Business Digest

Mainland regulator may cap staff shares at 10pc

The number of shares issued to any mainland-listed firm's employees should not exceed 10 per cent of its total issued shares, and no single employee should be awarded over 1 per cent of its total number of shares, according to rules drafted by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The annual staff shares award plan must not amount to over 30 per cent of a firm's cash-based staff compensation expense in any year and all awarded shares cannot be sold within less than 36 months after they are issued. Eric Ng

Court freezes bank deposits of Tianrui units

The Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court issued on July 26 a civil ruling to freeze 129 million yuan (HK$156.9 million) of deposits in the bank accounts of some units of China Tianrui Group Cement and some companies controlled by chairman Li Liufa. The order stems from a civil action between an aluminium smelting firm controlled by Li and Zhejiang Zhongda over a distributorship agreement. But Tianrui said its bank accounts had so far not been frozen and it was not liable under the civil action. Eric Ng

Qinfa warns of earnings slide as demand weakens

China Qinfa Group, the nation's largest privately owned coal trading and logistics firm, said first-half profits were expected 'to be significantly less' than the same period last year. This was mainly due to a drop in demand and earning power for thermal coal on the mainland and rising costs and provisions, the company said yesterday. Lulu Chen