South Korea to launch yuan/won trading

    SOUTH KOREA aims to launch trading of the yuan/won pair this year, a senior government official said yesterday, which will likely boost trade with China while helping South Korea prepare for the yuan’s emergence as a major currency in the future.

    “We hope that [the direct trading of the pair] will contribute to increasing trade and investment,” said Choi Hee-nam, head of the finance ministry’s international finance bureau. “We are making preparation with the aim of beginning it within this year.”

    IFC sells first offshore yuan bond

    INTERNATIONAL Finance Corp. (IFC), part of the World Bank, Tuesday sold the first ever offshore yuan bond designed to fund environmentally friendly projects.

    IFC raised 500 million yuan (US$81 million) from the three-year so-called green bond, which priced to yield 2 percent. Green bond proceeds are typically ringfenced from other funds and used to finance projects that will help benefit the environment, such as projects that will improve energy efficiency.

    China National Gold, Barrick in talks

    CHINA National Gold Group Corp., China’s largest gold mining company, is on the hunt for global acquisitions and partnerships, The Wall Street Journal quoted Xin Song, the firm’s president, as saying yesterday.

    Xin told the newspaper that he recently talked about potential partnerships with Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold producer. But he said talks about an investment in the African properties of another well-known mining name, Robert Friedland, aren’t currently active. China is the world’s biggest consumer and producer of gold, giving the nation increasing sway when it comes to both its price and production.

    CITIC Resources unable to secure all metal

    CITIC Resources Holding Ltd. said yesterday a court has been unable to secure more than 100,000 tons of alumina stored at the Qingdao port, deepening fears that firms exposed to a metals financing scam at the port could face big losses.

    The Chinese port, the world’s seventh busiest, has been at the center of a probe looking into whether a private metals trading firm, Decheng Mining, used multiple warehouse receipts for the same metal cargo to obtain financing. The alumina CITIC Resources was unable to secure via a local court has a value of around US$43 million based on current market prices. CITIC Resources said it would conduct its own investigation and was considering further legal action.