Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: The nation should steadily work toward yuan
convertibility, China Money magazine reported Aug. 3, citing
Wang Yungui, deputy director general of the Balance of Payment
Department at the currency regulator. China should improve the
system of foreign-exchange settlements and increase the currency
market's demand and supply, Wang said according the magazine.
China Development Bank plans to sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64
billion) of fixed-rate seven-year bonds this week.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand: Asian Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, rejecting
claims in the U.S. Congress that he's too soft on China, said
negotiations rather than sanctions have led to a faster
appreciation of the yuan. ``We are getting results through this
process that wouldn't have been achieved without it,'' Paulson
told reporters as he traveled to China, where he arrived late on
July 29. The yuan's ``rate of appreciation has gone up
materially over the past year,'' he said. China Development Bank,
one of the nation's three public policy lenders, plans to sell
20 billion yuan ($2.64 billion) of 10-year bonds tomorrow.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China's CSI 300 Index Advances for Seventh Day: World's Biggest Mover

(Bloomberg) -- China's stocks rose for a seventh day.
China Vanke Co. led developers and banks higher on speculation
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may convince the Chinese
government to allow the yuan's gains to accelerate.

``A stronger yuan will boost profits at banks and
developers'' as investors are drawn to local assets, said Zheng
Tuo, who manages the equivalent of $790 million at Bank of
Communications Schroder Fund Management Co. in Shanghai.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China Development Bank, a state-owned lender, will
sell 20 billion yuan ($2.64 billion) of 10-year bonds on Aug. 1.
China will maintain a tight monetary policy to prevent the
economy from ``overheating,'' Xinhua News Agency reported July
27. The government will apply ``moderate and tight monetary
policies to cool the growth pace in the economy and improve
quality and efficiency of the growth,'' Xinhua said, citing a
statement by the Chinese Communist Party's Political Bureau.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Paulson's Yuan Appreciation Anticipated by Pictet, Western Asset's Trades

(Bloomberg) -- Investors from Switzerland to
California are banking on U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
convincing China to let its yuan appreciate more than 5 percent
in coming months.

Western Asset Management Co. in Pasadena and Pictet Asset
Management in Geneva are buying contracts tied to the future
value of the yuan, driving the price so high that the currency
must strengthen at least 5.5 percent in the next 12 months
before they see any profit. The so-called non-deliverable
forwards are rising at the fastest pace in two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

McDonald's sued in China for not using Chinese

(Reuters) - "McDonald's offers food service in China, but it does not use Chinese, which violates the consumers' right to know," the Beijing Youth Daily quoted Shan as saying.




Shan has asked McDonald's to apologize in newspapers and give him symbolic compensation of 1 yuan , the newspaper said. The case began on Thursday.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

UPDATE 1-Shanghai Auto to issue up to 8 bln yuan in bonds

(Reuters) - Shanghai Automotive shares closed up 4.8 percent at 22.93
yuan on Wednesday, outperforming a 2.7 percent gain in the
Shanghai benchmark index .




"Investors are optimistic about the prospects for Shanghai
Auto's own-brand vehicle plan, as the bond sale would provide
substantial funding for the project," said Zhao Shengli, an
analyst with Galaxy Securities.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Industrial Bank of China Passes Citigroup as Largest Bank by Market Value

(Bloomberg) -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China
Ltd. briefly overtook Citigroup Inc. as the world's largest bank
by market value after less than a year as a public company.

ICBC's shares rose as much as 1.9 percent in Shanghai today
to 5.80 yuan (77 cents), taking its market capitalization to
$244.9 billion, more than Citigroup's $243.9 billion. Citigroup
earned more than three times as much as ICBC last year.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China's Yuan Advances on Speculation Currency Policy to Help Cool Growth

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan rose by the most in almost
two weeks on speculation China will pursue a stronger currency to
cool economic growth, after the central bank last week raised
interest rates for the third time since March. Bonds may drop.

A stronger yuan would curb export sales that have flooded
the financial system with cash, driving the fastest pace of
economic expansion in 12 years in the second quarter. The
currency gained 0.4 percent in June as the trade surplus widened
87 percent from a year ago to an all-time high of $26.9 billion.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Bank of Ningbo Profit Rises 41 Percent to $547 Million on Local Lending

(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Ningbo Co. Ltd., a Chinese
bank that raised 4.14 billion yuan ($547 million) in its initial
public offering this month, said its unaudited first-half profit
rose 41 percent on increased loans to local companies.

Net income rose to 382.8 million yuan, or 0.19 yuan a share,
in the six months ended June 30 from last year's 271.6 million
yuan, or 0.15 yuan a share, said the bank based in eastern
China's Zhejiang province. Sales rose 38 percent to 998.5 million
yuan, the bank said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Shanghai copper falls 1 percent as strikes ease

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper fell almost 1 percent on Tuesday after an easing of strikes that had been supportive of prices recently, while slightly lower London stocks and lacklustre China demand also weighed.

