查看更多>>摘要：About 20 percent-50 percent of copper stocks in the Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses aren't available to buyers because they are used as collateral for bank loans, senior economist Zhou Feng of Minmetals Information Center said. "It's a common practice here. When people are short of money and need bank loans, it's easy for them to import copper, open a letter of credit" and later use the metal as collateral, Zhou said. It's not easy to obtain bank loans otherwise, Zhou added. Borrowers would then use the funds to invest in other financial markets, such as buying properties or shares, he added. Copper became a popular tool to obtain bank loans in China because of its high trading liquidity. With China's high demand for copper, investors can sell the metal easily once they no longer need the metal as collateral, Zhou said.
查看更多>>摘要：Korea Zinc Co. has no plan to cut zinc and lead output at its Onsan operations in South Korea despite the current price weakness of both metals, the company's spokesman said. "The estimated production of zinc and lead for the year 2002 will be 410,000 metric toils and 170,000 tons respectively, which are the same tonnage as planned in the beginning of the year," the spokesman said. He didn't say why the company doesn't deem it necessary to cut output at Onsan, the site of its biggest production operations. Big River Zinc is cutting refined zinc output by 7,700 tolls a month from July to September, according to U.K-based CRU Group.
查看更多>>摘要：Padaeng Industry PCL said it generated a consolidated net profit of THB21.1 million in the second quarter, sharply lower than the THB 134.5 million profit posted last year due to depressed global zinc prices. However, tile result represented a swing to profit after the company posted a THB6 million first-quarter loss due to tile prices and an annual plant shutdown. For tile six-month period, Padaeng posted a net profit of THB 15.1 million, compared with THB402.7 million a year earlier. Padaeng is Southeast Asia's sole zinc smelter with all annual production capacity of around 100,000 metric tolls. Padaeng's major shareholder with a 46 percent stake is Belgium's Umicore SA, formerly known as Union Miniere, one of the world's largest zinc producers, which also produces copper, precious metals, and advanced materials. In a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Padaeng said "the Inc us ion of a THB 150.9 million gain from deconsolidation of a subsidiary" created a one-off extraordinary gain but also contributed to reducing the company's revenue and profit.
查看更多>>摘要：Hit be low prices and a scarcity of concentrates China's major zinc producers are expected to trim output significantly this year. In first six months, most of China's top zinc firms -Huludao Zinc Smelter, Zhongjin Lingnan Group, Baiyin Non-ferrous Metals, Liuzhou Longcheng and Shuikoushan Mining Bureau - put out less zinc due to poor market conditions. Only China's second largest zinc producer, Zhuzhou Smelter, bucked the trend, turning out nearly 140 percent more of the metal in the first half of '02 than in the same period last year. China's largest zinc firm Huludao produced 287,000 tonnes of tie refined metal last year. Firms have been dogged by battered metal prices with no clear sighs of recovery in the near term, partly because of weak US equity markets and depressing economic data. "Market conditions have changed, but we should be able to manage at least 200,000 tonnes this year," a company official said.
查看更多>>摘要：The ailing Mysore Minerals Ltd, a state-owned enterprise, has sought the state governments permission to allow the company to increase its authorised share capital from the existing 70 million rupees to 250 million rupees. The proposal was placed before the government as the company is making a revival after three years, according to Mysore Minerals managing director IR Perumal. The company, with an accumulated loss of 29 rupees crore has made an operational profit of 12.5 million rupees in the fiscal 2001-02 with a turnover of 34.51 million rupees. The increase in share capital will enable the company to avail of loan facilities from banks and other financial institutions", Perumal said. The 32-year old company fell into bad times following the Supreme Court banning mining actvities in 12 managanese mines and three iron ore mines of the company located in the Western Ghats on envioromental grounds in 1996. Following this, the company was forced to stop operations in these mines accounting for nearly 35 to 40 per cent of the revenue, he said.
查看更多>>摘要：Asian physical zinc premiums over the LME cash price were mixed in the week ended Friday, with warrant premiums of Chinese zinc brands in Singapore LME-registered warehouses making another big jump. As of Friday, warrant premiums of Chinese zinc in Singapore were quoted at 40 dollars-45 dollars a metric ton, in-warehouse Singapore basis, up from 30 dollars-40 dollars/ton a week before. "Two days ago, we heard 35 dollars/ton for HX brand from London. But now, there's nothing below 40 dollars/ton," a Singapore-based trader said. Zinc premium rises are more driven by supply tightness, while the demand side hasn't changed much, traders said. Zinc supply tightness in Singapore warehouses is because traders prefer to use their stocks as collateral for bank loans, leaving the metal unavailable to buyers. Attractive rebates from warehouse operators for putting the metal in their storage facilities are another reason for the unavailability of the metal. These conditions have been ongoing for months, catapulting zinc warrant premiums to the current level, from 6 dollars-15 dollars/ton in the first quarter of this year. So far, no one can estimate the amount of zinc under financing or warehouse obligations in Singapore.
NSTL