MONEY SUPPLY

Money supply growth shows signs of easing

China's money supply growth started to show signs of easing in September after months of rapid increases. But much remains to be done to keep its growth at an appropriate pace to support economic growth.

Largely due to its monetary policy manoeuvrings, particularly a hike in required bank reserves, the central People's Bank of China said in its third-quarter monetary policy report last Monday that: "Overall, the tendency of rapid credit growth is starting to come under control." The M2 stood at 21.4 trillion yuan (US$2.6 trillion) at the end of last month, up 20.7 per cent from a year earlier.

BONDS

PetroChina to issue bonds to fund projects

China's largest oil and gas producer PetroChina Co Ltd said on Monday it will issue 10-year bonds to raise 1.5 billion yuan (US$181 million) to fund several oil and gas projects in western China. The bonds, bearing an annual coupon of 4.11 per cent, will be issued at par to domestic retail and corporate investors from today until Wednesday, the company said in a statement.

"These are the first bonds issued by the listed company," an executive of the company said.

Bank of China International and China Securities had been appointed chief underwriters for the bond issue, it said.

BANKING

Huaxia Bank's 3rd-quarter profit soars

Huaxia Bank, the fifth Chinese lender to float shares, posted a 78.6 per cent jump in third-quarter net profit, riding on growth in loans in a surging economy.

Huaxia Bank Co Ltd, a mid-sized lender which debuted on local bourses in September, saw earnings rise to 265.65 million yuan (US$32.1 million) in the July-to-September period, according to a report on the Shanghai stock exchange.

The figure compares favourably to the 148.71 million yuan (US$17.97 million) worth of earnings posted in the same quarter a year earlier.

STOCK MARKET

Analysts warn of challenges ahead

Wall Street resumed its advances of the past week, posting a monthly gain despite October's reputation for market crashes. That offered hope to upbeat investors who are counting on the market's traditional year-end rally to add to their gains.

But while the outlook for the rest of 2003 appears promising, analysts say investors might be a bit too confident and that November could prove to be more challenging for the market than typical.

They said after a particularly strong third-quarter for earnings and economic performance, estimates for the fourth quarter and 2004 appear a little high and will likely be lowered.

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