PICC Property and Casualty, China’s largest non-life insurer, will attempt to turn around its first half losses by controlling costs and increasing investments in fixed-income assets, the South China Morning Post reported. PICC on Tuesday reported a US$42 million first-half loss mostly due to expenses and claims from the Sichuan earthquake and weak investment returns. […]
Category: Banking & Finance
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) is expected to report the largest profit of any bank globally on Thursday, the Financial Times reported. The bank has already indicated that first-half net profits have grown by more than 50% from US$6 billion in the same period last year. But the paper said Chinese bankers estimate […]
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 7.6% on Wednesday to close at 2523.28 points, in response to reports that Beijing might step in to help flagging stock markets, the Wall Street Journal reported. The paper cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that the government may take action to offset an influx of previously nontradable […]
China’s central bank has increased the maximum amount that can be loaned to small businesses and entrepreneurs to prevent potential unemployment problems, AFP reported. Under the changes, individuals can be loaned up to US$7,300, up from US$3,000 for business purposes, while loans to labor-intensive small businesses have been doubled to US$291,000 from US$145,000. Slower export […]
China’s state-held banks will likely see their first-half profit growth cut by higher funding costs in the second half and into 2009, according to analysts spoken to by Reuters. Chinese lenders are expected to post robust profit growth figuress for the first half of the year due to wider margins and strong fee income. But […]