The most active Shanghai September copper futures contract was down 590 yuan or 0.9 percent at 64,270 yuan a tonne by the end of the morning session.


Read more at Reuters Africa

India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China: Asia Local Bond Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic
reports may influence trading in Asian local-currency bonds
today. Yields are from the previous session.

China: China Agricultural Development Bank will sell 10
billion yuan ($1.3 billion) of five-year floating rate notes
today. The interest rate will be based on the one-year deposit
rate of 3.06 percent plus a spread that is to be auctioned. The
Ministry of Finance on June 13 sold 38.38 billion yuan of three-
year notes at a coupon of 3.53 percent. The auction result was
lower than investors' expectation, driving down yields on short-
term bills yesterday.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China shares down as IPOs fuel supply worries

(Reuters) - Bank of Nanjing and Bank of Ningbo announced price ranges on Wednesday for their initial public equity offers, set to raise a combined total of up to 11.07 billion yuan .




Bank of Ningbo's debut would be the first major IPO listing on the Shenzhen bourse since the early 2000s.


Read more at Reuters.com Hot Stocks News

China's Yuan Has Biggest Gain, Highest Close Since End of Dollar Link 2005

(Bloomberg) -- China's yuan rose the most since the
end of a dollar link in July 2005 after Asian currencies that
the central bank uses to monitor its exchange rate gained. Bonds
fell.

The currency ended a four-day decline as a government
report showed the nation's trade surplus almost doubled from a
year ago to a record $26.9 billion in June. The People's Bank of
China wants a stronger currency to curb exports because the
influx of foreign exchange has helped fuel the fastest pace of
inflation in more than two years.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Chrysler, China's Chery to Start U.S. Sales of A1 Hatchback in Early 2008

(Bloomberg) -- Chrysler Group, the fourth-largest
U.S. carmaker, will sell a Chinese-made small car in the U.S.
next year that retails for about half the price of its cheapest
model.

The carmaker will begin selling Chery Automobile Co.'s A1
hatchback in the first quarter of 2008, Chery President Yin
Tongyao told reporters in Beijing. The 1.3-liter A1 costs from
53,800 yuan ($7,100) in China. Chrysler's least expensive U.S.
model is the $13,850 Dodge Caliber, according to Edmunds.com.
Yin didn't say how much the A1 would cost in the U.S.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Yuan Heads for Its Best Quarter Since U.S. Dollar Peg Was Scrapped in 2005

(Bloomberg) -- The yuan headed for the best quarter
since a dollar link was scrapped in 2005 as China allows gains to
cool its economy and ease a record trade surplus.

The currency also rose to the highest since the link ended
as a central bank report today said the economy may expand 10.8
percent in 2007, the fastest pace in 12 years. People's Bank of
China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan has said China will boost the
yuan's flexibility as some U.S. lawmakers press for quicker gains.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

China Will Sell $200 Billion In Bonds to Buy Foreign-Exchange Reserves

(Bloomberg) -- China's finance ministry plans to
sell 1.55 trillion yuan ($200 billion) of bonds to buy foreign-
exchange reserves that will be managed by a new investment fund,
Xinhua News Agency reported.

The Ministry of Finance is setting up the State Investment
Co. that will purchase a portion of the country's record $1.2
trillion foreign-exchange reserves from the central bank to seek
higher returns in global markets. The bonds will mature in more
than 10 years, Xinhua said today without elaborating.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

China Central Bank's Wu Xiaoling Urges `Patience' on Exchange-Rate Changes

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese central banker Wu Xiaoling
reaffirmed the government's policy of keeping the yuan stable, a
day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he'll seek
``more creative'' ways to press for increased flexibility.

The world must be ``patient'' over the pace of the nation's
reforms, People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Wu said today at
a Beijing forum marking the 10th anniversary of the Asian
financial crisis. China will move toward a demand-driven exchange
rate, the central banker said.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Astra, Huafeng, Jobstreet, PetroChina, Woori: Asia Ex-Japan Equity Preview

(Bloomberg) -- The following stocks may rise or fall
today in Asian markets, excluding Japan. This preview includes
news that broke after markets closed. Prices are from the local
market's last close. Stock symbols are in parentheses after
company names.

Chinese energy companies: China Shenhua Energy Co. (1088
HK), the nation's largest coal producer, and PetroChina Co. (857
HK), the country's biggest oil company, won approval from the
Chinese government to sell yuan-denominated shares last week,
Caijing magazine reported on its Web site, without saying how it
got the information. China Shenhua shares fell 85 cents, or 3.1
percent, to HI$26.8. PetroChina jumped 58 cents, or 5.2 percent,
to HK$11.74.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Shanghai copper up 2.9 percent, supply woes support

(Reuters) - Shanghai copper rose almost 3 percent on Monday, with the market shrugging off warnings from China that it will take further steps to cool the economy, and instead focused on threats to supply and limited world stocks.

The most-active August copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 2.9 percent to 64,930 yuan a tonne at the close, from 63,130 yuan on Friday.


Read more at Reuters Africa