IBM and Lenovo 'halt talks on Big Blue deal'

IBM and Lenovo have called off negotiations over a multibillion-dollar deal in which the Chinese company would have bought Big Blue's low-end server business, Fortune magazine cited unidentified sources as saying on Wednesday. Talks between the two companies were halted after disagreement over the valuation of a business that sells servers used to power corporate datacenters, the business magazine cited a person familiar with the discussions as saying. It said the negotiations could still resume.

A-share listed brokeragesreport profit growth in Q1

An overwhelming majority of A-share listed brokerages reported net profit growth in the first quarter. The profit performances posted by 16 out of 19 brokerages are positive indicators for the economy, analysts said of the findings by Wind Information Co Ltd, a financial information services provider. Small and medium-sized brokerages reported faster growth than bigger players in the sector, with Shenzhen-listed Northeast Securities reporting a 180 million yuan ($29.24 million) net profit, growth of 280 percent year-on-year in the first quarter. Changjiang Securities, Founder Securities and Everbright Securities posted more than 50 percent year-on-year net profit growth.

CNOOC marketing up to $4b of bonds, source says

CNOOC Ltd, China's biggest offshore energy explorer, is marketing as much as $4 billion of bonds, a person familiar with the matter said, after the company announced plans to help refinance its acquisition of Nexen Inc. The offering will be the biggest dollar bond in Asia, excluding Japan, in more than nine years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. CNOOC plans to sell four maturities of debt including 10-year notes at about 185 basis points over Treasuries, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the terms are not set.

Alibaba closes $8b loans with HSBC, eight other banks

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, China's biggest e-commerce company, closed $8 billion of new loans with nine banks, a person familiar with the matter said. The lenders were 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, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. Florence Shih, a spokeswoman for Alibaba in Hong Kong, declined to comment on the financing. The Hangzhou-based company will use $4.8 billion of the loans to refinance older borrowing at lower interest rates, $800 million to pay back preferred shares to Yahoo Inc, and the rest for corporate purposes, the person said.

Airlines cutting domestic flight fuel surcharge

A number of Chinese airlines will reduce the fuel surcharge on domestic flights from Monday, China Economic Net reported on Thursday. The extra charge for domestic routes of more than 800 km will fall from 130 yuan ($21) to 110 yuan per person, and for routes of less than 800 km it will fall to 60 yuan per passenger, the report said.

Watchdog urges moretrading of SME equities

The securities watchdog has urged local regulatory institutions to prepare to trade equities of more small and medium-sized enterprises. Expanding a pilot program to trade equities of unlisted companies is crucial to improving the capital market, said Li Xiaohong, secretary of the discipline inspection commission of the China Securities Regulatory Commission."The key is to innovate new financial products to broaden ways of supporting growth of the real economy," Li said.

Baosteel sees e-commerce platform as new driver

Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd (Baosteel), the nation's largest listed steel maker, will launch an e-commerce platform in May as part of its efforts to diversify its business structure amid a sluggish market. The platform, Shanghai Steel Trade Center, is co-founded by Baosteel and a company under the Baoshan district government. It's designed to provide an all-round service, including steel trades, settlements, storage and logistics to steel enterprises, traders and downstream clients, sources said.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 05/03/2013 page14)