Business Digest
Sportswear group Li Ning posted an 85 per cent drop in first-half net profit yesterday, lagging expectations as high inventories, rising costs and competition from foreign and domestic rivals hit the bottom line. Li Ning recorded a profit of 44.3 million yuan (HK$54.2 million) for the January-June period. Revenue in the period fell to 3.88 billion yuan from 4.29 billion yuan a year ago. Reuters
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) will introduce yuan futures on September 17. The futures contract will be the world's first exchange-traded deliverable yuan-denominated futures. The futures will be quoted in yuan per US dollar. Peggy Sito
Telecommunications equipment manufacturer ZTE yesterday announced a 68.17 per cent drop in first-half net profit to 244.87 million yuan. Profit before tax fell 48.49 per cent to 656 million yuan. The company said it would announce plans to sell its first fourth-generation handset through China Mobile's Hong Kong unit next week. Peggy Sito