Stocks shrug off connect program approval

    DOMESTIC stocks barely moved yesterday, the day after the government approved the launch of a long-anticipated stock trading link to allow stock trading between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the world’s second-busiest, and tech-heavy, exchange.

    The CSI300 index, which tracks the largest listed firms trading in Shanghai and Shenzhen, fell 0.2 percent to 3,373.05, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was flat at 3,110.23. Analysts said the approval of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen connect program had been expected, so the market reaction was muted.

    Yuan flight drives dollar bond gains

    A FLIGHT from yuan assets is helping cut Chinese firms’ overseas borrowing costs to the lowest since the global financial crisis.

    Demand for Chinese dollar bonds is surging as locals brace for more yuan losses, after the currency slumped 3.5 percent against the greenback in the past year. Banks sold 800 wealth management products targeting U.S. currency assets in the first seven months, up 44 percent from a year earlier, research firm PY Standard estimates. Assets at Chinese funds allowed to invest in overseas bonds more than tripled to 13.6 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion) in the six months through June 30, according to Shanghai-based Z-Ben Advisors.

    MMG posts third straight half-year loss

    MMG Ltd., the miner owned by China’s top State-owned metals trader, yesterday posted a third straight half-year loss as revenues slumped 47 percent on lower prices and the closure of what used to be its biggest mine.

    The company posted a US$93 million net loss for the first six months of the year, from a loss of US$48 million a year earlier. Revenues sank to US$586 million from US$1.1 billion. The closure of the company’s Century zinc mine in Australia, lower copper output in Laos and declining metals prices all hit the firm’s revenues.

    Zhejiang Medicine accused of hiding test data

    A SHANGHAI-LISTED manufacturer of antibiotics sold in the United States hid quality testing results that may have indicated product contamination, the latest evidence of data manipulation at firms that make ingredients used by large pharmaceutical firms.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) told Zhejiang Medicine Co. to hire a consultant and investigate “the extent of the inaccuracies in data records and reporting” on quality assurance, according to a warning letter dated Aug. 4 that was released Tuesday.