Shanghai eyes new board for emerging industry firms

    THE Shanghai Stock Exchange said Friday that it aims to launch a board for companies in emerging industries and has submitted the proposal to China’s securities regulator.

    Compared with Shenzhen’s NASDAQ-style ChiNext, Shanghai’s planned new board would set a higher threshold for listing candidates, in terms of financial conditions or market capitalization, the Shanghai exchange said. Currently, most stocks traded in Shanghai are big, blue chip companies, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange is home to China’s smaller companies and high-growth start-ups.

    Shenhua Energy 2014 profit falls 19%

    CHINA Shenhua Energy Co., China’s biggest coal miner, posted a 19.4 percent fall in 2014 net profit Friday, citing a supply glut and slower demand growth that hurt prices.

    The company, which also owns power plants, railways and ports, recorded a net profit of 36.8 billion yuan (US$5.93 billion), down from 45.1 billion, it said in an exchange filing. Seventy percent of China’s coal miners are losing money, hurt by chronic oversupply, cooling demand growth and a government environmental campaign. Coal prices fell by 16 percent in 2014 and have lost another 6.6 percent this year.

    Ping An Insurance profit jumps 39%

    PING An Insurance Group Co. of China Ltd., Asia’s second-largest insurer by market value, posted a better than expected 39.5 percent rise in annual net profit Friday, as investment income soared on the back of China’s rising stock markets.

    Ping An made a net profit of 39 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion) for 2014, above analysts’ average estimate of 38 billion yuan. It was the company’s highest profit since 2003. The Shenzhen-based firm said that its life insurance unit, which accounts for 40 percent of overall profits, saw the value of new business increase by 20 percent year on year.

    CITIC Bank net profit rises 4%

    CHINA CITIC Bank Corp. said Friday its net profit rose 4 percent in 2014, boosted by higher interest and fee income.

    Net profit last year increased to 40.69 billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) from 39.18 billion yuan the year before, said CITIC Bank, the nation’s seventh-largest lender by assets. Net interest income rose 11 percent to 94.74 billion yuan, while fee and commission income rose 59 percent to 29.98 billion yuan.