Regulator plans to prune waiting list for IPOs

    CHINA’S securities regulator is looking to cull the nearly 900-strong backlog of companies seeking to list on domestic stock exchanges, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday, by weeding out those deemed unsuitable.

    The people, who have been briefed by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said the regulator wants to trim the pipeline for initial public offerings (IPOs) by possibly one-third.

    Shares pull off lows

    STOCKS struggled yesterday as the yuan fell to fresh 5-1/2 year lows and investors fled riskier assets on worries over the fallout from Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union.

    The blue-chip CSI300 index rose for eighth straight day, gaining 0.3 percent to 3,216.80. The Shanghai Composite Index climbed for a fourth straight day, rising 0.4 percent to 3,017.29 points. Both indexes fell 0.3 percent in early trade, but buying interest revived later in the session. Consumer stocks rose 3.8 percent, with resources and health care up 1.8 percent. Banks slid. Analysts say the market will likely hover around 3,000 points for some time to consolidate gains in the past few weeks.

    Resources Beer to raise HK$9.5b in rights issue

    THE maker of the world’s best-selling Snow brand beer will issue about 811 million rights shares at HK$11.73 (US$1.52) apiece, it said in a statement yesterday. That’s 25 percent less than the theoretical ex-rights price, which takes dilution into account.

    China Resources Beer agreed in March to buy out its venture with SABMiller for US$1.6 billion, smoothing the way for a takeover of its partner by Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. China’s beer market is one of the most competitive, with major brewers including Tsingtao Brewery, Beijing Yanjing Brewery, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and a myriad of smaller, regional producers.

    Global funds to boost holdings of China debt

    TUMBLING bond yields in the world’s major economies are helping boost the attraction of China’s sovereign debt, with foreign investors adding to their holdings for the eighth month in a row.

    The yield advantage of China’s 10-year debt over U.S. Treasuries rose to 147 basis points Tuesday, the widest since August last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Overseas institutions increased their ownership of Chinese government debt by 7.7 percent in June from the previous month to 318 billion yuan, according to figures from the China Central Depository and Clearing Co.