CHN : China Stocks Climb to Record, Capping Biggest Quarterly Advance : Bloomber

China Stocks Climb to Record, Capping Biggest Quarterly Advance
2007-09-28 00:13 (New York)


By Zhang Shidong
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- China's CSI 300 Index rose, set
for a record close and its best quarterly performance to date,
after a newspaper report showed the central bank has raised its
economic growth forecast for this year. Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China Ltd. and China Vanke Co. led the advance.
``Expectations are building that rapid economic growth
will bolster corporate earnings,'' said Zhang Shuntai, who
helps manage about $127 million at Zhonghai Fund Management Co.
in Shanghai. ``That's helping steer investors into equities.''
China Oilfield Services Ltd., the drilling unit of the
nation's third-largest oil producer, more than doubled in its
debut on the Shanghai stock market.
The CSI 300 climbed 124.70, or 2.3 percent, to 5,552.36 at
the 11:30 a.m. local-time break, exceeding its best finish of
5,513.90 set Sept. 24. About 90 percent of the benchmark's
members gained.
The index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares listed
on China's two exchanges, has gained 48 percent since the end
of June, set to complete the best quarter since it was
introduced in April 2005.
ICBC, the nation's biggest listed lender, added 0.01 yuan,
or 0.2 percent, to 6.59. China Minsheng Banking Corp., its only
privately controlled lender, rose 0.43 yuan, or 2.9 percent, to
15.51. China Vanke, the No. 1 publicly traded real estate
developer, climbed 0.87 yuan, or 3 percent, to 30.12.

Economic Growth

China's economy is expected to expand 11.6 percent this
year, the state-run China Securities Journal reported, citing
research by the People's Bank of China, exceeding the bank's
June estimate for 10.8 percent. The economy grew 11.9 percent
in the second quarter, the fastest pace in more than 12 years.
China United Telecommunications Corp., which controls the
nation's second-largest cell phone operator, gained 0.45 yuan,
or 5 percent, to 9.41. Daqin Railway Co., the operator of the
nation's biggest coal transport network, advanced 1.08 yuan, or
4.3 percent, to 26.
Combined profits at Chinese industrial companies surged 37
percent to 1.6 trillion yuan ($213 billion) in the first eight
months from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics
said yesterday.
Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co., China's biggest
copper producer, gained 1.10 yuan, or 3.6 percent, to 32.09.
Jiangxi Copper Co., the second-biggest, climbed 4.51 yuan, or
8.3 percent, to 58.85. Yunnan Copper Industry Co, the third-
largest, rose 4.41 yuan, or 4.8 percent, to 95.71.

Copper Rises

Copper gained 3.4 percent to $3.648 a pound in New York
yesterday. Earlier, the price reached $3.6775, the highest
since July 24. Futures have climbed 7.4 percent in September,
heading for the biggest gain since April.
China Oilfield, the drilling unit of China National
Offshore Oil Corp., jumped 164 percent from its offer price to
35.65 yuan on the first day of trading in Shanghai. The company
raised 6.74 billion yuan selling domestic shares for the first
time after drawing orders for more than 300 times shares on
offer from investors.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of
China's stock exchanges, climbed 2.2 percent to 5,526.54. The
Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.4 percent to 1,528.57.
The following stocks rose or fell. The stock symbols are
in brackets after companies' names:

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028 CH), Asia's
biggest oil refiner, also known as Sinopec, rose 0.57 yuan, or
3.1 percent, to 18.95. Sinopec plans the nation's biggest
corporate bond sale as part of proposals to raise as much as 50
billion yuan to finance the gas field and chemicals projects.

China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and
Construction Co. (000758 CH), a unit of China Nonferrous Metal
Industry (Group) Co., added 2.47 yuan, or 5.3 percent, to 49.29.
The company said it will supply equipment worth $135 million to
double the capacity of a plant for Kazakhstan Aluminum Smelter
Joint-Stock Co.

Guangdong Midea Electric Appliances Co. (000527 CH),
China's second-biggest publicly traded appliance maker,
advanced 0.89 yuan, or 2.5 percent, to 36.89. Net income for
the first nine months probably rose between 120 percent and 170
percent from a year ago on rising sales and investment gain
from the purchase of equities in a fund management firm, the
company said.

--Editor: Regan (mwm)