Rail firms hit by minister's downfall

Chinese railway companies saw their share prices dragged lower by the downfall of railway minister Liu Zhijun. Since February 14, shares of Midas Holdings plunged 21.1 per cent to HK$4.40 despite the Hong Kong and Singapore-listed firm winning two contracts totalling 83.5 million yuan (HK$98.7 million) in Turkey and Malaysia, while CSR Corp fell 10.7 per cent to HK$8.50. China Railway Group dropped 2.9 per cent to HK$4.99 and China Railway Construction Corp fell 4.9 per cent to HK$8.80, while the Shanghai share price of China CNR Corp fell 7.8 per cent to 8.05 yuan.