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2012年2月13日星期一

China tells banks to roll over local govt loans – FT

SYDNEY (Reuters) – China has told its banks to start a huge roll-over of loans to local governments, the Financial Times reported, aiming to give itself more time to deal with a $1.7 trillion debt hangover from the global financial crisis.
The move underscores China’s determination to contain its 10.7 trillion yuan debt mess and forestall a potential loan crisis in the world’s No. 2 economy, analysts say.
As early as June 2011, the Chinese government had vowed to clean up its local debt either by shifting 2-3 trillion yuan of debt off local governments, forcing state banks to take some bad debt losses and selling select projects to private investors, sources told Reuters earlier.
Investors worry that China’s banks would suffer billions of bad loan losses and hobble the world’s growth engine at a time of anaemic global economic growth.
China’s mountain of local debt piled up after the 2008-09 financial crisis when Beijing ordered local governments to spend massively on infrastructure projects to buoy economic growth, which they did by borrowing heavily.
Analysts say Chinese banks are already rolling over or restructuring troubled loans to cash-strapped local governments unable to repay their debt. But the amount of loans being rolled over is not known as banks — and Beijing — are tight-lipped.
Worse, analysts say Chinese banks are hiding troubled loans by adamantly refusing to mark them as non-performing loans in financial statements before restructuring them, as per global best practice.
“This is bad regulation but I don’t think we are going to get a bank crisis,” said a bank analyst in Hong Kong.
In some cases, loans are being restructured by extending their maturities by as much as four years, the Financial Times said, citing bankers and analysts familiar with the matter.
Not all local government loans would be rolled over, the paper said, citing a person with knowledge of the plan.
Banks would determine if there was real demand for the investment. Continued funding for the construction of highways would be approved but less important projects, like massive city squares, might be cut off.
Banks would also consider whether investments were consistent with the government’s five-year plan for industrial upgrading and cleaner growth.
China has said that about half of the 10.7 trillion yuan of loans will mature over the next three years.
(Reporting by Richard Pullin in MELBOURNE and Koh Gui Qing in SINGAPORE, Editing by Dean Yates & Kim Coghill)

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2012年2月10日星期五

Pension Funds Get Queasy over Private Equity

By Cristina Alesci and Devin Banerjee
Mitt Romney’s campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination may be creating funding headaches for his former colleagues in the private equity industry. Romney’s opponents have characterized Bain Capital—the firm he helped found in 1984 and left in 1999—and other buyout managers as corporate looters who enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary workers. The issue is likely to remain in the news should Romney win his party’s nomination and face President Obama in the general election.
With public scrutiny focused on private equity funds, pension funds are more reluctant to invest and may ask for more details on job creation and push for lower fees, according to officials and trustees at public pensions. “Pension funds have boards. They don’t want to be giving money to an industry that has a taint,” says Tony James, president of Blackstone Group, the world’s largest private equity firm. “Similarly, boards of directors don’t want to sell their company to organizations they don’t view as respectable. So it could be very damaging for the industry.”
The debate comes as the industry is competing for a shrinking pool of investor dollars. Fundraising has fallen off sharply since the onset of the global financial crisis, staying below $100 million each quarter, according to London-based researcher Preqin. In the second quarter of 2007, at the peak of the leveraged buyout boom, private equity firms raised almost $214 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2011, they raised $52.4 billion.
Public and private pension funds in the U.S. provide 42 percent of the capital for all private equity investments, according to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council in Washington. Public employee pension funds, which must answer to ordinary workers, are sensitive to protracted debates about managers’ compensation and whether buyouts create value and jobs, says one official who asked not to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the topic. “The political attacks against Romney and Bain will definitely come up when firms pitch us their new funds,” says William R. Atwood, executive director of the Illinois State Board of Investment, which oversees $10.4 billion in pension funds. “You’d be crazy not to bring it up.” The Illinois pension board had $621.3 million, or 6 percent of its assets, in private equity as of Dec. 31, according to its website.
Bad publicity has hurt private equity firms in the past. Last year, Blackstone lost out on a deal to manage hedge fund investments for New York City’s public pension funds after the company’s chief strategist suggested retiree benefits were too generous.
Bain tends to be less reliant on pension funds than its rivals. When Romney set out to raise Bain’s first fund in 1984, he steered clear of pension funds, pursuing high-net-worth individuals who contributed about $37 million, according to a person who worked with Romney at the time. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’s co-founders, by contrast, received early capital from Oregon’s and Washington’s pensions, with the latter contributing $12 million to KKR’s first fund in 1982.
The success of Bain’s first fund, which generated a 61 percent average annual return, according to marketing documents from 2004 obtained by Bloomberg, allowed Bain to charge a premium for its investment services. Bain collects 30 percent of the profit on its investments, the highest in the industry. Pensions historically have been less willing to pay the higher performance fees. In a recent fund, Bain relied on pensions for about 9 percent of client assets. Alex Stanton, a spokesman for Bain, declined to comment.
One Bain executive expects the storm to blow over. “Our limited partners have been with us for 28 years, many of them,” Bain Managing Director Stephen Pagliuca said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 27. “We just keep our heads down and try to build value.” Pagliuca also said that pensions will come to rely more on private equity to meet their growing obligations to workers because traditional assets like stocks and bonds won’t return enough. Still, with Romney’s candidacy keeping the spotlight on the industry, Atwood of the Illinois State Board of Investment says there’s bound to be an impact. “We all know that private equity managers make a lot of money, and we know how they do their business,” he says. “But when it’s on the front page, it causes us to think twice when making investment decisions. Private equity is more lucrative when it’s kept quiet.”
The bottom line: Pension funds, which provide 42 percent of the private equity industry’s capital, may pull back amid criticism of Romney and Bain.
Alesci is a reporter for Bloomberg News in New York. Banerjee is a reporter for Bloomberg News in New York.
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2012年2月6日星期一

