A-share index falls most since July

China's stocks fell the most in two months after foreign investment data trailed economists' estimates and money-market rates rose before the start of holidays this week. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.1 percent to 2,185.56 at the close, the most since July 8. A report showed foreign-direct investment grew 0.6 percent last month, compared with the Bloomberg estimate of 12.5 percent growth. A gauge of funding availability in the banking system climbed as demand for cash increased ahead of local holidays.

Tesco closes one Shanghai store

Tesco Plc is to close its first store in China - in Shanghai's Changning district - on Sept 21, after 15 years of operations, when the "lease expires", the retailer said in an announcement. The store has posted excellent profits in the past years but to close it is part of the company's strategic shift, reported China Business News on Tuesday, citing sources at Tesco China. Analysts said retailers are facing increasing operational pressures alongside fast-rising rents. Tesco closed four stores in China in 2012. In early 2013, a store on Shanghai's Zhenning road was also closed.

CNOOC to issue shares in Toronto

CNOOC Ltd, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, expects to issue shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Sept 18, fulfilling a term of its acquisition of Calgary-based Nexen Inc. The company has approval from the Toronto exchange to trade American Depositary Receipts, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. The issue doesn't involve new shares and won't generate additional funds for the company.

Wuzhou considers high-yield bonds

Wuzhou International Holdings Ltd, a Chinese developer that first listed shares in Hong Kong in June, is considering paying the most by an Asian issuer for dollar-denominated debt in 10 months. Wuzhou International, which builds and operates commercial properties in the Yangtze River Delta, is planning a sale of five-year bonds yielding in the high 13 percent area, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the terms aren't set.

State to buy rubber for govt stockpiles

China held discussions with suppliers about buying 200,000 metric tons of rubber for government stockpiles, two industry executives with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. The State Reserve Bureau met the nation's biggest domestic suppliers, about buying 150,000 tons of rubber, said the executives, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The bureau is also in discussions to buy 50,000 tons of smoked rubber sheet imports, they said.

Local debt could exceed $3.3 trillion

Local government debt could exceed 20 trillion yuan ($3.3 trillion), Liu Yuhui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said during a conference on Monday that the figure not only includes explicit debt such as local government financial vehicles and city investment bonds, but also implicit debt, such as wealth management products. That would be "way higher" than the level of debt at the end of 2010 of 10.7 trillion yuan.

Benin gets $42m loan for water

The Export-Import Bank of China will lend Benin $42 million to finance the supply of drinking water in 69 villages in the West African country, Energy and Water Minister Barthelemy Kassa said. The loan means the country will be able to supply drinking water to 67 percent of the population, as required by the Millennium Development Goals, he told lawmakers on Monday in Porto-Novo, the political capital.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 09/18/2013 page13)