Central bank injects US$45b into banks

    THE People’s Bank of China injected 280 billion yuan (US$45 billion) into the Chinese banking system through its medium-term lending facility, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.

    Lenders, including China Citic Bank Corp. and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co., got infusions of cash Tuesday, the paper said, citing unnamed sources. The interest rates and duration of the loans are not known, the paper said.

    ‘Didn’t harm’ investor interests: Founder

    SHANGHAI-LISTED brokerage Founder Securities Co. has denied a domestic newspaper report that it had engaged in financing that was harmful to shareholder interests.

    China Securities Journal reported Monday that Founder Securities had issued short-term financing bonds last year with high interest rates to raise funds. Citing financial statements, the paper said these funds were then lent out at lower rates, for unexplained reasons, to affiliated finance firms, amounting to an unnecessary transfer of funds from the broker. In a statement yesterday, Founder Securities said in response to media coverage, which it did not identify, that its financing measures had been approved by its shareholders, and didn’t harm their interests.

    Yashili warns of 2014 profit slump

    DOMESTIC milk powder maker Yashili International Holdings Ltd. said yesterday it expects its 2014 net profit to fall about 40 percent, hit by slowing demand for baby formula and higher marketing and compliance costs.

    The profit warning by Yashili, owned by China Mengniu Dairy Co. and French dairy Danone SA, highlights the challenges domestic and foreign firms face as intense competition makes growth more elusive in the world’s largest infant formula market. Yashili is one of China’s top 10 infant formula makers by sales.

    Kuaidi raises more than US$500m

    KUAIDI Group, one of China’s biggest ride-hailing mobile-app firms, is raising more than US$500 million from investors, including SoftBank Corp., in the race to attract more customers to its platform, according to people familiar with the situation.

    Japan’s SoftBank is joining previous investors Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and investment firm Tiger Global Management LLC in the latest round of fundraising by the Hangzhou-based company, these people said.