China has moved closer to dismantling a 2,000-year-old government monopoly on table salt by allowing producers to set prices and sell directly to the market. The monopoly has supported successive Chinese rulers from the Han dynasty onwards, and helped pay for the construction of the Great Wall. The Communist party retained the monopoly after taking control […]
Category: Commodities
Bloomberg reports China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. is selling a 50% stake in a pipeline unit to investors including China Life Insurance Co. for 22.8 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) as it seeks funds to expand its natural gas business. China Life will pay 20 billion yuan for a 43.86% stake in the pipeline, while a division of State […]
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing launched a multibillion-dollar bid for an Australian infrastructure group, a move likely to test Canberra’s openness to overseas investment in a climate of heated debate about foreign takeovers, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Li’s Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings bid about 7.3 billion Australian dollars (US$5.4 billion) for Duet Group, a pipeline operator and […]
Steel and iron-ore prices in China plunged on Wednesday after exchanges there lowered the daily trading limit and raised margin requirements in an effort to curb speculation, The Wall Street Journal reports. Shanghai steel-rebar futures for delivery in December pared some losses in late Asia trade to close 5.1% lower at 3,044 yuan ($441) a […]
For the second time this year, trading has exploded on the nation’s commodity exchanges, pushing prices of everything from zinc to coal to multi-year highs and sending authorities scrambling to deflate the bubble before it bursts, according to Bloomberg. Metals brokers described panic earlier this month as the frenzy spread to markets in London and […]