UK families £7,900 in debt

UK households owe an average of £7,900 on personal loans, overdrafts and credit cards.
UK families are typically £7,900 in debt from personal loans, overdrafts and credit cards, despite three years of paying them down, a report has found.
Meanwhile, credit card use could fall into permanent decline, with the rise of digital technology and payday lenders changing how people access credit, the Precious Plastic report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said.
Each household paid off an average of around £355 of their unsecured debt in 2011, but UK households remain “among the most indebted in the world” despite three successive years of net repayments, the report said.
The report predicted UK consumers will continue their determination to pay down their debts, owing around £7,500 by 2013.
But it highlighted “worrying” signs in spending habits, particularly among the 25 to 34 age group, where a quarter have used credit to fund essential purchases in the last year.
Average incomes have fallen by nearly 3.5pc in real terms over the past year, squeezing budgets even further as consumers have faced soaring bills.
Simon Westcott, director in PwC’s financial services practice, said: “UK consumers are among the most indebted in the world, with the average UK household still saddled with nearly £8,000 of unsecured debt.
“Although the UK Government’s austerity drive appears to be hitting home, with households paying off an average of £355 worth of their debt in 2011, three years of austerity by UK consumers has only made a small dent in the total levels of borrowing.
“In addition to this, our credit confidence survey has shown that there is a growing reluctance to borrow in the future and a marked deterioration in confidence about meeting repayments, particularly among 18 to 24-year-olds.”
The report said that historically, the United States has been a strong indicator of what happens in the UK, but consumer credit in the US saw the largest increase in a decade in 2011.
It put the contrast in behaviour down to UK austerity policies, which have had “a strong influence on consumer confidence and attitudes towards debt in the UK”.
Bank of England figures showed last week that consumers cut their debts at the fastest rate in two decades during December, amid signs they dipped into savings to pay for Christmas.
Credit card borrowing was also flat for the third month in a row, despite the festive season.
The PwC report said that credit card borrowing fell by 5pc last year, leaving the average balance at around £1,000, with tightening credit conditions compounding the issue.
Meanwhile, debit cards grew by 10pc in 2011, to become used more frequently than cash in payments for the first time.
Mr Westcott continued: “Forty-five years since it was first introduced, the credit card is suffering a mid-life crisis.
“Consumers discarded nearly one million cards in 2011, taking the number of credit cards in circulation down to levels not seen for almost a decade.
“The longer term trend suggests that numbers will continue to decline, with the younger generation showing a preference for debit cards and emerging digital alternatives such as mobile payments.
“This generation seems unlikely to switch to increased credit card usage in later life, as perhaps they would have done in the past, suggesting that debit cards, mobile payments and other innovations will force the credit card into an ever decreasing market.”
He suggested there could be a general move towards charging annual fees as regulators push for more transparent ways of charging.
Mr Westcott said: “Other banking products are likely to go the same way as consumers and regulators look for simpler products and the free bank account may become a thing of the past.”
The report argued that the innovation and convenience offered by “alternative lenders” such as high interest payday loan companies was encouraging a broader selection of consumers to choose their services over banks.
Mr Westcott said: “Mainstream lenders need to be aware that what may have begun as a last resort could be an enduring relationship as consumers are pleasantly surprised at the convenient and innovative service they receive from these smaller, more agile providers.
“As these providers become more conventional, we are likely to see them venture further into the mainstream market with their own credit card, longer term loan products or even current accounts.”

