Money rate extends decline on speculation inflows rising

China's money-market rate declined for a third day on speculation that rising capital inflows will help boost the supply of cash in the financial system. The seven-day repurchase rate, which measures interbank funding availability, dropped 6 basis points to 3.21 percent at the 4:30 pm close in Shanghai, according to a weighted average rate compiled by the National Interbank Funding Center. "Foreign capital inflows are probably rising, which is helping bring down money market rates," said Wang Huane, a senior bond trader at Qilu Bank Co in Jinan, Shandong province.

Government keeps fuel prices unchanged

China, the world's second-biggest oil consumer, won't adjust gasoline and diesel prices in the first review under a new mechanism because international crude costs have remained relatively stable. There will be no change to tariffs because average global crude costs in the past 10 working days were "basically" the same as when China last revised fuel prices, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website on Wednesday. The NDRC, the nation's top economic planner, previously considered an adjustment every 22 working days.

Copper drops as exports from China fuel concern

Copper fell in London as weaker-than-estimated exports from China, the world's biggest consumer of the metal, fueled concern supply will exceed demand. Shipments gained 10 percent in March from a year earlier, Chinese customs figures showed on Wednesday, below the median estimate of 11.7 percent in a Bloomberg News analyst survey. Imports were stronger than predicted. Inventories of copper tracked by the London Metal Exchange are the highest since September 2003. "Macro sentiment remains shaky as nervous market participants look for more signs of gaining momentum in China's economy, eventually driving seasonal demand for metals," Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said in a report on Wednesday.

African Minerals may seek China debt funding

African Minerals Ltd, the Sierra Leone iron-ore producer that got a $1.5 billion investment from a Chinese steel mill last year, may seek debt funding from the Asian nation for a mine expansion scheduled for 2016. "We have a range of different options," CEO Keith Calder said on Wednesday, referring to the $2.1 billion development plan. "We have the opportunity for project-level debt, which would be a combination of perhaps Chinese and Western banks." African Minerals began shipments from the Tonkolili mine in November 2011 and on Wednesday said it expects to reach its targeted production rate of 20 million metric tons annually this quarter.

Exports to DPRK decline in first quarter

China's exports to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea fell in the first three months of this year. Shipments to the DPRK fell 13.8 percent in the first quarter of the year to $720 million, China customs administration spokesman Zheng Yuesheng told reporters on Wednesday in Beijing. Imports from the DPRK rose 2.5 percent to $590 million. China is the DPRK's biggest trading partner, and Pyongyang depends on its neighbor for fuel oil and consumer goods.

Alibaba shortlists nine banks for loan of up to $8 billion

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's biggest e-commerce company, shortlisted banks for a loan of as much as $8 billion, three people familiar with the matter said. Nine lenders are seeking internal approvals to underwrite at least $500 million each, said the people, naming Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, DBS Bank Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings PLC, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd and Morgan Stanley. Formed in 1999 as an online marketplace for Chinese companies, Alibaba has grown as economic liberalization spurred a boom in manufacturing and trade.

BHP finance chief expects China growth to slow

BHP Billiton Ltd, the world's biggest mining company, expects annual economic growth in China, its largest customer, to moderate toward 6 percent. "With what you have seen over the past couple of years, I don't expect the double-digit growth rates to continue," Graham Kerr, chief financial officer of the Melbourne-based company, said on Wednesday at the Bloomberg Australia Economic Summit in Sydney. "Their moderated growth is around the 7 percent to 8 percent mark for the next couple of years, then trending down toward the 6 percent mark."

Puda Coal investor sues Citic unit over asset transfer

A Puda Coal Inc investor sued a unit of Citic Group Corp, one of China's biggest State-owned firms, claiming it conspired with Puda's chairman to transfer control of the company's most important asset to insiders, leaving Puda an empty shell company without operations or revenue. After transferring the company, Shanxi Puda Coal Group Co, Puda sold shares to investors who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when this became public, the investor, Thomas Tarsavage, said in a complaint filed on Monday in Manhattan Federal Court.

Brokerage may be suspended for misconduct

China may suspend a brokerage's license to underwrite equity sales on suspicion of financial misconduct at companies it advised, the China Securities Journal reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission may ban a firm based in southern China from underwriting for three months, the newspaper said, citing bankers from the brokerage without identifying them or their employer. The allegations against the client company include manipulation of financial statements, according to the Journal.

943 group-purchase sites remain as sector declines

Only 943 Chinese group-purchase websites, or less than 20 percent of the number at the industry's peak, have survived, the Yangcheng Evening News reported on Wednesday. It said there used to be more than 5,000 such websites in the country. The number fell because large-scale websites in the sector have been very competitive and attracted the most customers, the report said. After Spring Festival this year, many of the less-successful website entrepreneurs gave up their business to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Gold imports from HK rebound on decline in prices

Gold imports by the Chinese mainland from Hong Kong rose 89 percent in February, rebounding from a decline the month before, as lower prices lured buyers seeking the metal to protect wealth. Mainland buyers bought 97,106 kg, including scrap, up from from 51,303 kg in January, according to figures from the Hong Kong government on Tuesday. This is the fourth-highest monthly total on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gold retreated this year on speculation that the US Federal Reserve may pare its stimulus measures as the recovery gains traction.

Fitch cuts yuan debt rating over local government loans

Fitch Ratings Ltd cut China's long-term local-currency debt rating, citing increasing risks to the country's financial stability given the lack of transparency in the increased borrowing of local governments. Fitch lowered its assessment by one step to A+, the fifth-highest grade, the London-based company said. It estimates total credit in China's economy, including various forms of shadow banking, may have reached 198 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2012, up from 125 percent four years earlier.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 04/11/2013 page14)