Postal Savings Bank wins nod for IPO

    POSTAL Savings Bank of China Co., moving closer to the world’s biggest share sale this year, has obtained Hong Kong stock exchange’s approval for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise about US$8 billion, sources said.

    The Beijing-based bank plans to start gauging investor demand for the offering in the first half of September, according to the sources. Postal Savings Bank, ubiquitous in small-town China, joins Bank of Tianjin Co. and China Zheshang Bank Co. in selling shares in Hong Kong to fund expansion.

    CITIC Bank to raise US$6b after rapid expansion

    CHINA CITIC Bank Corp. plans to raise as much as 40 billion yuan (US$6 billion) by selling bonds convertible into yuan-denominated shares after an expansion in assets that one analyst describes as unsustainable.

    The money will fund growth and, after conversion, will replenish the bank’s core tier-1 capital, the Beijing-based lender said, after its core tier-1 ratio fell to 8.89 percent as of June 30 from 9.12 percent six months earlier. It’s the first convertible bond sale in the onshore market by a Chinese lender in more than three years.

    China Life Insurance profit drops 67%

    CHINA Life Insurance Co., the country’s biggest insurer by market value, said that its first-half net profit fell 67 percent, hit by lower investment income amid weak stock markets, falling interest rates and China’s economic slowdown.

    The insurer said Friday that its net profit for the January-June period fell to 10.4 billion yuan (US$1.56 billion). China Life booked a record 31.5 billion yuan net profit in the same period a year ago, when earnings were boosted by bumper sales of life insurance products and gains on its investment portfolio. The insurer’s first-half total investment income dropped 49 percent to 50.8 billion yuan.

    Chalco’s net profit up sharply on price recovery

    ALUMINUM Corp. of China Ltd. (Chalco) posted Friday a sharp rise in profit in the first half of the year due to a general recovery in aluminum prices.

    Chalco posted a net profit of 57.4 million yuan (US$8.62 million) for the first six months compared with 1.5 million yuan profit a year earlier. Prices of LME aluminum gained 10 percent in the first half of the year, while Shanghai prices rose around 13 percent, though the levels are generally still lower than the same period a year ago.