Source: Reuters A proposed plan by China’s regulators could allow hedge funds, for the first time, to directly trade in mainland stocks and bonds, opening up one of Asia’s biggest capital markets to the US$2 trillion industry. China has for years encouraged long-term investors such as foreign insurers and pension funds to invest directly in...

Source: Bloomberg Most Chinese stocks rose as government measures to bolster equities overshadowed concern housing demand will weaken and the election of a new president in France may deepen Europe’s debt crisis. About four stocks climbed for every three that fell on the Shanghai Composite Index, which slipped 0.07 point to 2,451.95 at the close....

Source: Bloomberg China agreed to let foreign firms own as much as 49 per cent of domestic securities companies in a shift that may strengthen the nation’s capital markets, a US official said. The previous limit was 33 per cent. China also plans to let foreign investors establish joint-venture brokerages to trade commodity and financial...

Source: Bloomberg China plans to lower tariffs on some products to encourage imports as the nation seeks to alleviate pressures on domestic resources and reduce trade conflicts, the State Council said in a statement Monday. China’s cabinet called on local governments and departments to stabilise and promote commodities imports, widen the buying of advanced technology...

Source: Bloomberg China’s stocks fell, capping the benchmark index’s first weekly losses in a month, as slumping corporate earnings overshadowed speculation the central bank will ease monetary policy to boost economic growth. China Cosco Holdings Co led declines for shippers after reporting a wider loss. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, Asia’s biggest refiner, dropped the...

Source: Reuters   Bank of China, the country’s No. 3 lender by market value, posted on Thursday a near 10-per cent rise in first-quarter net profit but the figure fell below expectations as flat net interest margins offset a rise in fee income. Bank of China is the first of China’s four largest banks to...

Source: AFP Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao announced Thursday a US$10-billion special credit line for central and eastern Europe to support cooperation projects mainly in the ex-communist region’s infrastructure sector. “To boost practical cooperation with central and east European countries, the Chinese government has decided to set up a US$10 billion special credit line,” Wen told...

Source: Bloomberg   China’s banks posted their fastest profit growth in at least four years for 2011 as income from loans and fee-based financial services outpaced an increase in defaults triggered by a slowing economy. Financial institutions in China including policy banks, commercial lenders, rural credit cooperatives and foreign banks, earned a combined net income...

Source: Reuters China’s factories posted their best performance this year as a measure of new business rose from multi-month lows, a private sector purchasing managers survey showed on Monday, though overall activity still contracted for a sixth successive month. Readings for output and export orders also perked up as the HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index...

Source: AFP China’s second-largest brokerage Haitong Securities Co raised US$1.68 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, the world’s biggest IPO this year, a report said Friday. Dow Jones Newswires quoted unnamed sources familiar with the raising as saying the Shanghai-listed brokerage sold 1.23 billion shares at HK$10.60 each, the bottom of the...

Source: AFP   The website of the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper announced Friday that it raised RMB1.4 billion (US$222 million) in an initial public offering, nearly three times its first fundraising target. The People’s Daily Online first announced it planned to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in January, at first aiming to raise...