China’s US debt holdings decline in September

CHINA’S holdings of U.S. Treasuries declined for the first time in eight months in September, after hitting their highest since July 2016 in August, data from the U.S. Treasury Department showed Wednesday.

China’s Treasury holdings fell to US$1.18 trillion, from US$1.2 trillion in August. The world’s second-largest economy, however, remains the largest non-U.S. holder of U.S. Treasuries. Since January, China has added nearly US$130 billion in U.S. debt. Analysts had said China had been buying Treasuries for the most part of 2017 to counter the strengthening of the yuan.

Outbound direct investment down 40.9%

CHINA’S outbound direct investment in the first 10 months of the year fell 40.9 percent compared with the same period a year ago to US$86.31 billion, after the government moved to restrict irrational investment, said the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

In the January-September period, China’s outbound direct investment dropped 41.9 percent, according to official data. China’s State Council moved earlier this year to restrict overseas investment in real estate, hotels, entertainment and sport clubs, as part of its efforts to ease the country’s outflows.

Mainland investors favor HSBC over Tencent

HSBC Holdings is the favorite company of mainland investors who use the stock connect programs in Shanghai and Shenzhen to trade in Hong Kong.

About HK$76 billion (US$9.7 billion) in the bank’s shares are held via the southbound connects, according to data from Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. New China Life Insurance Co. had the highest proportion of connect-using owners, with 32 percent of the company held via the links. In total, southbound traders owned about HK$808 billion in stocks in Hong Kong as of Oct. 31.

Chalco to launch Guinea mine by early 2018

A UNIT of China’s biggest aluminum firm, Chinalco, plans to start producing bauxite at its project in the West African nation of Guinea later this year or early in 2018, a company executive said Thursday.

Guinea’s mines ministry said in August that Chalco, Chinalco’s listed arm, was set to invest US$500 million to churn out bauxite, a raw material for aluminum, in the country’s north. “It is predicted that at the end of this year or the beginning of next year we will launch,” said Lu Dongliang, senior vice president at Chalco.