Regulator to approve IPOs at a ‘rational’ pace

    THE China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will manage the pace of new share listings to ease pressure on the stock market as the government seeks to tamp down rising volatility after markets plunged more than 10 percent last week.

    “We will make rational arrangements regarding initial public offering [IPO] approvals in order to insure a smooth transition from the approval system to the registration-based system,” CSRC spokesperson Deng Ge said at a regularly scheduled news conference Friday. Deng also said that companies planning to list will need at least half a month to prepare their applications to meet new regulations on listings published in December.

    Ansteel funding doubts for Australian project

    CHINA’S Angang Steel Co. (Ansteel) won’t be able to inject new funds to shore up the Karara iron ore mine in Australia, according to an email to Karara staff cited in a newspaper report Friday.

    The mine, 52 percent owned by Ansteel, produces mainly magnetite that has to be processed heavily to produce high quality iron ore concentrate and has been hit like most iron ore producers by a plunge in iron ore prices. In an email to staff, Karara’s chief executive Zhang Zhaoyuan said the project was making losses and facing “significant cost pressure,” according to a report in the West Australian newspaper Friday.

    Shanghai metals trade soars 76% in 2015

    BASE metals trade on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE) surged 76 percent in 2015 as investors sought ways to bet against China’s economy and domestic smelters increased their hedging to offset losses in a year when metals prices slumped.

    Total turnover across the ShFE’s six metals products ballooned to 444 million lots in 2015 compared with 253 million lots for four contracts in 2014. The exchange added tin and nickel contracts in March last year.

    BYD boosts profit estimate to five-year high

    BYD Co., the Shenzhen-based automaker, has raised its 2015 profit estimate to a five-year high, citing strong demand for its electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

    BYD, which primarily makes electric and hybrid vehicles, said Friday it expects net profit attributable to shareholders to climb between 518 percent and 557 percent for 2015, compared with an earlier forecast of a rise in the range of 435 percent to 481 percent.