In Brief
Yunnan Copper shares fall as earnings may miss forecast
Shares of Yunnan Copper Industry fell by their 10 per cent limit to close at 28.26 yuan (HK$31.50) in Shenzhen trading yesterday after the country's third-biggest producer of the metal said its earnings for last year would be about 40 per cent below a target of 1.52 billion yuan because of smelting losses. The Kunming company issued the forecast during a share placement that raised 4.35 billion yuan in March last year. Carol Chan
Beijing raises QFII quota to boost A-share market
The mainland has started to distribute an additional US$20 billion of the quota under the qualified foreign institutional investor scheme as it hopes more overseas institutional buying will stabilise the troubled A-share market. Zou Lin, an official of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said last weekend the regulator had officially raised the QFII quota from US$10 billion to US$30 billion amid increasing demand from overseas institutions. Daniel Ren
Tianjin Port records 16.3pc jump in profit to HK$240m
Container terminal operator Tianjin Port Development Holdings saw net profit, excluding interest income from its initial public offering, increase 16.3 per cent to HK$240.4 million last year as turnover rose 15.2 per cent to HK$1.19 billion. It proposed a final dividend of 2.7 HK cents per share, up from 2.3 HK cents a year earlier. Jonathan Yang
Shanghai Electric net up 37.38pc on strong equipment demand
Shanghai Electric Group said net profit surged 37.38 per cent to 2.8 billion yuan last year as equipment demand from the energy and infrastructure sectors remained strong. Revenue rose 28.12 per cent to 56.43 billion yuan, driven by power generation equipment business. Earnings per share stood at 23.67 fen. The firm expects accelerated urbanisation, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and increasing development from overseas markets to boost its equipment business. Maria Chan
Set-top box sales propel DVN back into the black
DVN Holdings, a mainland-based television set-top box supplier, moved into the black last year with a profit of HK$115 million compared with a loss of HK$632 million in 2006. Sales rose 2 per cent to HK$991 million, with revenue from set-top boxes making up about 80 per cent of total sales. 'We will sell about 4 million set-top box units this year, compared with 3.19 million last year,' chief executive Terry Lui said. DVN shares fell 1.15 per cent to close at 86 HK cents yesterday. Jeff Pao
Fosun receives 5b yuan, 3-year loan to fund acquisitions
Shanghai conglomerate Fosun International has obtained a three-year loan worth up to 5 billion yuan from China Development Bank for future mergers and acquisitions. Last month, subsidiary Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical won shareholder approval to apply for a three-year term loan of 400 million yuan from Agricultural Bank Of China. Fosun's net profit grew more than twofold to 3.35 billion yuan last year. Natalie Chiu
GZI earnings jump 50pc
Guangzhou Investment said its net profit jumped 50 per cent to HK$1.07 billion last year as property and toll-road business benefited from the robust economy on the mainland. Revenue rose 52 per cent to HK$7.06 billion. Basic earnings per share rose to 15.46 HK cents. The company proposed a final dividend of 2.5 HK cents. Maria Chan
SFC to enhance fund industry
The Securities and Futures Commission is to revamp the Unit Trust Code to enhance the development of Hong Kong's fund industry, deputy chief executive Alexa Lam said yesterday. Enoch Yiu
