Former adviser opposes HK stock plan

THE government shouldn’t proceed with the proposed program that would let mainlanders buy Hong Kong-traded stocks directly, former central bank adviser Yu Yongding wrote in a column posted on the Financial Times’ Web site yesterday.

“It is absolutely necessary to maintain capital account control,’’ wrote Yu, a former member of the People’s Bank of China’s monetary policy committee. “I am against the plan to relax capital controls to ease yuan-appreciation pressure.’’ China can’t stand attacks from huge flows of international capital, Yu wrote, saying China’s financial markets were weak and its investors have surprisingly high preference for risk.

Shenhua in talks to buy Mongolia deposit

SHENHUA Energy Corp. was in talks to buy a stake in an untapped coking coal deposit in Mongolia, the China Business News said yesterday, quoting the company’s board secretary.

The project, in Mongolia’s Tavan Tolgoi, was expected to have an annual coking coal production of more than 10 million tons, the newspaper said. “The coking coal resources Shenhua will obtain depends on the offering from the Mongolian Government,” Huang Qing was quoted as saying.

Moutai plans production expansion

KWEICHOW Moutai, a top maker of traditional Chinese liquor, plans to expand production capacity of the fiery Maotai drink by 2,000 tons.

The Shanghai-listed firm will invest about 700 million yuan (US$94.28 million) in the expansion next year and finance most of the investment itself. Moutai has slightly revised its plan on how to use the proceeds from its Shanghai initial share offering in 2001 and will inject 64 million yuan from the proceeds into the expansion.

Brokers may invest in private equity

DOMESTIC securities brokerages would be allowed to invest as much as 15 percent of their net assets in private-equity deals, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission had started consultations with brokerages about proposed rules for private equity, the Hong Kong-based newspaper said. Under the draft, brokerages may buy as much as 7 percent of a non-public company and hold the stake for as long as three years, the report said.