Changjiang Securities head targeted in probe

    THE chairman of mid-sized brokerage Changjiang Securities Co. is under investigation by the Communist Party, further swelling the line-up of financial industry executives and regulators facing probes by the Party or the police.

    Yang Zezhu, who’s in his early 60s, is suspected of violations of discipline for “personal reasons,” the Shenzhen-listed company said in a statement yesterday. Changjiang Securities was informed in a notice from the Party’s discipline inspection committee in Hubei Province on Tuesday, it said.

    Sinopec strikes high-yielding oil at Beibu Bay

    SINOPEC Corp. said it struck high-yielding oil and gas in a test well offshore at Beibu Bay near China’s southwestern coast, marking a rare offshore oil and gas find by the firm that is largely focused onshore.

    The Wei-4 well, some 110 kilometers southwest of the coastal city of Beihai, tested a daily output of 1,264 tons of crude oil and 71,800 cubic meters of natural gas at a first layer, after identifying oil-bearing layers nearly a hundred meters thick. On the second layer, Sinopec struck 1,184 tons of daily oil flow and 76,000 cubic meters of natural gas, the company said in a statement yesterday.

    Li Ning expects to report break-even in 2015

    CHINESE sportswear maker Li Ning Co. said yesterday it expects to report it broke even in 2015, sending its stock sharply higher as its long-range efforts to reverse out of years of losses begin to pay off.

    Li Ning, whose investors include private equity firm TPG Capital Management and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, posted a 781.5 million yuan (US$119 million) net loss in 2014. The company said an improved performance was due to more efficient and profitable directly owned store operations, better relationships with partners and expanding e-commerce.

    BOC taps banks for aircraft leasing unit’s IPO

    BANK of China (BOC) has hired Goldman Sachs and BOC International as joint sponsors for a US$3 billion Hong Kong listing of its aircraft leasing arm, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

    Bank of China plans to launch the initial public offering (IPO) of Singapore-based BOC Aviation in the second quarter of this year, the sources said, in what is set to be the world’s biggest listing by an aircraft lessor.