Friday, May 16, 2008
Week ahead in Asia & Pacific from May 17
NANCHANG, China - China-sponsored conference in Nanchang,
Jiangxi province involving government officials and Taiwan
businessmen. China is expected to announce new policies at the
conference to help Taiwan companies stay competitive in China,
amid rising labour costs and an appreciating Chinese yuan.
HONG KONG - Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK: Quote, Profile , Research), the world's No.4 PC
maker, reports full-year earnings. Since beating market
expectations a year ago, Lenovo has ditched its underperforming
cellphone arm, but must still tackle a global slowdown in IT
spending and an expensive foray into consumer segments, plus
aggressive competition from Taiwan's Acer Inc. (2353.TW: Quote, Profile , Research).
Reuters
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Friday, May 16, 2008
JP Morgan sees China stocks up 20 pct this year
SHANGHAI, May 16 (Reuters) - China's key stock index is expected to rise 20 percent by the end of the year with economic tightening steps likely to be delayed after this week's devastating earthquake, JPMorgan Chairman of China Equities Jing Ulrich said on Friday.
"The government is unlikely to announce new tightening measures anytime soon," said Ulrich, who expected the quake to help push inflation above 7 percent for 2008.
She added that Chinese banking stocks would benefit from a widening spread between deposit and lending rates, while rising costs of coal and crude oil would boost profits at resource firms.
But oil refiners such as Sinopec Corp (0386.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(SNP: Quote, Profile, Research) (600028.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) and PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(PTR: Quote, Profile, Research)(601857.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) will be squeezed by rising crude oil prices as the government is unlikely to relax restrictions on retail fuel prices this year, while low-end manufacturers will continue to suffer from rising labour and resource costs, yuan appreciation and an economic slowdown.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index <.SSEC> has rebounded about 20 percent from a 13-month low last month after the government took measures, including a stock trading tax cut, to stabilise share prices, which had fallen by half from a record peak last October.
The index ended down 0.36 percent at 3,624.233 points on Friday.
Reuters
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Friday, May 16, 2008
HK stocks up but gains pared on Shanghai weakness
HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks closed up on
Friday but gains were pared after the Tokyo and Shanghai markets
reversed course to close lower, while equipment maker Dongfang
Electric slid as it detailed damage from the China earthquake. China's top power generator maker, Dongfang Electric (1072.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) tumbled as much as 20 percent on active selling after
it said the Sichuan earthquake had seriously damaged its
production. The stock ended down 14 percent.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> closed up 0.41 percent
at 25,618.86 points, off from the day high of 25,748.33. It
gained 2.25 percent for the week. The China Enterprises index of mainland H shares <.HSCE> finished 1.13 percent higher at
14,185.98.
Bargain hunters snapped up PetroChina and Sinopec shares as
they lagged behind the blue chip-index, which has recovered in
the second quarter to trim its loss this year to 7.8 percent.
Refiner PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(PTR: Quote, Profile, Research)(601857.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) rose 3.4 percent on Friday but
it has fallen 17 percent so far this year on record oil prices,
which inflated its costs. Sinopec Sinopec Corp (0386.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(SNP: Quote, Profile, Research) (600028.SS: Quote, Profile , Research), which has lost about
35 percent of its market value this year, rose 3.1 percent. China Construction Bank (0939.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) ended down 2.5 percent at
HK$7.05 after an institutional investor sold 408.5 million shares
at the low end of a price range of HK$7.05 to HK$7.10 per share.
Dry bulk cargo ship operator, Sinotrans (0598.HK: Quote, Profile , Research), soared 5.6
percent, its bigger rival China COSCO Holdings (1919.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(601919.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) rose 3.1 percent
and China Shipping Development (1138.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 1.3 percent. Container ship operator CSCL (2866.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) surged 7.5 percent.
Reuters
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Friday, May 16, 2008
China reopens Sichuan refinery, replenishes fuel stocks
BEIJING, May 16 (Reuters) - PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(PTR: Quote, Profile, Research)(601857.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) has restarted its Nanchong refinery, the only oil plant in quake-hit Sichuan province, after a 50-hour stoppage, and replenished its fuel stocks there to normal levels.
PetroChina, the dominant fuel supplier in China's southwest, restored refined fuel stocks in Sichuan to more than 200,000 tonnes, enough to last 12-15 days, after a key pipeline resumed full operations, state media said on Friday.
PetroChina President Jiang Jiemin said on Thursday fuel stocks in Sichuan were running at 3-5 days of use.
Xinhua said the 1,240-km Lanzhou-Chengdu-Chongqing pipeline, which supplies most of the fuel use in Sichuan, was pumping at a pre-quake amount of 15,000 tonnes per day, after a one-day halt following Monday's deadly quake.
PetroChina also restarted its refinery in Nanchong, east of Chengdu, shortly after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan on Monday afternoon, parent company CNPC said on its website (news.cnpc.com.cn).
Reuters
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Friday, May 16, 2008
PetroChina names new president, other appointments
HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Top Asian oil and gas producer PetroChina (0857.HK: Quote, Profile , Research)(PTR: Quote, Profile, Research)(601857.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) appointed Zhou Jiping president and vice-chairman of the company, elevating him from the post of executive director.
Chairman Jiang Jiemin relinquishes the president's post to Zhu but remains chairman, the company said in a statement on Friday that outlined a series of appointments.
Zhou has 35 years experience in oil and gas exploration and helps lead overseas projects for the group, according to the company's Web site (www.petrochina.com).
Zhao Zhengzhang, formerly general manager of PetroChina's Exploration and Production Company, was appointed vice president of the company.
Reuters
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