Air China's profit dives on higher fuel cost Air China, the country's flagship airline, reported a 77 per cent fall in interim net profit with analysts warning that operating conditions will remain challenging through the second half. Asia's second-largest airline by market value yesterday posted a net profit of 944.5 million yuan for the first six months of the year, it said in a stock exchange filing. Chinese airlines have been hit by high prices on fuel, which account for about 40 per cent of their operating costs, and a 0.9 per cent depreciation in the yuan against the US dollar in the first half. Reuters Zhaojin Mining buys into Aussie gold miner Gold miner Zhaojin Mining Industry will subscribe to 100 million shares in Norseman Gold at A$0.04 per share as part of the 625 million share placement announced by the Australian miner. Norseman Gold, listed on AIM in London and the Australian Securities Exchange, is a gold producer focused on Western Australia. The transaction is pending the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board of Australia and relevant Chinese authorities. Sophie Yu Luxury Lincoln car to roll into China US auto giant Ford Motor said it would bring its Lincoln brand to China in two years, pitching the vehicle to the luxury segment of the world's largest car market. Lincoln cars, Ford's luxury brand, would be available in China in the second half of 2014, it said. As the world's largest auto market, China has become increasingly important to foreign players like Ford and General Motors. AFP Evergrande's first-half profit declines 21pc Mainland developer Evergrande Real Estate Group reported that core profit dived 21 per cent in the first half to 3.8 billion yuan because of Beijing's curbs on the property market. The developer's gross profit margin was down 6.5 percentage points to 28.6 per cent during the period. Contracted sales totalled 44.3 billion yuan in the first seven months of the year, accomplishing 54 per cent of the planned contracted sales for the entire year. Paggie Leung
