Regulator denies report on Vanke buy order

    THE China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) on Saturday strongly denied a report concerning the battle for control of shares in China Vanke, the nation’s leading property developer.

    An online news portal Saturday morning reported that “the CIRC required China Evergrande Group chairman Xu Jiayin to purchase 51 percent of Vanke shares in total to take place of Baoneng Group and Anbang Insurance Group.” However, the CIRC strongly condemned the report as being groundless and irresponsible rumor-spreading. The CIRC also asked for an apology and reserved the right to take legal action against the source of the rumor.

    Regulator approves 13 initial public offerings

    CHINA’S securities regulator said late Friday it has approved 13 initial public offerings (IPOs) to raise a combined total of up to 10.9 billion yuan (US$1.64 billion).

    The companies will include seven on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, two on the Shenzhen exchange’s small and medium enterprise board and four on the startup ChiNext board, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said.

    Shanghai mulls selling municipal bonds

    THE Shanghai city government is considering issuing of up to 5 billion yuan (US$750 million) in municipal debt in its free trade zone, according to a notice on the zone’s website, kickstarting a long-anticipated offshore yuan bond market there.

    Media have previously reported that Shanghai was exploring the possibility of such an issue in early August, following the release of the city’s latest five-year plan. The amount issued is likely to range from three to five billion yuan initially, the statement said. The launch of the offering will mark the opening of an offshore yuan bond market in the free trade zone.

    Bohai Steel may get local support for debt

    BOHAI Steel Group, the indebted State-owned conglomerate, may receive help from a local government bailout fund to restructure its debts, the online financial magazine Caixin said at the weekend.

    Bohai Steel, which was created in 2010 through the combination of four manufacturers, holds liabilities of 192 billion yuan (US$28.9 billion) from 105 creditors, alongside assets of nearly 290 billion yuan, Caixin reported. The Tianjin government plans to create a local asset manager to assist in the debt workout of Bohai Steel, alongside other troubled Tianjin enterprises, the magazine said.