Individuals in Shanghai zone may invest abroad

    CHINA is considering launching a trial program that would allow Chinese individuals in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to invest in overseas markets directly for the first time, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday.

    The program, known as the Qualified Domestic Individual Investor program, or QDII2, is part of measures jointly proposed by the Shanghai city government, the central bank and regulators to promote capital account convertibility and international use of the yuan.

    Haitong Securities net profit more than triples

    HAITONG Securities Co.’s first quarter net profit more than tripled from a year earlier on the back of a rally across China’s share markets.

    The brokerage house said yesterday that its first quarter net profit was 4.10 billion yuan (US$661 million), substantially higher than 1.21 billion yuan in the same period a year ago. Its first quarter operating income more than doubled to 7.97 billion yuan from 3.04 billion yuan the previous year.

    Chalco swings to profit on rising prices

    ALUMINUM Corp. of China Ltd. (Chalco) swung to a profit in the first quarter of 2015 after domestic prices of the metal in the world’s top consumer rose.

    Chalco yesterday reported a net profit of 63.1 million yuan (US$10.2 million) for the January-March period after a net loss of 2.16 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier. The top Chinese producer of primary aluminum and raw material alumina booked a record loss of 16.2 billion yuan in 2014 due to huge writedowns and weak metal prices as the Chinese economy slowed.

    Minsheng in talks for stake in HK broker

    CHINA Minsheng Banking Corp. said late Tuesday it’s in talks to invest as much as US$970 million for a controlling stake in Hong Kong-based securities firm Quam Ltd.

    Shanghai-listed Minsheng, through its CMBC International unit, agreed to buy between 8.8 billion to 13.3 billion new shares of Quam at a price of HK$0.57 each, putting the total deal at up to HK$7.51 billion (US$969 million). They closed at HK$1.17 Friday before the trading halt and had gained 92 percent since the beginning of April.