Gap between offshore, onshore yuan widens again

    THE gap between the yuan’s offshore and onshore exchange rates yesterday expanded to the biggest in three weeks, widening the window for speculators who exploit the difference.

    The yuan traded in Hong Kong fell as much as 0.3 percent, taking its discount to the currency in Shanghai to 0.97 percent. That’s the most since Jan. 11, when the People’s Bank of China launched a two-pronged attack on short-sellers by mopping up the currency overseas and choking supply of yuan from the mainland. The assault pushed the offshore rate to a premium that week, before it swung the other way again.

    China National Building sees profit down 70%

    CHINA National Building Material Co., a major building material firm in China, said yesterday it expects its 2015 net profit to fall over 70 percent from a year earlier, dragged by a significant drop in the selling price of its products amid weak demand and excess capacity in the industry.

    The firm didn’t specify its expected net profit for last year. It posted a net profit of 5.92 billion yuan (US$890 million) a year earlier. The 2015 results will be released by the end of March.

    Lenovo net profit rises 18.6%

    LENOVO Group Ltd., the world’s largest personal computer maker, said yesterday its net profit for its fiscal third quarter rose 18.6 percent from a year ago, beating analyst expectations.

    The result came in above the US$226.3 million average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed earlier by Thomson One Analytics. Revenue fell 8.5 percent to US$12.9 billion from US$14.1 billion a year earlier.

    Stocks fall despite property easing measures

    CHINA’S stocks resumed their slide yesterday as sceptical investors quickly booked profits on gains made in the previous day, shrugging off fresh government measures to boost the property market.

    The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.4 percent to 2,948.64 points. The Shanghai Composite Index also lost 0.4 percent to 2,739.25 points. Late Tuesday, China said it would reduce the minimum down payment required for first and second-time homebuyers in most cities, a move aimed at clearing a massive housing glut that is weighing on the property market and the broader economy. But some analysts say continued easing to prop up China’s frothy property prices would do little to spur new property investment.