Minsheng aims for US$147.81b valuation

    CHINA Minsheng Investment Group, the country’s biggest private investment group, is targeting a valuation of 1 trillion yuan (US$147.81 billion) by 2019, South China Morning Post quoted its president as saying Saturday.

    The business is set for massive expansion, mainly through acquisitions, the firm’s president Li Huaizhen said. He did not give a current valuation of the firm. “We are looking at quite a few segments, encompassing financial and industrial assets. We are already heavily involved in new energy, property management, prefabricated construction, investment banking, leasing and insurance,” Li said.

    Logistics firm may miss another bond payment

    WUHAN Guoyu Logistics Industry Group Co., the unlisted logistics firm that defaulted on a separate short-term bond in August, said Friday it may miss a payment on another one-year issue maturing this Friday.

    The firm posted the notice warning of the potential payment problem on the 200 million yuan (US$29.6 million), 7 percent coupon note on the website of China’s interbank bond market operator. The firm blamed the potential default on problems in its shipbuilding business, among other reasons. Bond defaults, once nearly unheard of, have become more common due to China’s economic slowdown.

    China Unicom net profit plunges 81%

    CHINA Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd., the country’s second-largest telecom operator, Friday posted a 81 percent fall in net profit in the first nine months, partly due to high marketing expenses as it tries to capture more subscribers.

    China Unicom’s net profit fell to 1.6 billion yuan (US$236.65 million) for the January-September period, from 8.2 billion a year earlier, it said. Its dismal results come a day after bigger rival, China Mobile Ltd., reported a 3.1 percent rise in nine-month net profit to 88.1 billion yuan.

    Chalco swings to profit as sales surge

    ALUMINUM Corp. of China Ltd., the country’s second-largest producer, swung to a profit in the third quarter as sales surged to the highest in more than two years amid a price rebound.

    The firm, known as Chalco, had net income of 50.1 million yuan (US$7.4 million) in the three months through September, compared with a restated net loss of 972 million yuan a year earlier.