ASX, BOC to boost yuan trading

    THE Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and Bank of China (BOC) have agreed to work together to boost yuan trading in Australia, bolstering China’s efforts to promote the use of its currency in international trade.

    BOC, China’s fourth-biggest lender, was appointed Tuesday as the official yuan clearing bank in Australia. The agreement with the ASX will see the two companies expand cooperation in promoting the yuan as a currency in Australia’s financial markets, including developing yuan-denominated bonds and derivatives that can be quoted and traded on the ASX, they said yesterday. It would also help improve the attractiveness of Australia as a listings location for Chinese companies.

    Minsheng-led group buys Shanghai site

    CHINA Minsheng Investment Corp., a major Chinese investment fund, has teamed up with two big Shanghai investors to buy a plot of land in downtown Shanghai for 24.85 billion yuan (US$4.04 billion).

    The investment firm joined Shanghai Bund Investment Group and Shanghai Jiadu Properties to buy the 126,740-square-meter plot in the Huangpu District at an auction Tuesday, according to the Shanghai land transaction center. Despite the hefty price, it isn’t in record territory considering its size, which translates into an average price of 35,392 yuan per square meter available for development, according to property consultancy Savills China.

    PetroChina Asset tests appetite for IPO

    A SINGAPORE petroleum storage company, partly owned by Chinese oil giant PetroChina Co., has started testing investor appetite for an initial public offering (IPO) of more than US$770 million, people with knowledge of the deal said yesterday

    Universal Terminal (S) Pte., which provides fuel-storage services in Singapore to oil traders, is banking on investor interest in getting yield at a time of low interest rates globally. It is seeking to pay up to 7.6 percent yield to investors of the trust, the people said. Interest rates at banks in Singapore for domestic-currency deposits are as low as 0.25 percent a year.

    Xiaomi invests in online video firm iQiyi

    XIAOMI Technology Co. said yesterday it has made US$300 million investment in online video provider iQiyi.

    The investment in iQiyi followed a separate stake purchase deal Xiaomi announced last week in China’s largest video streaming site Youku Tudou Inc.