Coal giant's share price surges 16%

Largest mainland producer rides a rebound in prices, upbeat demand

Share prices of China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd - the country's biggest coal producer - surged 16.28 percent to close at HK$19.14 ($2.46) in Hong Kong on Monday, outperforming the city's benchmark Hang Seng Index which gained 0.79 percent to 24,502 points, after a major leap in earnings for last year was reported.

The share price takeoff came in the wake of the group reporting on Friday a more than 40 percent increase in its net profit in 2016. China Shenhua also reported that its profit surged at least 50 percent in the first two months of 2017 over the same period of 2016, while estimating the coal price to remain at a reasonable range between 500 to 570 yuan ($72.4 to $82.5) per metric ton in the current year.