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Chinese c.bank sets yuan mid-point at 6.8283

SHANGHAI, Dec 30 - The central bank set the
mid-point of the yuan's CNY=CFXS CNY=SAEC exchange rate
against the dollar on Wednesday as follows.

Mid-point  Previous day's mid-point  Previous day's close

6.8283              6.8282                6.8294

SOURCE: The People's Bank of China, the central bank, issues
the data through the interbank market, the China Foreign Exchange
Trade System (www.chinamoney.com.cn).

The yuan may rise or fall 0.5 percent from its mid-point each
day, but it has moved only a small fraction of its band in most
trading sessions since it was revalued by 2.1 percent to 8.11 per
dollar on July 21, 2005.

In the three years following the revaluation, the central
bank allowed the yuan to appreciate a further 19 percent against
the dollar. The yuan's traded peak since the revaluation was
6.8099, reached on Sept. 23, 2008.

Since July 2008, however, the central bank has used the
mid-point to keep the yuan at a virtual peg to the dollar within
a narrow 100-pip range, to protect China's economy as it
confronted a slowdown due to the global financial crisis.
 (Reporting by Chen Yixin and Edmund Klamann)






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HK stocks open up; Hunan Nonferrous Metals eases

Mon Dec 28, 2009 8:59pm EST
Related News

    * HK stocks end easier; property down after auction
      3:09am EST
    * HK stocks open up 0.49 pct; Sino-Ocean Land up
      Sun, Dec 27 2009
    * HK shares close up; property issues, Geely rise
      Wed, Dec 23 2009
    * HK stocks open up 0.23 pct; Geely rises
      Wed, Dec 23 2009
    * HK, China shares rise; China Pacific up on debut
      Wed, Dec 23 2009

Stocks

Hunan Nonferrous Metals Corporation Limited
2626.HK
HK$3.09
-0.51-14.17%
8:37am GMT+0700

Carpenter Tan Holdings Limited
0837.HK
HK$3.26
+3.26+0.00%
8:36am GMT+0700

SCHRAMM HOLDING AG
0955.HK
HK$39.00
+39.00+0.00%
8:36am GMT+0700

 HONG KONG, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares opened up 0.30
percent on Tuesday, tracking firmer overseas markets and buoyed
by rising oil and metals prices, while consumer-related issues
are seen in focus on optimism over their longer term prospects as
China's economy grows.

 Hunan Nonferrous Metals (2626.HK) was down 1.11 percent at
HK$3.56 as the stock resumed trading after it said its new
controlling shareholder may make a general offer for all
outstanding shares it did not own at a highly discounted HK$1.73
each.

 Market debutant Carpenter Tan Holdings (0837.HK) was at
HK$3.50 up 35.7 percent from the issue price of HK$2.58 per
share. Schramm holdings AG (0955.HK) debuted at HK$38.80, up 4.9
percent from its issue price of HK$37.

 The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI opened 64.22 points
higher at 21,544.44. The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top
locally listed mainland Chinese stocks gained 0.40 percent to
12,720.26.
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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Nikkei hits 4-month high on exporters, Takashimaya

TOKYO, Dec 28  - Japan's Nikkei average hit its highest in four months on Monday, with exporters rising while Takashimaya Co Ltd (8233.T) gained after the department store chain kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged.
The benchmark Nikkei .N225 was up 0.8 percent at 10,576.05 in early trade after climbing as high as 10,587.75, its highest since Aug. 31.
The broader Topix added 0.6 percent to 914.57. (Reporting by Aiko Hayashi)

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Japan Nov aluminium shipments down 1.0 pct yr/yr

TOKYO, Dec 25  - Japanese shipments of aluminium products fell 1.0 percent in November from a year earlier to 164,859 tonnes, industry data showed on Friday.

