Citic Securities, Merchants Bank, Sinopec: China Equity Preview

May 31, 2010, 8:49 PM EDT

June 1 (Bloomberg) -- The following companies may have unusual price changes in China trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses, and share prices are as of the last close.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, dropped 63.62, or 2.4 percent, to 2,592.15. The CSI 300 Index fell 2.7 percent to 2,773.26.

Developers: China’s real estate closings in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in May plunged as contract numbers dropped by as much as 70 percent from April, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing data from a local property website, a property agent and the government.

China Vanke Co. (000002 CH), the nation’s biggest listed property developer, dropped 3 percent to 7.21 yuan. Poly Real Estate Group Co. (600048 CH), the second-largest, slid 3.4 percent to 11.05 yuan.

Shipping lines: China Cosco Holdings Co. and China Shipping Container Lines Co. were raised to “buy” by Nomura Holdings Inc. analysts Andrew Lee and Cecilia Chan, who said “value has emerged” after a decline in share prices and that the industry will remain profitable even as freight rates come under pressure.

China Cosco (601919 CH), the world’s largest operator of dry-bulk ships, dropped 3.2 percent to 9.91 yuan. China Shipping Container Lines (601866 CH), the country’s second-largest carrier of sea-cargo boxes, fell 2.9 percent to 3.70 yuan.

Gas suppliers: China will raise wholesale natural gas prices by 24.9 percent today, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement yesterday. Separately, China will cut retail ceiling prices for gasoline and diesel by about 3 percent today after a drop in oil prices, the NDRC said.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (600028 CH), Asia’s biggest oil refiner, also known as Sinopec, dropped 2.7 percent to 8.62 yuan. PetroChina Co. (601857 CH), the nation’s biggest oil company, fell 1 percent to 10.85 yuan.

China Merchants Bank Co. (600036 CH): The nation’s fifth- largest lender by market value said it plans to issue bonds to meet its capital adequacy target and doesn’t intend to raise fund through further equity financing. The shares dropped 2.9 percent to 13.23 yuan.

China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co. (601601 CH): The nation’s third-largest insurer said 104.7 million of its shares will become tradable from June 4 after a 36-month lock-up. The stock fell 2.6 percent to 21.68 yuan.

Citic Securities Co. (600030 CH): China’s largest brokerage by market value said its board approved its asset management unit to trade stock-index futures. The shares fell 4.1 percent to 19.80 yuan.

Guangdong No. 2 Hydropower Engineering Co. (002060 CH): The company said it won a 1.1 billion yuan ($161.1 million) construction contract for a water project in the city of Jieyang. The stock slid 4.2 percent to 7.37 yuan.

Huaxia Bank Co. (600015 CH): The bank that’s partly owned by Deutsche Bank AG said its board approved sales of 691 million shares to Shougang Group, 653 million shares to a unit of State Grid Corp. and 515 million shares to Deutsche Bank Luxembourg SA in a private placement plan announced May 5. The shares fell 3 percent to 10.54 yuan.

TCL Corp. (000100 CH): China’s biggest publicly traded consumer-electronics maker said it won approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission for its plan to sell as many as 1.5 billion shares via a private placement. The shares retreated 5.1 percent to 4.06 yuan.