Top listed coal producers post weak first-half results

    CHINA Shenhua Energy, the country’s biggest listed coal producer, reported a 42.6 percent fall in first-half net profit while second-largest player China Coal swung to the red on weak demand and a slump in prices.

    China Shenhua Energy’s net profit in the first six months fell to 13.07 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) and China Coal Energy posted a net loss of 1.07 billion yuan during the same period, versus a year-ago net profit of 780.2 million yuan, the companies said in filings on the Hong Kong stock exchange. “The overcapacity issue in the coal industry persists, “ Shenhua said. Earlier last week, Shenhua said it had cut coal production by 10 percent to 163.7 million tons in the first seven months of this year, while sales over the period had fallen 15 percent year on year to 212.3 million tons.

    China Unicom first-half net profit up 4.5%

    CHINA Unicom’s net profit for the first six months of 2015 rose to 6.99 billion yuan from the same period last year, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

    China Unicom said Friday that net profit for the first half of 2015 rose 4.5 percent year on year even as revenue fell. China’s second-largest mobile operator said mobile broadband subscribers rose 6.8 percent to 157.79 million, accounting for more than half of total mobile subscribers for the period.

    China Mobile plans to buy assets from parent’s firm

    THE country’s largest wireless carrier said it plans to buy assets from a telecom company under its parent to improve its telephone and fixed-line broadband services.

    China Mobile Ltd., which is listed in Hong Kong and New York, told investors about the plan to buy China Tietong Telecommunications Corp., on Friday. China Mobile Ltd. and Tietong are both subsidiaries of China Mobile Communications Corp.

    Govt. preparing to shuffle leaders of telecom giants

    CHINA is getting ready to shuffle the leadership at its three telecoms amid an industry revamp — but rumors have highly variable information about what the shakeup will look like.

    Xi Guohua, chairman of the parent of market leader China Mobile, will retire, to be replaced by government minister Shang Bing, Bloomberg and Caijing reported — and similar changes would come to the leadership of China Telecom and China Unicom.