That was down slightly from 165,480 tonnes in October, the Japan Aluminium Association data showed. (Reporting by Chikako Mogi)

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HK stocks open up 0.23 pct; Geely rises

Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:00pm EST
Related News
    * HK, China shares rise; China Pacific up on debut
      4:18am EST
    * HK shares close up 1.1 pct; China Pacific up on debut
      3:14am EST
    * HK shares open up 0.11 pct; insurers in focus
      Tue, Dec 22 2009
    * HK stocks close up 0.69 pct; banks lead
      Tue, Dec 22 2009
    * HK shares open up 0.97 pct; Esprit, Li & Fung up
      Mon, Dec 21 2009
Stocks:
Geely Automobile Holdings Limited
0175.HK
HK$4.23
+0.25+6.28%
5:36pm PST

Ford Motor Company
F.N
$10.08
+0.18+1.82%
12:00am PST

The Wharf (Holdings) Limited
0004.HK
HK$43.00
+0.45+1.06%
5:37pm PST

 HONG KONG, Dec 24 - Hong Kong shares opened 0.23
percent higher on Thursday, tracking firm overseas markets, with
local property stocks aiding the rise ahead of a government land
auction early next week.
 Shares of Geely Auto (0175.HK) were set to open up 5.53
percent at HK$4.20 each. Ford Motor (F.N) said on Wednesday it
was nearing an agreement to sell its Volvo Swedish cars unit to
China's Geely, the parent of Geely Auto. [ID:nLDE5BM0VB]
 Shares of property group Wharf (0004.HK) rose 0.82 percent,
Henderson Land (0012.HK) advanced 0.79 percent, and Sino Land
(0083.HK) gained 0.28 percent.
 Stocks of market debutant Hontex International (0946.HK) were
set to open at HK$2.0, down 6.9 percent from the issue price of
HK$2.15.
 The benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI opened 50.05 points
higher at 21,378.79.
 The China Enterprises Index .HSCE of top locally listed
mainland Chinese stocks gained 0.48 percent to 12,588.86.

 The market will close at midday on Thursday.
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

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China's Beijing Auto to spend $4.8 bln on R&D over 3 yrs

 BEIJING, Dec 23 - Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), China's fifth-largest carmaker, said it will invest 33 billion yuan ($4.83 billion) in vehicle development and production over the next three years, following its purchase of technology from GM's [GM.UL] Saab unit.

Stocks  |  Global Markets

The company announced the investment figure on Wednesday at a media briefing following its purchase of the Saab intellectual property, including three vehicle platforms.

Earlier in the day, BAIC said it had paid $200 million for the property from Saab, including rights to the vehicle platforms, two engine technologies and two transmission systems. [ID:nTOE5BM00Z] (Reporting by Michael Wei, writing by Doug Young; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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Turkish one-week repo average simple rate 6.75 pct

STANBUL, Dec 17  - Turkey's Central Bank injected two billion lira ($1.32 billion) into the market in a one-week repo auction on Thursday at an average simple interest rate of 6.75 percent.
Central bank data CBTG showed total bids amounted to 6.6 billion lira. The repo will mature on Dec. 24. ($1=1.5140 lira)

