Stocks edge lower on yuan depreciation worries

    CHINA’S stocks dipped yesterday, led by resources shares, as renewed worries about weakness in the yuan hurt investor sentiment and reduced the appeal of Chinese assets.

    The blue-chip CSI300 index and the Shanghai Composite Index both ended down 0.2 percent at 3,300.01 and 3,058.50 points, respectively. The yuan briefly touched a fresh six-year low yesterday, fuelling speculation of further depreciation as the dollar firms on growing expectations of a U.S. rate hike in December. The yuan later clawed back the losses. Some investors were also concerned about the potential economic fallout as a growing number of Chinese cities impose restrictions on home purchases to cool soaring prices.

    Baidu sets up Internet investment fund

    BAIDU Inc. said yesterday it has established a 20 billion yuan (US$3 billion) investment fund, Baidu Capital, focusing on mid-and-late-stage deals in the Internet sector.

    Investments can be in both Chinese yuan and U.S. dollars, with investment projects ranging from US$50 million to US$100 million, China’s dominant Internet search company said on its official WeChat mobile messaging account.

    Bank of Shanghai plans US$1.6b IPO

    BANK of Shanghai Co. plans to raise 10.7 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion) in its initial public offering (IPO) in the city to boost capital.

    The lender will sell shares at 17.77 yuan apiece, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The bank’s price-to-earnings ratio will be 8.26 after the sale, according to the filing. That compares with an average of about 8 for lenders listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

    Haitong International sells convertible bonds

    HAITONG International Securities Group Ltd. said yesterday that it has sold HK$3.88 billion (US$500.15 million) zero-coupon convertible bonds, which were twice times oversubscribed, in the first such bond sale from a mainland brokerage in Hong Kong.

    The initial conversion price of the bonds was HK$6.81 per share, representing a premium of about 32 percent over the last closing price of HK$5.16 per share Oct. 11. The bond offering was well received by institutional investors and the orderbook amounted to three times of the issuance volume, the firm said in a statement. Proceeds of the bonds will be used to support the expansion of its business operation, it added.