Asian Markets Overview of March 6

Sydney, Mar 6, 2009 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Asian shares ended mixed Thursday. The Shanghai Composite index was up 1.0%, but in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.0%. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.1%, reversing early gains, and Japan's Nikkei 225 Average ended up 2.0%.

Today Asian markets slid on Friday as the bankruptcy warning from General Motors drove Wall Street shares to 12-year lows. Japan's Nikkei average dropped 3 percent in early trade, while South Korea's Kospi opened 2 per cent lower.

Asia Economy Watch

Hong Kong's official figures showed that residential property prices fell 4.7% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. The Rating and Valuation Department said private property rents fell 1.3% from a year earlier in the September-December period and prices for offices fell 7.6% in the quarter, though office rents jumped 13.6%.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in a government work report to the annual session of the parliament that the government plans to spend 293 billion yuan on the social safety net this year, up 17.6 percent or 43.9 billion yuan over the estimated figure for last year.

China's exports and imports both dropped by more than 20 percent in February, said a Chinese newspaper, citing an unnamed official.

Japan's real gross domestic product for October-December 2008 could be revised down to a 13% contraction on an annualized basis from the preliminary 12.7% drop, according to the average of forecasts from 22 private-sector research institutions compiled by Nikkei Inc. and Quick Corp.

Company News

China's largest coal producer China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd (SHA:601088)(HKG:1088), said on Friday it has won regulatory approval to build a railway in Inner Mongolia costing 4.96 billion yuan. Shenhua Energy will take a 90 percent stake in the project

China Construction Bank (SHA:601939)(HKG:0939) Shanghai Branch said the bank will provide 800 million yuan in loans to Baosteel Group to back the steel maker's recent acquisition of Ningbo Steel's majority stake.

It is reported that San Miguel Corp. (PSE:SMCB) is in the final stages of negotiations to buy Express Telecommunication Co., or Extelcom, and plans to merge it with Liberty Telecom Holdings Inc.

China offshore oil specialist CNOOC (HKG:0883)(NYSE:CEO) said it will invest more than 300 billion yuan in China's southern Guangdong province in the next five years. The investment would go mainly towards South China Sea exploration, Huizhou petrochemical projects and a natural gas pipeline.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) has decided to sell its stake in Monex Group Inc. (TYO:8698), a leading Japanese online securities firm, said market sources.

All Nippon Airways Co. (TYO:9202) is considering seeking a low-interest loan through a government program launched in response to the financial crisis. The company has discussed with the Development Bank of Japan.

Contact

Michelle Liang Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: michelle.liang@abnnewswire.net