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Citigroup, Wells Fargo to pay back U.S.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and Wells Fargo & Co said they were paying back funds to the U.S. government, in transactions that will end taxpayers' capital support of the biggest U.S. banks much sooner than had been expected just weeks ago.
With regulators signing off on the plans, the U.S. government is signaling that it is comfortable removing some of the support it has provided to banks since the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings created pandemonium in financial markets in the fall of 2008.
The banks are hoping to escape some of the added regulatory scrutiny that came with U.S. support. The Obama administration's pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, had to sign off on pay for Citigroup's top 100 employees after the bank received more than $45 billion of capital over three bailouts.
Wells Fargo received only one government capital injection of $25 billion and was subject to fewer restrictions.
Both banks faced pressure to repay the United States after Bank of America Corp announced plans to sell more than $18 billion of equity to help repay the $45 billion it received from the government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, analysts said.
Citi and Wells Fargo became the last big banks to leave TARP.
"The stigma of being in TARP just got to be too much," said Ralph Cole, portfolio manager at Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in Portland, Oregon.
But the government and the banks that have left TARP are taking a risk. If the economy weakens considerably next year, more bailouts could be necessary.
Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit is giving up a government guarantee the bank had against excessive losses on $250 billion of assets. The bank has yet to consistently post real profits from its banking operations.
"There are a lot of risks still embedded in the economy. Look at commercial real estate, or what happens to consumer loans if unemployment rises," said Bill Fitzpatrick, a stock analyst at Optique Capital Management in Milwaukee. "We don't know what things will look like a year from now."
Banks are evidently concerned about the economy, and have been reducing their loan books and boosting their investments in risk-free securities. President Barack Obama told top U.S. bankers on Monday that they had to open up the credit spigot for small businesses and start lending again.
Still, many investors now believe the worst is behind the U.S. economy, in part because of extreme efforts by the government and the Federal Reserve to rescue the financial system.
The United States is more optimistic about the outlook for the banking sector as well. The Obama administration's projected cost to taxpayers for TARP was cut by about $200 billion last week.
Citigroup said it plans to issue $17 billion of common shares and $3.5 billion of securities that convert into shares in three years to help repay $20 billion of capital it received late last year from TARP.
Citigroup's share offering is expected to be sold on Wednesday.
The government, which owns about 7.7 billion of the bank's shares worth about $28.5 billion, plans to sell up to $5 billion of Citi shares alongside the bank's offering.
Wells Fargo plans to sell $10.4 billion of shares, and also raise up to $1.5 billion of equity through asset sales.
Both Citigroup and Wells Fargo are offloading stock to their employees, with Wells selling $1.35 billion to benefit plans instead of contributing cash to them, and Citigroup selling $1.7 billion of common stock to staff pending shareholder approval.
Beyond Wells Fargo's share sales and asset sales, the bank did not specify how it would fund the rest of its payment to the government.
Wells Fargo's shares rose about 2 percent in late trading after the deal was announced to $26.04. Earlier in the day, Citigroup's shares fell 6.3 percent to $3.70.
PAYING THE PRICE TO EXIT
Both banks will enjoy some benefits from exiting TARP. Citigroup will save about $2 billion of interest expense annually by exiting TARP, while Wells Fargo will reduce annual dividend expense by $1.25 billion.
Citigroup will also reduce the government's say over the bank's compensation packages beginning in 2010, although the bank cannot pay employees more for 2010 to make up for 2009 pay cuts mandated by Feinberg, a Treasury official said.
But both deals are also bruising for the banks. Citigroup is taking an $8 billion pre-tax loss on the trust preferred purchase, because the securities were recorded on the bank's books at less than their face amount.
Canceling securities linked to the government's asset guarantee will result in another $2.1 billion of pre-tax losses for Citigroup. Those losses eat into the benefit of raising capital.
Wells Fargo's hit to common shareholders will be $2 billion in the fourth quarter.
Both banks are also diluting shareholders, something Wells Fargo executives had said they wished to minimize or avoid.
To avoid extra dilution, Wells Fargo said it was buying out Prudential Financial Inc's stake in a brokerage joint venture for cash instead of its prior plans to use cash and stock. Prudential said last week that deal, which closes in January, will boost its investable funds by about $4 billion.
For Citigroup, the dilution to shareholders from its deal is about 15 percent. That is much higher than the dilution to Bank of America Corp's shareholders when the bank repaid the government earlier this month.
Citigroup received $45 billion last year under TARP. This year, the government agreed to convert $25 billion of those funds into Citigroup common stock, leaving the United States with a stake of roughly 34 percent in the bank.
(Reporting by Dan Wilchins; Editing by Gary Hill)

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Indonesia Bakrie&Bros eyes higher stake in Bumi

JAKARTA, Dec 14-Indonesian holding company PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk (BNBR.JK) aims to raise its stake in coal miner Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK) to 21 percent, its chief Bobby Gafur said on Monday.
Bakrie currently has a 18.6 percent stake in Bumi.
Bumi has a stock market value of about $5.3 billion, according to Reuters data, valuing the additional stake at about $106 million. (Reporting by Tyagita Silka and Andreas Ismar; Editing by Sara Webb)

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Turkey cbank says to buy 8 bln lira govt debt in 2010

ANKARA, Dec 10 - Turkey's central bank said on Thursday it planned to buy 8 billion lira ($5.3 billion) of domestic government debt in 2010, a maximum 5 billion lira of which would be bought in the first half.

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CCB Intl to launch $1 bln HK private equity fund

SHANGHAI, Dec 9 - CCB International (Holdings) Ltd, a wholly owned investment banking arm of China Construction Bank Corp , is close to launching a $1 billion private equity fund in Hong Kong, CCB International CEO Hu Zhanghong told a conference on Wednesday.

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