Daily Market Watch - 29 August 2012

SINGAPORE

Olam International (OLAM) posted 4Q net income down 14.1% YoY to S$110M on sales of S$5.1B, up 12.7%. FY net income fell 13.7% YoY to S$371M and net income (excluding exceptional items) declined 4.6% to S$356M. Looking ahead the Co said: "The cyclical events experienced over the past year in the IRM (Industrial Raw Materials) and CFS (Commodity Financial Services) segments could have some continuing impact in FY2013. However, Olam remains positive about the long-term fundamentals of the industry, as well as the overall business model".

Thai Beverage (THBEV) said it has bought 36.76M shares in Fraser and Neave (FNN) for $316M raising its holding to 29.0%.

CapitaMalls Asia (CMA): ex-div S$0.01625

US indices were mixed on Tuesday. On the US economic data front, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities rose 0.5% YoY (-0.05% expected) in June. The conference Board's index slid to 60.6 (66.0 expected) in August from 65.4 the previous month while Richmond Fed Manufacturing index increased to -9 (-10 expected) from -17 in July. Stocks in the retailing and consumer durables & apparel sectors traded higher while shares in the insurance and transportation sectors were under pressure. Looking at some major US company news, Lexmark International (LXK +13.73% to $21.62) announced a restructuring plan comprising the exiting of the development and manufacturing of its remaining inkjet hardware. Separately, PVH Corp (PVH +4.84% to $92.77) reported for its 2Q an adjusted EPS of $1.25 ($1.21 expected) up 17% YoY with revenue flat YoY to $1.34B. In other news, Autodesk (ADSK +2.36% to $31.23) has acquired certain assets of Inforbix, LLC, a software Co focused on cloud-based SaaS solutions.

In Europe, German consumer confidence remains stable in September at 5.9, unchanged from August according last report released by GfK. Spain's gross domestic product contracted 0.4% in the second quarter, following a 0.3% drop in GDP in the first quarter. Regarding the stocks, Vestas Wind Systems surged after the Danish wind-turbine maker confirmed that is in dialog with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries that may lead to strategic cooperation. This morning, the Nikkei225 index opened slightly higher.

CHINA - HK

Hong Kong 's total value of goods exports fell 3.5% YoY in July (vs -4.8% in June) to HK$276.2B (value of re-exports down 3.5% to HK$271.1B) and value of imports was down 1.8% (vs -2.9% in June) to HK$316.3B, according to the government.

China Life Insurance (2628)'s 1H net income fell 25.7% YoY to 9.6B yuan on revenue of 208.6B yuan, down 8.3%. The Co pointed out: "Total assets reached 1,769,234M yuan, a 11.7% increase from the end of 2011; embedded value was 334,326M yuan, a 14.2% increase from the end of 2011; and new business value for the six months ended 30 June 2012 was 12,494M, a 2.5% increase YoY. (...) In the second half of the year, the external environment faced by the life insurance industry will remain tough and complicated, and the foundation of economic recovery is not solid. Impacts of wealth management products and bancassurance regulations will remain."

China Communications Construction (1800) released 1H net income down 13.9% YoY to 5.0B yuan on revenue of 124.7B yuan, down 10.2%. The Co added: "The value of new contracts in the six months ended 30 June 2012 amounted to 236.0B yuan, representing an increase of 2.9% (...) As at 30 June 2012, the backlog for the Group was 693.9B yuan, as compared with 532.2B yuan as at 30 June 2011."

Evergrande Real Estate Group (3333) said 1H net income edged down 1.1% YoY to 5.6B yuan and core net income (excluding the fair value gains on investment properties) fell 21.0% to 4.8B yuan on revenue of 32.1B yuan, up 15.5%.

BBMG Corp (2009) reported 1H net income down 15.2% YoY to 1.4B yuan on revenue of 14.7B yuan, up 12.8%.

GuangShen Railway (525) said 1H net income dropped 25.9% YoY to 678.4M yuan on revenue of 7.0B yuan, up 1.1%.

Shanghai International Port (600018) posted 1H net profit of 2.25B yuan, down 9.6% YoY while revenue rose 29% to 13.65B yuan.

Zhaojin Mining Industry (1818) announced it will subscribe for 100M shares, or 8.95%, in Australia-listed gold producer Norseman Gold Plc at A$0.04 per share through the latter's recently announced share placement.

Agricultural Bank of China (1288), China Citic Bank Corp (998), China Railway Construction (1186), China COSCO (1919), Jiangxi Copper (358), Dongfeng Motor (489), Air China (753), Hengan International Group Co (1044), Want Want China (151): 1H results expected.

Sino Land Co (83): FY results expected.

Chongqing Changan Automobile (000625), Yunnan Aluminium (000807), Inner Mongolian Baotou Steel Union (600010), SAIC Motor Corp (600104), Zhejiang Medicine (600216), Shanghai Chengtou Holding (600649), Tsinghua Tongfang (600100), Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group (600832), Shanghai Construction (600170), Ningbo Port Co (601018), China First Heavy Industries (601106), Pang Da Automobile Trade Co (601258), Sichuan Swellfun (600779), China Shipping Container Lines (601866), China International Travel Service Corp (601888): 1H results expected.