Steel will equates to big result

CITIC Pacific Ltd, the Hong Kong arm of China's biggest state-owned investing company, said yesterday that first-half profit surged 44 percent.

The result was driven by steel production and the sale of a stake in a phone-services unit, Bloomberg News reported.

Net income rose to HK$4.97 billion (US$636 million) or HK$2.25 a share, in the six months ended June 30 from HK$3.44 billion, or HK$1.57 a share, a year earlier, the Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement to the city's stock exchange yesterday.

Billionaire Chairman Larry Yung is benefiting from increased investments in steel and property projects in the Chinese mainland, where the economy grew at its fastest pace in 12 years in the six months ended June 30.

CITIC Pacific, with stakes in businesses from power companies to toll roads, has also applied for a Hong Kong initial public offering for its motor-vehicle and food-distribution unit.

"As the Chinese economy continues to grow, the demand for high-quality special steel will continue," Yung said in the statement.