Everbright Bank mulls public offering in Hong Kong

China's State-run Everbright Bank, a mid-sized lender that saw its proprietary-trading arm suspended from trading two weeks ago, is in the process of applying for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, the company said on its mid-term report on Monday. The company is promoting the H-share listing to further strengthen its capital, the report said. China's Ministry of Finance and the China Banking Regulatory Commission have approved the move. The bank has formally submitted its application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Chinese bank assets hit $22.9 trillion in July

Chinese banks recorded 140.45 trillion yuan ($22.9 trillion) in total assets by the end of July, up 14.3 percent from the same period last year, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said on Monday. The growth rate was 0.8 percentage point higher than in June. Liabilities were 131.06 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14 percent. Assets of large commercial banks reached 60.22 trillion yuan, up 8.8 percent year-on-year and 1.5 percent higher than in June, accounting for 42.9 percent of the financial banking industry. The banks' total liabilities stood at 56.05 trillion yuan, 8.4 percent higher than last year.

China Southern's profit down, Air China reports rise

China Southern Airlines Co Ltd reported falls in both revenue and net profit in the first half of the year, sources said, while Air China Ltd reported an increase in net profit. The Guangzhou-based carrier said revenue edged down 4.2 percent year-on-year to 46 billion yuan from January to June, and net profit tumbled 32.7 percent year-on-year to 302 million yuan. Air China, the country's flag carrier, reported a 7.3 percent rise in first-half earnings on Tuesday. The carrier booked 1.12 billion yuan net profit from January to June, compared with 944.5 million yuan in net profit a year earlier.

Investment in roads, waterways increases in July

China's fixed-asset investment in roads and waterways rose 13 percent year-on-year to reach 151.5 billion yuan in July, according to the Ministry of Transport. The growth rate is 3.8 percentage points higher than the average growth rate in the first six months. In roads, accumulated fixed-asset investment in the January to July period reached 664 billion yuan, with actual executed capital reaching 73.4 percent, 5.7 percentage points lower than a year earlier, the ministry said. In the rail sector, accumulated fixed-asset investment in the January to July period totaled 261.7 billion yuan, up 16 percent year-on-year. Basic infrastructure expenditure reached 229.4 billion yuan.

Regulators relax rules for domestic investors

China has relaxed rules to make it easier for domestic investors to put money into overseas securities, the top foreign exchange regulator said on Tuesday, moving a step forwards in the country's capital account liberalization. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said qualified domestic institutional investors, or QDIIs, can use whatever foreign currencies they want, while the application process for foreign exchange quotas will be simplified. It said the changes were aimed to facilitate overseas securities investment and better meet the demand from domestic institutions.

China Daily-Reuters-Bloomberg

(China Daily USA 08/28/2013 page15)