Briefs, October 31, 2012
China is readying new regulations governing credit ratings of bonds traded in the inter-bank market, in an effort to boost activity in the fledgling sector, two people close to the regulator said. The new rules, to be published within weeks, cover ratings from firms that charge bond issuers for coverage, as well as those paid for by investors. Reuters
Soho China, a Beijing-based property developer, is considering its first sale of US dollar-denominated debt as weekly sales by Asia-Pacific issuers slump to the least in almost four months. Borrowers reduced offerings by 83 per cent from the previous period as several markets closed for national holidays. Bloomberg
Manganese Bronze, maker of London's black taxi cabs, said it appointed accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as administrator as it looks to secure funding after a safety issue led to a product recall and a halt in sales. Hangzhou-based carmaker Geely has a 20 per cent stake in the company. Reuters
Profit growth at China's largest carmaker, , decelerated to 1 per cent in the third quarter, hit by a weakening economy and rising fuel costs. SAIC, which builds cars with Volkswagen and General Motors, outperformed local rivals that teamed up with Japanese carmakers. Reuters
- Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) posted a third-quarter loss of 1.08 billion yuan, compared with a net profit of 555 million yuan a year earlier as revenue fell to 37.1 billion yuan from 41.6 billion. Staff
- Net profit at SITC International, the intra-Asian container shipping and logistics firm, slid 8.7 per cent to US$70.5 million in the first nine months of the year although revenue rose 14.7 per cent to US$884.8 million. Keith Wallis
- China Steel, Taiwan's largest steelmaker, reported a 61 per cent decline in third-quarter profit after cutting output and product prices on lower demand. Bloomberg