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Hana Announces Completion of Non-Brokered Financing and Investment by Strategic Shareholder

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Feb. 6, 2012) – Hana Mining Ltd. (“Hana” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:HMG.V – News)(FRANKFURT:4LH) is pleased to report that it has closed the non-brokered private placement previously announced on January 26, 2012. The private placement consists of 11,054,648 common shares at a price of Cdn$1.35 per share for gross proceeds of Cdn$14,923,775. Shares issued pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a 4 month hold period expiring on June 4, 2012.
Cupric Canyon Capital LP (“Cupric”), which is owned by its management and the Barclays Natural Resource Investments division of Barclays Capital, acquired 6,250,000 of the newly issued shares and now holds 10% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares. Cupric is focused on acquiring interests in undeveloped copper assets with a known resource and adding value to them by assisting in the advancement of the projects through the development process. The management of Cupric, all of whom are former senior executives with major mining companies including Phelps Dodge Corporation, has decades of experience in the exploration, development and operation of world-class copper assets.
Hana Mining’s CEO and Chairman, Marek Kreczmer, commented as follows:
“This agreement is the culmination of many months of building a relationship between the Company and Cupric. Cupric’s management team brings valuable experience in the development and operation of copper projects in North America, South America and Africa, most notably the world-class Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I look forward to working with the management of Cupric towards the development of the Ghanzi Project. With this financing in place we are able to proceed with our Cdn$18 million budget for 2012. In addition to completing the PEA, we will submit the Feasibility Study to the Botswana Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources and will allocate Cdn$5 million for a multiphase regional exploration campaign outside of the Banana Zone at Ghanzi.”
“I also wish to acknowledge the other five long term shareholders who have participated in this placement.”
The CEO of Cupric, Dennis Bartlett, commented as follows:
“We are pleased to have an opportunity to participate in this private placement by Hana Mining. With this investment, we look forward to collaborating with Marek and his team in an effort to further advance the Ghanzi Project, which we believe is one of the most highly prospective undeveloped copper resources in the world today.”
Proceeds from this placement will be used to complete both the Preliminary Economic Assessment and the Feasibility Study and to advance the regional exploration and development of the Ghanzi project and related working capital and general corporate purposes.
Finders’ fee of approximately 2.9%, payable in cash, will be paid on the private placement.
The private placement has been conditionally accepted by the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Hana Mining’s Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project in Botswana:
The Ghanzi Project is located in the center of the Kalahari Copper Belt in northwestern Botswana. The Ghanzi property covers 2,149 square kilometres, and contains sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits with a demonstrated cumulative tested strike length of 70 kilometres. This favorable geology extends over an estimated strike length of 600 kilometres. Hana Mining released results of its most recent NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Ghanzi Project on December 20, 2010, announcing an Indicated mineral resource of 585 million pounds of copper and 12 million ounces of silver from 19.7 million tonnes at a grade of 1.35% copper and 19.7 g/t silver. All of the Indicated resources are from the Banana Zone. There are also Inferred resources of 2.4 billion pounds of copper and 40.6 million ounces of silver from 91.2 million tonnes. This Inferred mineral resource estimate consists of 69.9 million tonnes grading 1.10% Cu and 14.98 g/t Ag in the Banana Zone, 13.4 million tonnes grading 1.66% Cu and 12.11 g/t Ag in Zone 5, 6.3 million tonnes grading 1.5% Cu and 6.7 g/t Ag in Zone 6, and 1.6 million tonnes grading 0.85% Cu and 6.4 g/t Ag in the Chalcocite Zone; all at a cut-off grade of 0.75% Cu.
The Banana Zone exhibits certain areas of higher grade Cu and Ag mineralization, particularly between sections 49700 to 52000 on the North limb and sections 63000 to 71000 on both the North and South limbs, which represent an opportunity to locate starter pits and mine initial tonnages at higher than average grades. These higher grade pockets tend to be well within open pit depth parameters and represent opportunities to improve early cash flow and overall returns in development.
The project will benefit from proposed rail and power infrastructure expansions, along with proximity to local population centers and workforce. A feasibility study is currently underway (funded by the World Bank and the governments of Botswana and Namibia) to support completion of a rail line link that would connect Botswana with the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, on the Atlantic coast. The closest existing railhead to port is at Gobabis, in Namibia, approximately 550 km from our property. Construction has begun on the 600MW expansion of the government-owned Moropule Power Plant, having secured US$825 million project funding in May 2009. The Ghanzi Copper- Silver Project is currently accessed by the paved Trans-Kalahari highway, which passes within 15 km of the property.
The Ghanzi property is one of Africa’s premier future copper-silver resources.
This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements relating to the Company’s future performance, are forward-looking statements. Forward-Looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “plans”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”, “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of properties; exploration results and budgets; mineral reserves and resource estimates; work programs; capital expenditures; timelines; strategic plans; completion of transactions; market price of metals; or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for cooperation of government agencies in the development and operation of properties; the need to obtain permits and governmental approvals; risks such as accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with environmental and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological structures, ore grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases; fluctuations in metal prices and currency exchange rates; and other risk and uncertainties disclosed in reports and documents filed by the Company with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The forward-looking statements made herein reflect our beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.
The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts
Marek Kreczmer
Hana Mining Ltd.
CEO
604-676-0824
778-370-0146 (FAX)
info@hanamining.com
www.hanamining.com
Patrick Donnelly
Hana Mining Ltd.
VP – Corporate Development
604-676-0824
778-370-0146 (FAX)
info@hanamining.com
www.hanamining.com

