Alibaba: domestic trades to outpace exports

The parent of mainland's top e-commerce firm Alibaba.com said that in three years half of its revenues will come from domestic traders, up from 36 percent now, as internal trading patterns grow faster than exports. Alibaba said it would slash its annual membership fee for exporters by about 60 percent to 19,800 yuan.

HK dollar hovers near its upper limits

The Hong Kong dollar remained strong against the US dollar yesterday, due in part to some players unwinding carry trades, covering their short positions on the Hong Kong dollar.

Local interbank lending rates fell across the board after the central bank injected liquidity into the system on Friday and amid lower US dollar interbank rates.

The local currency was trading at 7.7502/04 per US dollar, staying close to its upper limit at 7.75.

Shenhua expects '09 coal output to rise 8.5 pct

China's Shenhua Energy Co Ltd, the world's top coal producer by market value, says its 2009 coal output growth will slow to 8.5 percent, but domestic contract prices could rise next year despite a correction in spot coal prices.

Shenhua expects its coal output to rise to 192 million tons next year from 177 million tons in 2008, board secretary Huang Qing told Reuters in a telephone interview yesterday.

Sales are forecast to rise 6.7 percent to 239 million tons in 2009 on stronger demand from the domestic market, he said.

Reuters

(HK Edition 11/04/2008 page2)