IN BRIEF (Page 9)

China Daily | Updated: 2010-01-23 07:46

Growing oil demand

China's apparent demand for oil products may grow by about 4 percent this year, the National Energy Administration said on Friday. The growth will be slower than the 6.3 percent registered in 2009, according to Reuters calculations based on official figures. Apparent demand includes domestic production and net imports and excludes inventories.

BOC bond issue

Bank of China plans to issue up to 40 billion yuan worth of convertible bonds in the A share market to shore up its capital, the bank said on Friday.

The plan will be reviewed at its shareholders' meeting to be held on March 19.

BOC's capital adequacy ratio dropped to 11.63 percent as of the end of September 2009, while its core capital adequacy ratio stood at 9.37 percent.

ICBC income

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd's net income exceeded 120 billion yuan ($17.6 billion) last year, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing Vice-President Li Xiaopeng. The bank added more than 2 trillion yuan of deposits last year, the report said.

GD eyes earnings hike

GD Power Development Co said 2009 annual net income may rise 793 percent to 1.6 billion yuan, according to its preliminary earnings report. Sales may rise 19 percent to 19.6 billion yuan, the company said, but didn't give a reason for the surge in profit.

China First IPO plan

China First Heavy Industries Co plans to raise 8.39 billion yuan ($1.23 billion ) in an initial public offering in Shanghai, according to a filing to the city's stock exchange. The company will sell as many as 2 billion shares on Feb 1 and will announce a price range for the offering on Jan 28, according to the statement.

BYD solar investment

BYD Co plans to invest 22.5 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) in a plant to make solar-powered batteries in Shaanxi province, China Business News reported on Friday, citing the provincial development plan for 2009-2015. Solar batteries form part of the company's plan to develop alternative power, the report quoted BYD Public Relations Manager Xu An as saying.

New atomic plant

Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co plans to build a 4,000-mW atomic plant in Shaanxi province between 2015 and 2020, according to a statement on the province's development and reform commission's website.

Bloomberg News-Reuters

(China Daily 01/23/2010 page9)