Baosteel keeps product prices unchanged

    BAOSHAN Iron and Steel (Baosteel) said yesterday it will keep its major product prices for July delivery unchanged from June.

    The move comes after two consecutive months of price cuts, with Baosteel reducing June prices by between 80-100 yuan (US$12.84-16.05) a ton. Steel consumption is seasonally weaker in China during the summer months that start from June as construction activity thins, extending a slow period for the steel sector that began last month and prompting big producers to curb output.

    Two companies submit IPO prospectuses

    TWO more companies submitted prospectuses to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday, bringing to nine the number of companies commencing initial public offerings (IPOs) following the lifting of a five-month moratorium.

    They are spirit maker Jiangsu King’s Luck Brewery Joint-Stock Co. and pharmaceutical company Zhejiang Shapuaisi Pharmaceutical Co. Together they hope to raise a combined 1.3 billion yuan (US$208 million). Neither company disclosed a date for listing. Seven companies submitted prospectuses Tuesday.

    Indonesian coal miner gets nod for CIC deal

    INDONESIAN coal miner PT Bumi Resources said yesterday its lenders had agreed to close a crucial debt-to-equity swap with Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC, enabling it to pay the coupon on its 2016 bonds.

    In October, CIC agreed to convert the US$1.3 billion debt it was owed by Bumi Resources into stakes in the Indonesian company and associated subsidiaries. Bumi, which is controlled by Bakrie Group, has US$300 million bonds maturing in 2016 with a coupon rate of 12 percent. The company had said it needed consent from its lenders for the closure of the CIC transaction and payment of the 2016 coupon.

    Ministry fails to sell bonds again

    CHINA’S Ministry of Finance failed to sell all of the one-year bonds offered at an auction yesterday, the second time it has missed the target in two months.

    The ministry sold 25.3 billion yuan (US$4 billion) in the debt at 3.32 percent, less than the planned issuance of 28 billion yuan, according to two traders at finance companies that participated in the sale. It issued 20.7 billion yuan, or 74 percent of its goal, in similar-maturity notes April 11. One-year securities yielded 3.15 percent in the secondary market Tuesday, according to ChinaBond data.