,548). Upon the registration of Jinzhou Thermal Power Company, the Company will contribute the first installment of the registered capital of Jinzhou Thermal Power Company in the sum of RMB250,000,000 (equivalent to approximately HK$285,062,714) by way of cash.

Datang Power Int. Co. Ltd. (0991.HK) announced power tariffs increase at various power generation units. (Original press release from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is here) Share price of China's third largest independent power producer after Huaneng Power (NYSE:HNP) and Huadian Power (1071.HK) rose 3.21% following the news - see related chart here. The increase of RMB19.93/Mwh is less than average increase rival Huaneng Power was able to obtain. Huaneng increased sale price of on-grid power by RMB21.71. The increase is effective as of August 20th and will help ease the pain power producers have to endure as a result of high coal prices. Price of coal increased 76% over the last twelve months while the central government allowed the price of power to increase twice during the same period; a 5.5% increase on June 20th and again a 5.7% increase in Aug 20th. This equals to an average price increase of just over 12%, far from making up for the increased high price of coal. To ease the pain for power generators Beijing introduced a temporary cap on thermal coal prices for the summer peak season, a step that will not necessarily work. Chinese coal producers stepped up efforts to export coal on the spot market where they can obtain high international prices, leaving domestic power generators in the cold.

China Netcom Group (NYSE:CN), China's smaller fixed line carrier, announced interim results for the first six months of 2008. This is the last time the company reports on its won without China Unicom (NYSE:CHU). CHU will acquire CN's fixed network and integrate it together with current GSM network. CHU's smaller and less dynamic CDMA network will be sold to China Telecom (NYSE:CHA), completing the largest telecom industry restructuring the world has seen yet.

China Shenhua Group (1088.HK), China's largest coal producer with substantial power generation of its own, announced power tariffs adjustment, as allowed by the central government. Beijing is keen to keep a tight lid on inflation and contain core inflation as much as possible. In this effort the government allowed two relatively small increases in power prices this year: a 5.5% one in June 20th and a 5.75% increase on Aug 20th.

Chinese solar ADRs are extremely volatile. As the following summary table reveals, shares of Solarfun Power (SOLF) are up 47% just in August yet investors bought into the company on January 2nd. are down 45% year-to-date (YTD). And Solarfun is no exception. All Chinese solar ADRs but Canadian Solar (CSIQ) are trading way below their January 2, 2008 level turning this hot sector of 2007 into disaster in 2008.

Yanzhou Coal (NYSE:YZC), China's third largest coal producer after China Shenhua energy (HKEx:1088) and China Coal (HKEx:1898), reported 2008 first six months report. (Details of the original press release is here.) Strong showing helped lift the price of Yanzhou ADRs 5.35% in the last five trading days as the markets were expecting solid numbers. See related chart here. Highlights and Outlook:

China's largest independent electricity provider, Huaneng Power (NYSE:HNP), announced an increase of on-grid tariffs by Yuan22.51/MWh or 5.7% as of August 20, 2008. This increase is the second in 2008 aimed at compensating for high coal prices. China is potentially facing one of the worst power shortages in years, similar to 2004, when brown outs were rampant. The government has just ordered coal exporters to cut back on exports - so far it was an oral note. The fact of the matter is that since coal prices has been capped to keep prices low domestically, Chinese coal miners preferred to sell coal on the spot market instead. The result is low coal inventory level at power producers, potentially threatening stable power supply.