Asian Markets Overview of January 19

US market was closed yesterday for public holiday. European shares gained on the back of higher commodity prices overnight. Asian markets ended mixed on Monday while traders are awaiting US corporate earnings. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.9%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6% and Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.2%.

Company News

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co (TYO:5423), Japan's biggest maker of construction steel, said it would raise domestic prices on all its products in February. That would increase the price of its mainstay H-beam steel by nearly 5 percent to 66,000 yen. The company will also resume exports of hot coil and H-beam steel for the first time since September 2008 to tap the steel markets in China, other Asian countries and the Middle East.

Malaysia's Petronas Nasional Bhd. and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (TYO:1662), known as Japex, Monday finalized an agreement to develop southern Iraq's Garraf oil field, which is believed to hold 863 million barrels of oil. Petronas has 60 per cent stake in the joint venture while Japex holds the remaining 40%. The consortium requested a fee of $1.49 for each barrel extracted from the field and pledged to reach a production plateau of 230,000 barrels a day.

SB LiMotive Co., a joint venture between South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. (SEO:006400) and Germany's Bosch, could become the second Korean automotive battery maker to supply products to General Motors (GM) after LG Chem (SEO:051910), which signed a deal to supply batteries for the Chevrolet Volt from GM. It is reported that GM is considering picking Samsung SDI, the world's second largest maker of rechargeable batteries by output, as a its battery supplier.

Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (TPE:3009) has won a contract to supply 5 million liquid-crystal-display television panels to Japan's Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758), said a Taiwan newspaper. Sony hopes to increase sales to catch up with competitors through a partnership with Chi Mei.

Singapore real estate company CapitaLand Ltd. (SIN:C31) Monday said it plans to buy container shipper Orient Overseas International Ltd.'s (HKG:0316) China property business for US$2.2 billion, in a move that will significantly boost its prime real estate portfolio in two of China's biggest cities. Through the deal, Capitaland will acquire seven sites in the greater Shanghai area and Tianjin, comprising mixed-use projects under development with total gross floor area of 1.48 million square meters.

Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco)(NYSE:ACH) (SHA:601600) (HKG:2600) said it expected to post a loss for 2009 due to declining demand and overcapacity that led to losses in the first half of the year. Chalco reported a net loss of 3.52 billion yuan for the six months ended June 30, compared with a net profit of 2.39 billion yuan a year earlier, under Chinese accounting standards.


Related Companies

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co.
      

Sony Corporation
      

Samsung SDI Co., Ltd
      

Orient Overseas (International) Limited
      

LG Chem Ltd.
      

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.
      

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corporation
      

CapitaLand Limited
      

Aluminum Corporation of China Limited(CHALCO)