HKEx gets nod for Shanghai unit

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd has received an approval from the mainland authorities to set up an information unit in Shanghai.

The unit, Ganghui Financial Information Services (Shanghai) Ltd, is scheduled to start a market data hub in Shanghai in the third quarter of 2013, according to a statement posted to its website on Wednesday.

The data hub will serve as HKEx's point of market data distribution in the mainland, it said.

Currently, most information vendors on the mainland receive HKEx data via third-party connections, HKEx's CEO Charles Li will be chairman of the unit.

HKEx CEO's contract renewed

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd has renewed CEO Charles Li's contract for another three years.

The re-appointment is subject to approval from the Securities and Futures Commission, the bourse operator said in a statement on Wednesday. The next 3-year term is from Oct 16, 2012 to Oct 15, 2015.

Citic Dameng's target to double

Citic Dameng's Gabon operations are on track to produce about 500,000 metric tons manganese ore by end 2012, the company said.

The company targets around 1 million metric tons of production within 3 years, CEO Tian Yuchuan says in interview in Hong Kong.

Reaching the production target would rank the company 4th largest manganese producer worldwide. The Gabon mine started production in March 2011, and produced around 340,000 metric tons last year.

Glencore nears Xstrata deal prize

Ivan Glasenberg, the billionaire chief executive officer of Glencore International Plc, may be nearing a long-sought takeover of Xstrata Plc as all sides signal a willingness to reach a deal that would be this year's biggest merger, according to people familiar with the situation.

Xstrata is open to Glencore's revised 22 billion-pound ($35 billion) offer, announced on Sept 10, and may soon recommend its support to shareholders, the people said. The proposal would force Xstrata CEO Mick Davis to depart within six months. Davis and Glasenberg are friends and rivals whose relationship dates to the 1970s, when they met in South Africa, their home country.

Qatar Holding LLC, the sovereign wealth fund that compelled commodities trader Glencore to increase its offer for Xstrata, is unlikely to intervene forcefully in any talks, and will rely substantially on the views of Xstrata's board, two of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.

Qatar owns about 12 percent of the mining firm.

HK stocks rise on stimulus signal

Hong Kong stocks rose after Premier Wen Jiabao signaled China can add enough stimulus to meet growth targets, and as speculation increased that the Federal Reserve will take more steps to boost the US economy.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, a chip-services provider that gets more than half of its revenue from North America, gained 1.8 percent. Anhui Conch Cement Co, China's biggest supplier of the building material, climbed 4.8 percent. Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, the city's biggest developer by value, led developers higher amid frantic sales at a new development.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.1 percent to 20075.39, its highest close since Aug 23. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland companies climbed 1.2 percent to 9488.52.

Futures on the Hang Seng Index advanced 1 percent to 20057.

Bloomberg

(HK Edition 09/13/2012 page2)