2012年1月19日星期四

Analysis – China has multiple choices to avoid hard landing risk

BEIJING (Reuters) – China faces what could be its worst year of growth in a decade with policy firepower that developed nations can only dream of.
A record-breaking tax take expected to top 10 trillion yuan ($1.6 trillion) in 2011 gives Beijing fiscal scope to support growth and financial system liquidity, while monetary policy is perfectly poised for easing after a near two-year tightening cycle.
Contrast that with deep deficits across Europe and the United States and the orthodox policies forced upon central banks on both continents in a desperate bid to avoid a slide into economic depression.
It adds up to China having every chance to steer its economy safely from its slowest quarter of growth in 2- years, and still avoid a hard landing that would reverberate globally.
“There are caveats, but compared to its counterparts, China has plenty of policy flexibility,” Tim Condon, head of Asian economic research at ING in Singapore, told Reuters.
The release of some 1.2 trillion yuan of fiscal deposits in December signals how roomy China’s policy pockets are.
That injection was the single biggest factor behind a jump in money supply and bank credit in December, according to analysts at China International Capital Corp, China’s biggest investment bank.
Chinese banks extended 640.5 billion yuan in new loans in December, up from 562.2 billion yuan in November, while M2 accelerated to 13.6 percent from November’s 12.7 percent.
CICC reckons the odds of a January cut in the ratio of deposits that commercial banks are required to hold as reserves (RRR) have been dramatically reduced as a consequence.
SYSTEMIC LIQUIDITY
The implications of China’s fiscal strength are crucial for money markets. An outflow of government deposits from the balance sheet of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) can boost systemic liquidity far in excess of an RRR cut.
“It’s getting increasingly important as the size is getting bigger,” Xu Hong, an analyst with Daton Securities in northern Chinese city of Dalian told Reuters.
Government deposits fell 891 billion yuan in the last month of 2010, 954 billion yuan in December 2009, and 1,045 billion yuan in 2008, whereas a mere 350 billion yuan was estimated to have been injected into the system by the 50 basis point cut in RRR to 21 percent announced on Nov 30, 2011.
Economists polled recently by Reuters forecast a further 200 bps of RRR cuts to come in 2012, but the impact of that would far less than the 1.7 trillion yuan of injections implied if the government has turned an estimated 800 billion yuan surplus in 2011 into the 900 billion yuan deficit originally budgeted.
Released fiscal funds are a key factor underlying accommodative liquidity in the interbank market, according to Zhou Binglin, an analyst with Guosen Securities.
“That’s possibly why fund supply is not too tight despite capital outflows for two consecutive months and the absence of central bank liquidity injection,” he wrote in a client note.
China’s foreign exchange reserves, the world’s largest, fell $20.6 billion in the fourth quarter to $3.18 trillion as the trade surplus shrank and capital flows reversed.
That fall reinforced the views of many analysts and investors that a PBOC policy move was imminent, but a closer reading of fiscal deposit data would have been a better guide.
“It’s a key fact to pay attention to, particularly at the end of a year, and it’s role is becoming more visible,” a bond trader in the interbank market, who declined to be identified, said.
CHANGING DYNAMICS
China’s surging tax flows are also changing credit dynamics at the local government level, with regional banks being cajoled into providing loans to pet projects in return for the promise of a share of soaring fiscal deposits.
A notice on the website of the Rugao government in China’s eastern Jiangsu province said that the allocation of fiscal deposits would be linked to the credit offered by banks.
“Many small banks are in desperate need of deposits, and fiscal deposits are too big to miss, for which they have to make concessions,” a regional banker in Zhejiang province said.
Banks need the deposits because monetary policy settings were tightened so sharply over the last two years to fight the inflationary side-effects of massive stimulus that Beijing launched in 2008 to cushion the economy from the impact of the global economic crisis.
Twin bubbles in real estate and local government debt are still being battled by Beijing, and are arguably the only — if significant — policy constraint faced as the world’s second-biggest economy faces another economic slowdown.
It’s certainly a factor preventing the government using well-stocked fiscal coffers for outright economic pump-priming, or allowing explosive growth in still elevated leverage levels.
But relatively speaking, China has plenty of room to move.
“Every country has constraints. China was almost as unconstrained as it could have hoped for in 2008 when the crisis hit. The response to that has reduced the flexibility they have now, but they have far more than their counterparts in the West have,” ING’s Condon said.
(Editing by Kim Coghill)
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No FDI, no portfolio cash | Business Recorder

