SMIC to sell stake

Top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) said it was in "advanced negotiations" to sell shares to a strategic investor.

SMIC said in a statement late on Monday that the strategic investor planned to invest in the company by purchasing shares or convertibles instruments, representing a "significant stake", but it said no agreement has been reached.

Shares of SMIC have fallen by more than 44 percent so far this year to end at HK$0.53 yesterday.

HK share offer delayed

Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings, a major paper producer, said yesterday its board has decided to delay a planned share sale in Hong Kong.

Chenming, which said in February that it had received regulatory approval to issue and list up to 409.09 million shares in Hong Kong, did not provide a reason for the delay.

The Hong Kong stock market tumbled this year due in part to worries about the US subprime crisis. Some Chinese firms, including property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd, had scrapped or delayed their Hong Kong IPO plans due to weak investor interest.

Chenming, which already has yuan-denominated A-shares and foreign currency B-shares listed in Shenzhen, said in March last year it aimed to raise about HK$3 billion in a Hong Kong listing to fund a project producing wood pulp.

PetroChina buys April diesel

PetroChina, the second-largest Chinese State refiner, has bought 200,000 tons of diesel for April, a trading source said yesterday, to boost domestic stocks amid sporadic diesel rationing and strong local demand for spring farming.

State refiner Sinopec Corp and PetroChina are still awaiting final government word on the extension of a major tax break on diesel imports to help oil firms stem losses on imports.

Equity tie-up denied

Executives at Air China and Shanghai Airlines, denying speculation that has boosted their shares, said yesterday that the companies had no intention of forming an equity tie-up.

"We have no plan for an equity deal of any kind," Air China`s board secretary, Huang Bin, told Reuters by telephone, though he noted that the two airlines were members of the Star Alliance, a global partnership of airlines.

Shanghai Airlines board secretary Xu Junmin told Reuters, "senior management of the two carriers have never discussed major issues such as an equity deal". In the past, Shanghai Airlines Chairman Zhou Chi has repeatedly said his company wants to remain independent.

Shares in Chinese airlines rose sharply yesterday.

Li Ning chairman sells shares

The chairman of China`s largest sportswear retailer, Li Ning, is selling up to HK$408 million worth of shares in the company at 5 percent to 10 percent below the stock`s closing price, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters.

The chairman, Li Ning, was selling 20 million shares at HK$19.30 to HK$20.40 in a deal handled by UBS.

Reuter