Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: The nation should steadily work toward yuan
convertibility, China Money magazine reported Aug. 3, citing
Wang Yungui, deputy director general of the Balance of Payment
Department at the currency regulator. China should improve the
system of foreign-exchange settlements and increase the currency
market's demand and supply, Wang said according the magazine.
China Development Bank plans to sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64
billion) of fixed-rate seven-year bonds this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China Yangtze Power Profit Jumps 72 Percent on Output, Sale of Bank Stake

(Bloomberg) -- China Yangtze Power Co., operator of
the world's biggest hydropower project, said first-half profit
jumped 72 percent after the company sold shares in a bank and as
electricity output rose.

Net income surged to 2.25 billion yuan ($298 million), or
0.268 yuan a share, from 1.31 billion yuan, or 0.16 yuan, a year
earlier, Yangtze Power said in a statement to Shanghai's stock
exchange today. Sales rose 12 percent to 3.4 billion yuan.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Paulson's Yuan Appreciation Anticipated by Pictet, Western Asset's Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Investors from Switzerland to
California are banking on U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
convincing China to let its yuan appreciate more than 5 percent
in coming months.

Western Asset Management Co. in Pasadena and Pictet Asset
Management in Geneva are buying contracts tied to the future
value of the yuan, driving the price so high that the currency
must strengthen at least 5.5 percent in the next 12 months
before they see any profit. The so-called non-deliverable
forwards are rising at the fastest pace in two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China's June Thermal Coal Prices Increase as Much as 2.7 Percent From May

(Bloomberg) -- Prices for power station coal in
China rose by as much as 2.7 percent in June from the previous
month, increasing fuel costs for electricity producers in the
world's fastest-growing major economy.

The price of thermal coal climbed as much as 12 yuan to
between 445 yuan ($58.8) and 455 yuan a metric ton at the end of
last month at Qinhuangdao, China's largest coal port, the
Beijing-based National Development and Reform Commission said in
a statement posted on its Web site July 20. Average coal prices
and transportation costs were ``stable,'' it said.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

Yuan Falls on Speculation Central Bank Sold Before Raising Interest Rates

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan had the biggest drop in six
weeks on speculation the central bank sold the currency before
raising interest rates.

The People's Bank of China boosted lending and deposit rates
by 0.27 percentage point each just minutes before yuan trading
ended as it aims to cool an economy growing at the fastest pace
in more than 12 years. Gains in the currency and higher borrowing
costs may help reduce excess funds in the banking system that are
spurring lending and investment.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China Yuan Extends Loss as Central Bank Raises Interest Rates a Third Time

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan had the biggest drop in six
weeks after the central bank raised interest rates to cool an
economy growing at the fastest pace in more than 12 years.

The People's Bank of China boosted lending and deposit rates
by 27 basis points each just minutes before yuan trading ended.
Gains in the currency and higher borrowing costs may help reduce
excess funds in the banking system that are spurring lending and
investment.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

China Xi'an Aircraft to sell up to $872 mln in shrs

(Reuters) - Proceeds will fund the purchase of 3.07 billion yuan of civil
aviation assets from the parent firm and other aviation projects,
it said.




Xi'an Aircraft International, which like its parent company
is part of state aircraft maker AVIC I, is also a supplier of
parts for the country's first self-developed regional jet, the
ARJ21, due for its maiden test flight next Spring.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

China May Let Yuan Trade Freely After 2008 Olympics Ends, UOB's Suan Says

(Bloomberg) -- China may allow the yuan to trade
freely after Beijing hosts the Olympics next year, seeking to
curb excessive lending and cool the economy, said Suan Teck Kin,
an economist at United Overseas Bank Ltd.

The government will probably allow a so-called free-
floating currency a year after reshuffling its leadership in
October, Singapore-based Suan said in an interview. He predicts
the currency will strengthen 1.9 percent by the end of the year
to 7.43 per dollar and 6.9 percent to 7.08 by the end of 2008.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China Coal May Raise $2.9 Billion in Shanghai Initial Offer to Fund Growth

(Bloomberg) -- China Coal Energy Co., the nation's
second-largest coal producer by sales, may raise about $2.9
billion in a share offering in Shanghai to fund expansion as the
country's demand for energy surges.