January 19, 2012
BR RESEARCH
 By financing the current account deficit, transferring new technology and creating employment, foreign direct investment (FDI) can provide important macroeconomic benefits to the host country.
After somewhat calm journey, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been going though a jittery phase since the end of 2008 when the financial crisis resulted in global recession.
Before the effects the global financial crisis could subside, the world entered another gloomy phase with European bloc nearing bankruptcy, MENA region falling apart and Iran-US relationship intensifying.
Such ambiance raises serious concerns about the tendency and ability of multinationals to continue their investing activities.
UNCTAD has also painted a very bleak picture, expecting a sharp decline global FDI.
This is not surprising given the euro crisis tipping the world into a recessionary pit.
This is a bad news for country like Pakistan that has its FDI falling rapidly since FY09.
To some extent the falling trend of FDI in Pakistan can be attributed to the global investment scenario.
Though China posted a 9.72 percent rise in FDI in CY11 to a record high of $116 billion, FDI has fallen for a second straight month in December by almost 13 percent.
However, amongst its regional peers, Pakistans position is apparently weaker, particularly due to due to domestic issues.
According to the World Investment Prospects 2011 by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Pakistan ranks the lowest in FDI inflows amongst China, India and Vietnam, based on the averages of 2007-2011 FDI, Inflows of FDI in Pakistan have dipped by 37 percent to $513 million during 6MFY12 from $840 million in 6MFY11.
The net foreign investment (foreign direct investment and portfolio investment) has contracted by 64 percent during the first half of FY12.
Portfolio investment witnessed a decline of 165 percent during 6MFY12 as investors shun the countrys main stock exchange due to rising incidents of violence.
The figures reveal a very depressing picture of approximately $1 billion of FDI for FY12, a decline of more than 80 percent of the highest from FY01-FY11.
The reasons are hidden from no one.
Lack of foreign investors interest as a result of ongoing energy crisis, adverse law and order situation and political uncertainty top the list.
Amongst the critical factors for FDI, Pakistan performs poorly in Macro economic stability, institutional efficiency, and security and worker education.
Indirect signals are being given out by the MNCs as they adopt the policy of remitting high dividends and repatriating profits.
A little better law and order situation at present can result in a tentative respite in FDI in Pakistan next year.
However, macro economic indicators still remain pretty weak for any recovery.
Amongst the regional peers, US is expected to remain the top destination for FDI.
China is to remain the biggest emerging market destination followed by India.
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2012年1月17日星期二

