Brokerages asked about slump impact

    REGULATORS have asked brokerages about the impact of Tuesday’s stock market slump on their operations, the state-owned Securities Times newspaper reported Tuesday.

    The regulators have also ordered securities firms to submit a report with their near-term outlook for the stock market, the paper said, citing unidentified sources from various brokerage firms. Such checks are standard procedures taken by regulators following big swings in the stock market, according to industry experts.

    Regulators to simplify forex rules

    THE government is simplifying the rules to allow financial companies to trade in its interbank foreign exchange market, its currency regulator said Tuesday.

    The State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in an online statement that the new rules are effective Jan. 1.

    Shengjing Bank mulls $1.3b HK IPO

    SHENGJING Bank, a commercial lender owned by the Shenyang Municipal Government, is seeking to raise about US$1.3 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering, IFR reported Tuesday.

    The company is expected to start book-building later this week or early next week and the IPO is expected to be priced before Christmas, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, said, citing sources familiar with the matter. China Merchants Securities (HK) is the sole sponsor and sole global coordinator. Shengjing joins other Chinese lenders, Huishang Bank, Bank of Chongqing and Harbin Bank to pursue a Hong Kong listing, the report added.

    Jiangxi Copper in deal with U.S. miner

    JIANGXI Copper Co. and U.S. miner Freeport McMoRan have agreed to term treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) of US$107 per ton and 10.7 U.S. cents per pound for copper concentrate shipments to the Chinese metal producer in 2015, two sources said yesterday.

    That is up 16.3 percent from US$92 per ton and 9.2 U.S. cents per pound for term shipments in 2014, seen as the benchmark for Chinese smelters’ imports of the raw material concentrate this year. Miners pay TC/RCs to smelters to convert concentrate into refined metal, with charges deducted from the smelters’ purchase prices. The charges typically rise when supply increases as demand for smelting capacity to process concentrates climbs.