Potash shortage expected

Sinofert Holdings Ltd, China's largest distributor of imported fertilizers, expects a shortage of up to 3 million tons of potash this year in China after imports fell by about half and tight supplies pushed prices significantly higher.

China could have a shortfall of up to a quarter of its total demand of 11-12 million tons of potash this year, and Sinofert hopes to sign an import agreement much earlier in 2009 to secure supplies of the nutrient, the company's senior vice president, Harry Yang, told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

China is the world's largest fertilizer market and the biggest importer for potash, which is used to boost crop yields.

UBS China MD leaves post

UBS AG's managing director (MD) of its China investment banking division is leaving the firm, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

Will Li, who joined UBS from Citigroup about three years ago, played a key role in several major Chinese IPOs that UBS underwrote during the region's offering boom last year.

The Chinese IPO bubble burst earlier this year, and the offering market has since dried up.

Last year, Li was involved in the Country Garden Holdings Co IPO, which raised $1.66 billion in the biggest-ever IPO by a Chinese developer.

He also worked on the $1.65 billion IPO by Beijing-based SOHO China Ltd.

Sources also said that Unis Chong, a member of UBS's M&A advisory team in Hong Kong, was leaving the company.

ICBC subsidiary in Dubai

Industrial & Commercial bank of China Ltd (ICBC), the world's largest bank by market value, said on Tuesday it had won approval from the United Arab Emirates banking regulator to set up a subsidiary in Dubai.

The subsidiary, which will have registered capital of $50 million, will mainly cover accepting deposits, providing credit, dealing in investments, managing assets and other businesses.

ICBC was the first Chinese bank to open a branch in the Gulf after getting approval to open a branch in Doha in February, marking an important step in its expansion abroad.

$142m share selloff

Morgan Stanley Private Equity is selling as much as $142 million worth of shares in China Dongxiang Group Co, which licences Kappa-branded sportswear in China, according to a document sent to investors on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley Private Equity is selling 300 million shares, with an option to increase the size of the deal to 354 million shares, at HK$3.53 to HK$3.68 each, in a deal handled by Morgan Stanley.

The price range represented a 4.2 percent to 8.1 percent discount to the firm's closing price on Tuesday of HK$3.84.

Dongfeng sales up 19%

Dongfeng Motor Group Co's vehicle sales in China rose 18.8 percent in April from a year earlier, the company said.

Dongfeng, China's third-largest automaker, sold 106,623 vehicles in April, up from 89,766 a year earlier, it said in a statement released late on Monday.

Sales of passenger cars grew 6.9 percent to 62,325 units last month, while sales of commercial vehicles were up 40.8 percent at 44,298 units, it said.

From January to April, its vehicle sales rose 26.8 percent to 383,582 units. Passenger-car sales rose 22.7 percent to 242,475 units, with sales of commercial vehicles up 34.6 percent at 141,107 units.

Dongfeng's venture with PSA Peugeot-Citroenmoved 71,307 cars from January to April, up 0.66 percent, it said.

Reuters

(HK Edition 05/07/2008 page2)