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Euromoney’s 2012 FX survey results

Euromoney’s 2012 FX survey results

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June 1998

Finding trouble in the footnotes


Chinese shares listed in Hong Kong have a habit of surprising investors. The latest issue is whether funds invested in high-interest deposits with Chinese banks are completely safe. The so-called H-shares are more used to reporting to the central planners than to shareholders - their workings can be mysterious. Pauline Loong reports.


Investing in Chinese securities is not for the faint-hearted. Almost every year since H-shares started reporting, sharp-eyed analysts have found worrying pieces of news tucked away in footnotes to company announcements. Last year the problem was housing reform. This year, it would appear to be bank deposits.

Two H-shares - mainland Chinese firms that are listed but not based in Hong Kong - have had trouble retrieving fixed-term deposits from well-known Chinese banks and non-bank financial institutions. One H-share, Dongfang Electrical Machinery, was taking legal steps to recover its money while the other H-share, Maanshan Iron and Steel (Magang), was able to secure agreement for repayment from its financiers only after the central bank intervened.

The fact that Dongfang and Magang were unable to retrieve funds placed with mainland banks and financial institutions appeared in small print in the final results published by the two companies in late April. Dongfang is owed...


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