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Asian economies forecast to grow at slower pace

Asian economies will grow less than previously forecast this year, the Asian Development Bank said, as Europe's debt crisis stifles growth in countries ranging from China to India.

Asian economies, excluding the Japanese, are expected to expand at a rate of 6.6 percent this year instead of the 6.9 percent rate predicted in April, Haruhiko Kuroda, Asian Development Bank president, said in a briefing in Bangkok on Thursday. Their growth rate will be 7.1 percent in 2013, rather than the previously forecast 7.3 percent, he said.

"The outlook for developing Asia has weakened because of the difficult global environment and slower growth in China and India," the ADB said in a report released on Thursday.

"Worries over the economic strength of important developing economies have also emerged recently."

Expert expects another interest rate cut in China

China will further reduce interest rates to bolster its economic growth, according to Ramin Toloui, global co-head of emerging-markets portfolio management at Pacific Investment Management Co, which manages the world's largest bond fund.

"We are probably going to see another rate cut in China, although the fact they have moved two times in the last month means you have to postpone the date you see the next rate cut," Toloui said in an interview on Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. "But we are going to see further easing of financial conditions in China."

Shares of BMW's biggest Chinese dealer fall

Shares of China Yongda Automobile Services Holdings Ltd, the nation's biggest distributor of BMWs, fell in their first day of trading after the company scaled back its initial public offering.

Yongda reduced the amount of its IPO by as much as 63 percent. Its stock performance may reflect investors' deepening concerns about Chinese car dealers, which are struggling with an inventory increase that threatens to further undermine their prices.

The shares of companies that completed IPOs in Hong Kong this year have fallen by 8.4 percent on average, according to deals data compiled by Bloomberg.

HK-based aircraft leasing company to expand

China Aircraft Leasing Co Ltd, headquartered in Hong Kong, signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus SAS to order 36 A320 aircraft at the UK's Farnborough International Airshow, Airbus said on Wednesday.

China Aircraft Leasing now has a fleet of 16 aircraft, including 11 Airbus. The leasing company plans to have 100 aircraft in its fleet by 2015, said Poon Ho-man, founder and CEO of the company.

The company is also waiting for another eight Airbus aircraft to be delivered.

When the order is complete, it will have 50 Airbus aircraft. According to the list price of the planes on order, the transaction is worth more than $3.1 billion.

South Beauty to hold HK IPO this summer

South Beauty will go public in Hong Kong later this summer at the earliest, the newspaper Wen Wei Po reported.

The Chinese restaurant chain plans to use the IPO to raise from $100 million to $200 million. The exact date of the offering has not been released.

Deutsche Bank and UBS will be the co-lead underwriters in the deal, the Hong Kong newspaper said.

Founded in 2000, the Beijing-based South Beauty has more than 60 restaurants in places throughout the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Shenyang.

Luxury goods become less popular as economy slows

Shares of the world's largest jewelry retailer, Chow Tai Fook, tumbled nearly 8 percent to a two-week low on Thursday on weaker-than-expected sales, deepening a sector-wide stock slump as China's slowing economy undermines demand for luxury goods.

A host of Chinese companies, ranging from a steel maker to a large airline, have warned of disappointing results over the past week as growth in the country decelerates to its slowest pace in three years.

Evidence that the slowdown was spreading to China's luxury sector, which is a vital source of growth for companies worldwide, has spooked investors. Burberry Group Plc said on Wednesday that its sales had been hit by a slowdown in China.

Rare earth trading platform to start operating in August

China will introduce its first spot-trading platform for rare earths on Aug 8, Shanghai Securities News reported, in the country's latest attempt to improve price discovery for the commodities and subject the market to better regulation.

The platform, led by China's largest producer of rare earths, Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi Tech, will allow only physical trading, the newspaper said, without citing sources.

China is responsible for more than 95 percent of the global output of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in the electronics, defense and renewable energy industries.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 07/13/2012 page14)