HKMEx to launch silver futures

The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) said on Monday it will start trading a US dollar-denominated silver futures contract on July 22, hoping to tap into the growing demand for the metal on the mainland.

The silver contract will trade in lots of 1,000 troy ounces and be delivered in Hong Kong, the exchange said in a statement. Trading will last for 15 hours daily from Monday to Friday, it said.

Silver demand rose 67 percent in China and 17 percent globally between 2008 and 2010, the exchange said, citing market data it has compiled.

HSBC to move some employees

HSBC Holdings Plc will move some of its Indian employees to different jobs after reviewing its businesses in the South Asian nation.

HSBC is "redeploying" some workers, to avoid eliminating jobs, said Rajesh Joshi, a spokesman for HSBC. The company last week told 120 employees at its India loan recovery nit they had one month to look for new jobs elsewhere in the bank or at other companies, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

China Unicom subs reach 181m

China Unicom said on Monday that its mobile subscribers totalled 181.62 million in June, up 1.27 percent from a month earlier.

3G subscribers totalled 23.95 million in June, up 1.86 million from May, the carrier said in a statement.

Zhaojin Mining to resume production

Zhaojin Mining Industry Co received approval from Zhaoyuan city government to resume production at its mines in Shandong province after they were inspected, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.

Production at the mines was suspended on July 11, the statement said.

Stocks drop on property fears

Hong Kong stocks fell for a second day on Monday, paced by developers after a report showed that home prices rose on the mainland, fueling concern the government will boost curbs to slow gains.

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell 0.32 percent to 21804.75 at the close. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index advanced slipped 0.06 percent to 12258.45. Futures on the HSI fell 0.3 percent to 21788. The HSI Volatility Index gained 0.5 percent to 21.33.

New home prices rose in 67 mainland cities in June, with growth in Beijing and Shanghai accelerating. In Beijing new home prices rose 2.2 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with 2.1 percent in May, while in Shanghai they climbed 2.2 percent, compared with 1.4 percent growth the previous month, the statistics bureau said on its website on Monday.

China Overseas declined 1.1 percent to HK$15.90. Henderson Land Development Co lost 1 percent to HK$47.35.

The central bank has raised interest rates five times and the reserve-requirement ratio for banks 12 times since the start of 2010.

Esprit lost 2.1 percent to HK$21.20. Cosco Pacific Ltd dropped 2.4 percent to HK$13. Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd slid 1.5 percent to HK$17.98.

Stock gains were also limited by concern over the outlook for the US economy. US President Barack Obama reached out to lawmakers in both parties at the weekend in search of a deficit-cutting deal as the August 2 deadline for raising the US debt ceiling looms.

Commodity stocks declined on Monday on concern demand may wane as a global recovery loses momentum. Copper in New York fell as much as 0.4 percent on Monday, while crude oil sank as much as 0.7 percent.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 07/19/2011 page2)