City trade with the mainland settled in yuan amounted to 957.6 billion yuan, or 6.8 percent of the total, according to a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) document. HKMA and 27 of the city's banks are allowed to invest in mainland inter-bank bonds, Peter Pang, deputy chief executive of the HKMA, said at a press briefing in Hong Kong on Monday. Dim sum bonds may exceed 100 billion yuan this year, Pang said. Pang also said that foreign direct investment (FDI) on the mainland using offshore yuan should be launched by the end of the year.

CCB to sell yuan bonds in city

China Construction Bank Corp said most of a proposed 80 billion yuan ($12.5 billion) offering of subordinated debt may be sold in Hong Kong. The lender hopes to sell the bonds by the end of this year, Chairman Guo Shuqing told reporters in Beijing on Monday.

Towngas China H1 net HK$302m

Towngas China Co posted net income of HK$302 million for the first half of the year, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday. That compares with HK$172 million in the same period a year ago, the statement said.

Angang H1 profit tumbles on costs

Angang Steel Co, the largest Hong Kong-traded mainland steelmaker by market value, said first-half profit tumbled 91 percent because of higher raw material costs and slowing demand from automakers.

Net income fell to 236 million yuan ($37 million) in the six months ended June 30 from 2.77 billion yuan a year earlier, the Anshan, Liaoning province-based company said Monday in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, citing international accounting standards. The profit was 220 million yuan, according to the Chinese accounting rules, the statement said, matching the preliminary figure the company announced July 8.

Most stocks drop on euro-bonds fight

Most Hong Kong stocks fell on Monday as optimism that the US Federal Reserve may unveil further economic stimulus measures failed to temper concern Europe's debt crisis will be prolonged as Germany resists a common euro-area bond.

The Hang Seng Index (HSI) climbed 0.5 percent to 19486.87, reversing earlier declines in late trading as European stocks rebounded. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.3 percent to 10245.80.

Cosco Pacific fell 1.6 percent to HK$9.74. Hutchison Whampoa sank as much as 4.1 percent to HK$69.35 before closing 0.4 percent lower.

Concern about Europe's sovereign debt issue grew after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she'll resist pressure to back common euro-area bonds as a means to solve the region's debt crisis.

Futures on the Standard Poor's 500 Index rose 0.8 percent on Monday. Central bankers from around the world will meet this week in the US at Jackson Hole, the same place where US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke triggered financial rallies a year ago after hinting at a second round of asset purchases to bolster the economic recovery.

Property developers had the only decline among the HSI's four industry groups. China Resources Land sank 7.4 percent to HK$11.84, while China Overseas Land Investment Ltd tumbled 6.5 percent to HK$14.78. The mainland should expand restrictions on home sales in smaller cities as property prices keep rising, the China National Radio reported, citing Yao Jingyuan, former chief economist at the National Bureau of Statistics.

Futures on the HSI rose 0.9 percent to 19491. The HSI Volatility Index sank 7.9 percent to 37.01.

Bloomberg - Reuters

(HK Edition 08/23/2011 page2)