China Coal will sell as many as 1.53 billion yuan-
denominated Class A shares in Shanghai, the Beijing-based company
said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange today. The
sale would be worth 22.2 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) based on the
closing price of HK$14.58 in Hong Kong on July 13.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

India, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, China: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China's central bank yesterday sold 1 billion yuan
($132 million) of three-year fixed rate notes at a coupon of
3.62 percent. It also issued 44 billion yuan in three-month
zero-coupon notes at a discounted price of 99.32 yuan. The
Ministry of Finance will sell 35 billion yuan of three-year
fixed-rate notes today.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, India: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China Development Bank sold 20 billion yuan ($2.63
billion) of 10-year floating rate bonds yesterday. The coupon
was one-year deposit rate of 3.06 percent plus 89 basis points.
Ten-year bonds sold in May carried a coupon of 60 basis points
more than the one-year deposit rate. The Ministry of Finance
will sell 35 billion yuan of three-year fixed-rate notes on July
13.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Yuan's Fastest Gains Fail to Quiet U.S. Lawmakers as Trade Deficit Widens

(Bloomberg) -- China's yuan is rising at the fastest
pace since the nation's central bank abandoned its link to the
dollar in 2005, and U.S. lawmakers still aren't satisfied.

The yuan appreciated 1.5 percent last quarter as prices for
items such as food, rent and transportation increased the most in
27 months. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
predict that inflation will force America's second-largest
trading partner to let its currency strengthen at least 7.5
percent in the next year, more than twice as much as in 2006.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Western Mining Seeks an $815 Million Initial Public Offering in Shanghai

(Bloomberg) -- China's Western Mining Co., a
producer of zinc, nickel and copper, is seeking as much as 6.2
billion yuan ($815 million) in a Shanghai initial public
offering to expand production and buy stakes in other mines.

The company will sell as many as 460 million new shares at
12 yuan to 13.48 yuan each, Xining, Qinghai-based Western Mining
said today in a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. UBS AG,
Europe's biggest bank by assets, is arranging the sale, its
first in China.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence Asian local-currency bonds today. Yields
are from the previous session.

China: China Development Bank, the nation's second-biggest
issuer of debt, failed to sell 8.1 billion yuan ($1.06 billion)
of asset-backed securities, the government's depository said in
a report. The bank's sale didn't meet the minimum fund-raising
amount in its contract, and China Development Bank will have to
rearrange the asset pool and try to issue the bonds again, China
Government Securities Depository Trust & Clearing Co. said June
22 on its China Bond Web site.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China's Yuan Rises to Highest Since Dollar Link Scrapped; Bonds Unchanged

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan climbed to the highest
since a dollar peg was scrapped in 2005 as traders speculated
China will allow gains to help ease the record trade surplus.
Bonds were little changed.

China said yesterday it will reduce export rebates on 2,831
products to help ease friction with other countries that has
caused some U.S. lawmakers to accuse the nation of artificially
keeping its currency low. The yuan should be allowed to move
more to help the government's foreign-currency manager operate,
said Li Yang, a former adviser to the central bank.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Shanghai copper down 1.4 percent on faltering LME

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper closed down 1.4 percent on Tuesday as investors cashed in positions after London futures failed to sustain a rally above $7,600 a tonne in the previous session.

The most-active September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the day at 64,480 yuan a tonne, from 65,400 yuan on Monday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Shanghai copper up 2.9 percent, supply woes support

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper rose almost 3 percent on Monday, with the market shrugging off warnings from China that it will take further steps to cool the economy, and instead focused on threats to supply and limited world stocks.

The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2.9 percent to 64,930 yuan a tonne at the close, from 63,130 yuan on Friday.


Read more at Reuters Africa

China Mobile eyes biggest ever Shanghai listing

(Reuters) - It will likely be the biggest initial public offer of equity ever in China's domestic markets, exceeding Industrial & Commercial Bank of China's 46.6 billion yuan Shanghai IPO last year, the banking sources said.




China Mobile hired KPMG to audit its proposed Shanghai listing late last year. An auditing report has been completed and submitted in a package of listing documents to regulators in Beijing for consideration, said the sources.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

Microsoft Will Acquire Stake in China Television Maker Sichuan Changhong

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. agreed to buy 0.8
percent of Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., China's second-biggest
television maker, in a project that can connect computers and
televisions to the Internet, the Chinese company said.

Microsoft will pay 94 million yuan ($12 million) for 15
million new Changhong shares at 6.27 yuan each, according to a
statement today by the Chinese company, based in southwestern
China's Mianyang city. Changhong shares soared to 9.93 yuan on
June 14 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Yuan Rises to Highest Since End of Dollar Link; China May Allow More Gains

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan strengthened to its highest
since the end of a dollar link in July 2005 on speculation China
will allow appreciation to complement other monetary policies to
cool exports and investment.

Economic figures last week showed sales overseas,
investment, factory production and inflation accelerated in May,
raising the need for a stronger yuan to help ease expansion in
the world's fastest-growing major economy. The yuan had its
biggest weekly gain since the end of the link.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News