Stock market correction ‘almost over’

    CHINA’S stock market correction is “almost over,” China Securities Journal quoted a senior central banker as saying.

    Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, told an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Peru that China’s stock market has experienced several rounds of corrections, the newspaper reported yesterday. The corrections have had limited direct impact on China’s economy as the Chinese Government has taken a series of measures to avoid systemic risks, Yi was quoted as saying.

    Construction Bank sells offshore yuan bonds

    CHINA Construction Bank Corp. is seeking to sell benchmark two-year offshore yuan bonds to yield around 4.55 percent, according to a term sheet seen yesterday.

    The Beijing-based lender, which is rated A1 by Moody’s Investors Service and A by both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings, plans to use the proceeds from the bond sale for general corporate purposes, the term sheet said.

    China Eastern to sell off stake in Joy Air

    CHINA Eastern Airlines is seeking buyers for its remaining 5 percent stake in loss-making Joy Air, a small domestic airline that has been blighted by safety concerns over its propeller-powered planes.

    China Eastern is asking for 35 million yuan (US$5.51 million) for the stake. In February 2009, it sold a 35 percent stake in the airline based in the northwestern city of Xi’an. “We only have a 5 percent symbolic stake in Joy Air now, and the carrier is not a good match for us in terms of market position or business model,” China Eastern’s board secretary said.

    China Re gets US$1.12b in commitments

    CHINA Reinsurance (Group) (China Re) received commitments worth US$1.12 billion from cornerstone investors as the country’s biggest reinsurer launched its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong yesterday.

    The 15 investors, which will not be able to sell shares in China Re until six months after the IPO, included Great Wall Pan Asia International Investment and State Grid Crop. of China, each with US$150 million, and China Development Bank with US$110 million, the terms showed. The People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd., Prudential Insurance Company of America and China Life Insurance Company Ltd. were also cornerstone investors.