Banks, developers drag Shanghai index down at noon

SHANGHAI stocks fluctuated and fell slightly in the morning session today as blue chips in banking and property sectors dipped. China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co surged on the first day of trading in Shanghai.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, fell 0.23 percent, or 12.02 points, to 5,222.24 at 11:30am today.

Winners in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 499 to 254 and 93 were unchanged.

But the Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller mainland stock market, gained 0.71 percent, or 9.98 points, to 1,409.56.

Banks and real estate developers performed weak this morning.

China Vanke, the nation's biggest listed property developer declined 2.83 percent, or 0.81 yuan (11 US cents), to 27.85 yuan.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the nation's biggest listed lender, fell 0.61 percent, or 0.05 yuan, to 8.10 yuan. Construction Bank of China lost 2.01 percent, or 0.20 yuan, to close the session at 9.75 yuan.

But China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co, the nation's third-largest insurer, performed strong on its first trading day in Shanghai this morning.

China Pacific surged 70 percent to 51 yuan from its initial public offering price of 30 yuan at 9:30am today. It jumped as high as 51.97 yuan in the morning session.

The Shanghai-based China Pacific, 19.9 percent owned by companies controlled by funds managed by the Carlyle Group, sold 30 billion yuan of shares in Shanghai.

Premiums at China Pacific, whose sales force is a third the size of Luxembourg's population, expanded 38.5 percent in the first 10 months of this year. That compares with the 6.2 percent growth for China Life and 15.4 percent for Ping An, according to data compiled by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Meanwhile, Huaneng Power International Inc, the listed unit of China's largest power group, edged down 0.27 percent, or 0.04 yuan, to 14.92 yuan.

The Chinese power producer said it will increase generating capacity at least 37 percent by 2010 as the country's energy demand rises.

China Oilfield Services Ltd, a unit of the nation's third largest oil producer, climbed 0.31 percent, or 0.11 yuan, to finish the session at 35.52 yuan. The company surged the daily cap of 10 percent yesterday.

China Oilfield said its drilling unit won a contract to supply four drilling rigs to Libya for about US$100 million. China Oilfield will deliver two 7,000-meter and two 5,000-meter drilling rigs over three years starting in March, said the company yesterday.