China's bad debt risks expose systemic shortcomings

BEIJING (Reuters) – Bad debts in China’s banks painfully expose the shortcomings of an archaic financial system geared to lend to the beck and call of government economic policy, rather than when it is profitable.
The crux of the problem is rising distrust of official appraisals of China’s 10.7 trillion yuan local government loans, which surged on the orders of government as it rolled out a 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus programme at the end of 2008.
Banks say less than 1 percent of the loans are in trouble, a number some investors say is too low to be real as lending unleashed to spur economic growth at its weakest point implies a rising risk of bad debt as the economy slows again.
“I talk to so many people and they say the same thing: they do not trust the data coming from Chinese banks,” said James Antos, a bank analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong.
China’s state audit office said earlier this month it had uncovered 530 billion yuan worth of irregularities with local government debt, leaving investors wondering how much clean-up work remains to be done.
Lacking information, investors are jumping to conclusions. Some think all local government loans are bad. More sober guesstimates assume 2-3 trillion are sour and banks’ non-performing ratios may quadruple to 5 percent, from an average 1.1 percent.
Investors’ worst fears are a cover-up that threatens financial stability in the world’s No. 2 economy.
This is especially so if Beijing orders banks to lend aggressively this year to support the economy and counter Europe’s slowdown, fuelling a vicious cycle of state-directed lending with poor credit judgment that leads to bad loans.
More immediately, the risk is that rising loan losses hit banks’ net profits and capital bases, forcing another government-led bailout like that a decade ago when Beijing spent billions on capital injections to shore up state-backed lenders.
OPTIMISTS EYE REPAYMENT
Optimists say Beijing will pay the debt, or let local governments sell bonds to repay loans used mainly for building infrastructure. Investors like the former option as it is clean and fast, but Beijing is non-committal.
Markets hate that uncertainty, which is one reason why Chinese bank shares have underperformed.
Their average price-to-book ratio of 1.3 is half that of Indonesian banks, according to Reuters data, after the Shanghai financial index plunged some 37 percent in the last two years.
“Certainly a good number of loans made in the last three years will go bad,” said David Madden, a managing partner at DAC Financial Management, a $425 million private equity firm in Hong Kong focused on trading Chinese bad debt.
“They weren’t necessarily made with the highest levels of credit analysis.”
China’s cumulative loan growth is the second fastest in the world’s emerging economies at around 55 percent, after Belarus, and a third faster than India’s 40 percent, Fitch Ratings said.
Yet Chinese banks insist bad loans are falling, not rising.
Their weighted-average non-performing loan ratio dipped 0.1 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, Citi data showed. In contrast, Indian banks’ weighted-average ratio rose 7.5 percent, hurt in part by a falling rupee.
Non-performing loans are those where borrowers have not made payments for at least 90 days and are in or close to default.
Investors suspect banks are concealing bad loans by adamantly refusing to label them as non-performing when cash-strapped governments cannot repay.
Instead, analysts say banks have — or will — quietly restructure loans by extending maturities, violating best practice where loans are marked non-performing before being restructured.
China’s top state-owned banks declined to comment.
CONSTRAINED BY ACCOUNTING RULES
“The market does not like the fact that you are trying to hide loans which do not meet current terms,” said an analyst at a foreign bank in Hong Kong who declined to be identified.
That Chinese banks are concealing bad debt would be even more apparent if they continue to report enviably low non-performing loans in their 2011 results in March, analysts said, since a fifth of all local government loans matured last year.
In banks’ defence, they could argue their provision coverage of 190 percent is among the highest in Asia, meaning they have put aside 1.9 yuan for every yuan of dud loan — although this ratio looks good when banks recognise lower levels of bad debt.
Margarita Ho at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Beijing said banks are also constrained by China’s accounting rules.
“The accounting rules do not permit banks to provide reserves for losses based on future events, regardless of how probable they are,” she said.
But some investors argue the economic reality is that China has more bad loans than it is admitting to, especially with its economy now slowing, and so its financial stability is at stake if Beijing does not act more forcefully.
“You kind of let the bad news ride until you are forced to accept it,” said Madden from DAC. “But I don’t think kicking the can down the road is, ultimately, a smart thing to do.”
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Nick Edwards & Kim Coghill)
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2012年1月2日星期一

