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Shandong fuel oil processing level drops

Private refineries in Shandong province, which import about a third of the nation's fuel oil, have reduced processing to their lowest rate since April 2010, according to an industry website.

Refinery run rates dropped to 25.7 percent of their designed capacity in the week ended on Thursday, from 32.3 percent a week earlier, the Shandong-based Oilchem.net said in a statement on its website.

The company had surveyed plants with a combined annual capacity of 68.85 million metric tons, or 1.2 million barrels a day.

Power station coal price lowest in 31 months

China's benchmark power station coal price at the Qinhuangdao port in Hebei province fell to its lowest level in 31 months amid weakening domestic demand and rising imports.

Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram fell 1.5 percent to a range of 660 yuan ($104) to 680 yuan a metric ton as of Sunday, according to the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association, the lowest price since November 2009. Stockpiles declined 5.9 percent to 8.57 million tons.

Demand for coal, the fuel for three-quarters of the nation's power plants, has faltered as an economic slowdown crimps electricity consumption.

Apple agrees on $60m to settle Chinese iPad dispute

Apple Inc, the world's most valuable company, has paid $60 million to settle a 2-year-old legal dispute with Proview International Holdings Ltd regarding the iPad trademark in China.

The terms of the settlement agreement were reached on June 25, and Apple has transferred the funds as agreed, the Higher People's Court of Guangdong Province announced.

The case had threatened sales of the Apple's second-best selling product. The company had $110.2 billion in cash and investments on its balance sheet at the end of March, in its largest market outside the US.

'40,000 DPRK workers to earn in China'

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea will send about 40,000 of its citizens to work in China, with most of their earnings going directly to the government of the DPRK, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.

The agreement, which hasn't been publicly announced by either nation, will allow the DPRK seamstresses, technicians, mechanics, construction workers and miners to work in China on industrial training visas, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified businesspeople and analysts.

$14 billion from bond market for regional finance

The Ministry of Finance is flooding the bond market with $14 billion of debt to shore up regional government finances as the economy slows, driving yields higher.

The yield on benchmark five-year government notes rose 12 basis points, or 0.12 percentage point, in June to 2.92 percent, as similar-maturity rates in India fell 13 basis points.

The ministry sold 21 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) of five- year bonds at 3.07 percent on Friday on behalf of governments in Qingdao, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang, the second of four such sales planned through July 16.

$3 billion agricultural loan approved for Ukraine

China will provide Ukraine a $3 billion loan for agriculture projects, the former Soviet state's central bank said on Monday in a statement.

The sides signed a memorandum which assumes that the loan with an interest rate of 6 percent will mature in 15 years, the regulator, based in capital Kiev, said in the statement.

Yuan touches one-month high after release of data

The yuan rose to a one-month high after manufacturing data exceeded economists' forecasts, stoking speculation the currency may rebound after its worst quarter since a US dollar peg ended in 2005.

The People's Bank of China set its daily fixing 0.16 percent stronger at 6.3146 per dollar, the highest level in a week. The Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 50.2 in June from 50.4 in May, the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing reported on Sunday. That was ahead of the 49.9 median estimate resulting from a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The reading of 48.2 reported by HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics on Monday compared with 48.4 in May. A number below 50 indicates a contraction.

China's Kada seeks brand recognition via AIM listing

China-based Kada Technology Holdings Ltd, which applied on Monday to trade on London's junior market, said it hoped an overseas listing will bring it prestige and more profitable ties with lenders and suppliers.

The tech component distributor expects to be valued at about 100 million pounds ($156.85 million) once it starts trading.

It chose London's AIM market as that was faster than trying to go public in China or in the United States, where volatility and slower listings are major concerns, the company said.

"When we speak to our bank about funding, more financing, they do recognize that a Chinese company listed overseas is not an easy task," Kada Chief Financial Officer Lee Kheng Yam said.

"It brings with it a certain prestige and corporate brand recognition that would open doors for us in order to get better terms with the banks in China, as well as our suppliers and business associates."

The company is likely to start trading on AIM later this month.

China's financial system stable: central bank

Despite complex domestic and global economic conditions, China's financial system operated in a stable manner in 2011, with improving risk-aversion capability, according to a central bank report released on Monday.

The fiscal strength of the government, enterprises and individual households remained healthy, and financial infrastructure continued to be steadily built last year, the People's Bank of China, or PBOC, said in the 2012 financial stability report.

Stress test results showed, 17 key commercial banks had a strong capability of withstanding the macroeconomic shocks.

Bank's capital reserves were adequate, but with slowing deposit growth, the liquidity pressure was going up, according to the evaluation of the banking system.

Copper falls on signs of manufacturing deterioration

Copper prices fell in New York, paring this year's biggest gain, on concern demand is poised to slump as manufacturing deteriorates worldwide.

A purchasing managers' index for China, the world's biggest copper consumer, reached a seven-month low, HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics said on Monday.

"In metals in particular, people are still pretty bearish," Guy Wolf, a strategist at Marex Spectron Group in London, said by phone. "The outlook in China and the US is still weak. We don't expect any positive news out of China in the near term."

Copper for September delivery declined 0.7 percent to $3.4735 a pound by 7:30 am on the Comex in New York. Prices gained 5 percent, the most since November, on Friday. The London Metal Exchange's three-month contract fell 0.5 percent to $7,649 a metric ton.

Outlook for Russia wheat production cut

The International Grains Council cut its forecast for Russian wheat production this year by 6 million metric tons to 49 million tons, while lifting its outlook for the US by 1.5 million tons to 60.5 million tons. The outlook for the US corn harvest was cut by 5 million tons to 150 million tons, while China is expected to reap 195 million tons of the grain, 6 million tons more than predicted in May, the London-based council wrote in an e-mailed report on Monday.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 07/03/2012 page14)