Copper company to invest in bank

SHANGHAI: Jiangxi Copper Co, the nation's leading copper producer, said on Friday it will buy a 4.2 percent stake in Nanchang City Commercial Bank for 280 million yuan in cash.

Jiangxi Copper told the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Friday it will buy 100 million new shares to be issued by Nanchang City Commercial Bank at 2.8 yuan apiece. The equity purchase still needs regulatory approval and would make Jiangxi Copper the bank's second largest single shareholder.

"Although the stake is small, it demonstrates that Jiangxi Copper is flush with cash due to rising prices and strong demand for copper products in the past year," Liu Chao, an analyst at Xiangcai Qinian Futures Co in Shanghai, said.