AHEB Investment Group In Joint Venture To Create UK Eco Park

MANCHESTER, England , December 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –
AHEB Investment Group proudly announces its newest innovative project as it embarks on its second joint venture with Quicksilver Project Management Ltd., a UK based company. This one of a kind undertaking will see the creation of an almost no emissions and waste sustainable ecological enterprise, resulting in the largest biomass to energy installation in the world.
The coupled resources and know-how of all parties, associates and project sponsors involved will ensure that this unique project, with the enormity and challenges it provides, will be delivered on time and on budget.
The first joint venture of the 2 companies was established over a year ago to offer selective clients of AHEB Investment Group bespoke project management services, and the expertise that comes with it, over the course of their projects, including all pre-planning and implementation phases.
As the partnership begins to grow in both strength and proficiency, this newest of ventures which includes a Centre of Excellence Eco-Park, based on sustainable ecological design, is an exciting further step for both companies.
Spread across 300 acres of land, this development will boast the largest waste to energy facility, the world’s largest aquaponics installation taking advantage of the latest hydroponics and aquaculture technologies, and an eco-park which should have no rivals. The university level research and development departments will strive to further develop sustainable forestry and food sources, and focus on the development of renewable power.
Commenting on the considerable diversity of the installation, AHEB Investment Group Managing Director Mr. Andreas Charalambous said it was important that almost all the waste emissions from this project would be recycled and used for other purposes. He explains: “Waste and heat emissions will be recycled to heat the facility where needed, or keep it cool during the summer months, whereas photosynthetic reactions will be enhanced by purifying the carbon dioxide emissions resulting in higher quality and yields of fruit growth. The end result is that this project will contribute sustainable, grid quality energy supplies whilst concurrently helping to improve exports in the form of vegetables, fish and high grade timber aimed at domestic consumption.”
Around 15,000 cubic metres of water will be provided by a desalination plant to both local infrastructure and site installations by utilizing heat surplus from the power generators, whilst further exploitation of carbon dioxide will be absorbed by specially designed plantations in order to improve carbon sequestration.
Charalambous further emphasises the fact that the end produce coming from the planned agricultural and hydroponics plants will be of premium quality: “The planned exports products resulting from the plant processes, including fruit and fish, will be destined for European and Middle Eastern markets to ensure no commercial threat to local aquaculture and hydroponic businesses, whilst maintaining a profitable and one of a kind business model for this waste facility.” It is clear that the enormity and scale of this project is an immense challenge, but this is precisely why the expertise and resource of the joint venture between AHEB Investment Group and QuickSilver Project Management Ltd have been selected to manage it. The enormity and scale of this project is indeed a challenge, however the expertise and resources of this joint venture have been selected precisely to ensure a cost effective and on time delivery..”
David Hamilton of Quicksilver Project Management comments: “We are overly pleased to yet again be part of a joint venture of this complexity and size which is where our expertise really provides value. Partnering with AHEB Investment Group, will truly allow us to best utilize our combined knowledge and resources, to ensure this Eco-Park will hit each and every milestone on time and within budget, in a highly effective manner, whilst adhering to all constraints. “
For further information on the project or for possible investor opportunities please contact AHEB Investment Group at http://www.ahebgroup.com, email info@ahebgroup.com or call +1-347-4166069.
About AHEB Investment Group
AHEB Investment Group was founded in 2008 aiming to provide professional support and consulting regarding financing to businesses of large and medium size but also start up enterprises. AHEB specializes in assisting the development of large commercial and industrial projects by offering financing solutions and advisory support. Successful projects include real estate developments, construction including large hotels, energy based projects covering power plants and oil rigs with other major purchases of ships and aircraft. AHEB’s relationships with principal global and regional banking institutions assist businesses in arrangement of collateral via its network of investment partners.
For further information about AHEB Investment Group, visit http://www.ahebgroup.com, email info@ahebgroup.com or call +1-347-4166069.

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Chinese bankers forming global network

One way to better understand the changes that have taken place in China as a result of its joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 is to take a look at its banking industry over the past decade.
The amount of annual outward investment abroad has been growing at an average rate of almost 50 percent, since 2003, and reached $68.8 billion worth in 2010, putting China in fifth place globally.
Mainland-based companies had $317.2 billion worth of investments in 178 countries and regions by the end of 2010.
And, as more Chinese companies go abroad, so are Chinese banks taking a closer look at international markets, and forming a global network.

