China update weekly

Tales from abroad: an overview of the main economic and corporate events in China last week

Dan Su, CFA 21 September, 2009 | 11:19AM
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Top news of the week
More SMEs get IPO approval

Marking another major step toward the launch of a growth-enterprise board, China's version of the NASDAQ, to fund budding businesses, securities regulators this week approved the initial public offering (IPO) applications of 13 companies. A total of 149 small and medium-sized businesses have submitted applications since late July. The board is based in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, close to Hong Kong, and the IPOs can take place as early as in October. Companies on average are seeking to raise about CNY 230 million (£20.8 million) via the IPOs, according to official statistics.

Regulators have laid out stringent rules for IPO applicants to alleviate concerns that the board will turn into a gambling ground with wild speculations. To qualify for a listing on the growth enterprise board, companies should have reported two straight years of profit with combined earnings of at least CNY10 million or they have to be profitable in the past year, with operating income of at least CNY50 million and net profit exceeding CNY5 million.

Distinctly different from the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which is dominated by large, state-owned companies in industries such as banking, energy and infrastructure, the growth-enterprise board will be made up of firms in the technology and service sectors that are hungry for capital, but have traditionally been shut off from the bank lending system. For instance, firms that have been approved for IPO on the growth board are from industries such as software, electronics, healthcare, logistics and alternative energy. Five of them are based in Beijing, where a large talent pool and well-established start-up incubator system have helped many growth companies to thrive.

Market recap
Stocks eased over the past trading week due to investor worries about the flurry of IPOs in the coming weeks and about the prospects of China's own soon-to-be-launched growth-enterprise board, which is modelled after the NASDAQ. Falling metal prices also weighed on the market performance. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.91 per cent to 2,963, while the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1 per cent to 11,977.

Macro and industry updates
China and Venezuela agree on US$16bn oil project

The US$16 billion (A£9.9 billion) deal was announced this week as the two countries look to cooperate on oil exploration in Venezuela's Orinoco basin. China will work with state-owned oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela. Earlier this year, China had agreed to provide US$4 billion in loans in exchange for oil from Venezuela.

New laws on insurance services

From October 1, new laws will take effect to expand the scope of insurance services that Chinese providers can offer. On top of property, life and reinsurance policies, insurers will soon be able to offer a wide range of services that include health and credit insurance. Restrictions on investment options have also been relaxed to allow insurers to seek better risk-adjusted returns on capital. The new laws also place greater emphasis on protecting the rights of insurance policy holders and beneficiaries.

Contributions from Iris Tan.

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About Author

Dan Su, CFA  Dan Su, CFA, is a senior stock analyst with Morningstar.

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