Chinese banks had nearly 100 branches around the world by the end of June of this year, and had completely purchased or had shares in 16 financial organizations abroad.
Bank of China (BOC), one of China’s leading banks with the widest international reach, and greatest amount of experience, was recently listed as one of the world’s 29 most important financial organizations.
BOC’s business covered 34 countries and regions by the end of 2010 and it had nearly 1,000 offices overseas, and assets worth 2.3 trillion yuan ($361.3 billion).
In 2009, when a Chinese company acquired the mines of an Australian lead-zinc mining company, at a cost of $1.2 billion, there were hidden risks because of unpaid debts.
But BOC was on hand to provide financial assistance. It dropped its original response to put together a bundle of financing with other banks, and decided to handle the deal by itself.
The service it provided was a “firewall” that contained the risks and provided the security that the company needed.
BOC has said that it believes that Chinese companies grow in the global market is one way to improve its international services.
And, by designing various financial products, it has been able to help Chinese companies deal with international policies and regulations as well as foreign exchange.


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Canadian Financing Bulletin (CFB) Reports CDN $575.4m in Proposed and $794.9m Closed Financings for the Week of …

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire -12/06/11)- The Canadian Financing Bulletin has been a leader in tracking financing activities of Canadian capital markets in the mining, energy and technology sectors for over seven years. Our unparalleled service offers unique insight into small and micro cap stocks, as well as comprehensive comparative reports detailing the worldwide reach of Canadian companies in these sectors. With the listings of active proposed placements, investors and companies that might not otherwise receive analyst coverage are potentially brought together. As well, we offer coverage of activity in the bond market for users to be made aware of lower-risk opportunities.
In this week’s report, the CFB published term sheets for 56 new proposed placements from the mining, oil/gas (termed metals and energy in the report) and technology sectors. Of those, 57 were for mining stocks, 17 for oil/gas stocks, and two for technology stocks, with the total value of new proposals reaching over $545m. 19 of these placements were designated a ‘flow through’ issuance and there was one new debenture offering. The largest new public proposal was by Karnalyte Resources Inc. (KRN.TO), which launched a share offering consisting of 8.65m shares at a price of $13.30 for gross proceeds of over $115m in a placement led by BMO Capital Markets.
The CFB published term sheets for 82 placements that were closed during the week. Of these, 57 were for mining stocks, 20 for oil/gas, and five for technology stocks, with the total value of these closings being almost $795m. 27 of these placements were designated ‘flow through’ issuances and one debenture placement closed. The largest public closing was by Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET.TO) which issued 5.37m shares (including a 265,000 share overallotment) at a price of $49 in an offering led by BMO Capital Markets.
The CFB also tracked three amendments to placements and six overallotments, published at the end of the weekly report. To date, there have been 375 weekly reports created by CFB; backdated reports can be obtained by subscribers.
Click HERE to download the summary.
About the CFB and Blender Media:
The Canadian Financing Bulletin is produced and distributed by Blender Media, an integrated creative agency specializing in both online and print design, development and maintenance. Blender Media’s work includes extensive strategies for shareholder communication, intuitive design interfaces and the opportunity to be memorable in a sea of investment possibilities.
Blender Media has the support of over 450 satisfied clients and utilizes investor focused online exposure solutions that help clients stay in touch with their shareholders, including the CFB.
Since CFB began offering its weekly report over seven years ago, it has developed other more wide reaching reports that have now been published. Our quarterly and year-in-review reports provide charts, graphs and other comparative tables that exhibit sophisticated capital market intelligence. The data in these reports has been read by thousands of executives, investment advisors, fund managers, and investors from around the world. CFB has also recently begun offering specialized monthly reports, focusing on individual segments within the sectors CFB covers (i.e., gold, uranium, oil, etc.) To date, there have been 169 reports created by CFB; several of these reports are currently posted on the CFB website.
As one can see, CFB offers an important perspective into Canadian capital markets. These markets play a crucial role in the financing of companies active worldwide in various business sectors, specifically for natural resources exploration and development. Canada maintains a leadership role due to a number of factors:
--  A history of significant natural resources;
--  Efficient and transparent capital markets;
--  Strong backing from the investment community; and
--  Regional clusters of the world's most innovative, organized and
aggressive exploration and development personnel, in cities like
Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
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