Shares in Hong Kong and China fell to three-week closing lows, led by banks and properties, after tough new proposals by banking regulators and Beijing's tighter curbs on buying government land reignited fears about the sectors' outlooks. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index ended down 0.8 percent or 171.75 points at 21,175.88, retreating for a fourth straight session.
For the week, the index has fallen 3.3 percent on fears of more fund outflows as the US dollar strengthens. Index heavyweight HSBC fell 0.85 percent to a three-week low at HK$87.45. Its London-listed shares fell 3.5 percent on Thursday. Standard Chartered slipped 1.85 percent to HK$191.20. Turnover rose to HK$69.75 billion ($8.99 billion), from Thursday's HK$66.60 billion.
The China Enterprises Index of top locally listed mainland Chinese stocks closed down 1.33 percent at 12,334.82. Real estate developer Minmetals Land dropped 16.67 percent to a two-week low of HK$2.35 after the company said it would sell HK$955.5 million ($123.3 million) worth of new shares to its controlling shareholder, raising capital to fund the acquisition of land and for investment in real estate development projects.
China Construction Bank fell 1.4 percent to HK$6.36, its lowest level in more than two months. The lender said on Friday it had adequate capital to cover its requirements. Bank of China lost 0.25 percent to end at HK$4.03, after falling to its lowest level in more than two months in early trade.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 1.74 percent to HK$6.20, recovering slightly after falling to its lowest level in more than a month. But buying interest could return after steep sell-offs, brokers said. China Corn Oil, the leading maker of edible corn oil in China, surged 21.4 percent to HK$4.36 on its market debut. Fellow debutant Shengli Oil & Gas Pipe Holdings traded at HK$1.86, 15.5 percent below its issue price of HK$2.20.
Geely Automobile Holdings sank 6.4 percent to a two-week low of HK$3.95 as investors reassessed its valuations following a three-month run-up. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 2.05 percent or 65.192 points to finish at 3,113.886, slippinng for a fourth day in a row. The index posted a 4.1 percent loss this week.
Losing Shanghai A shares far outnumbered gainers by 836 to 55, while turnover slipped to a one-week low of 116 billion yuan from Thursday's 123 billion yuan. The property sub-index dropped 5.42 percent. Property issues were hard hit with industry heavyweight China Vanke losing 6.03 percent to 10.59 yuan, while China Merchants Property sank 8.97 percent to 26.28 yuan.
China CNR Corp, one of the country's two big train makers, plans to raise as much as 13.9 billion yuan ($2.04 billion) in an initial public offering in Shanghai, after it set a higher-than expected IPO price range. Metal shares were hit hard after a surging dollar sparked a broad commodities sell-off.
Jiangxi Copper sagged 6.2 percent to 37.96 yuan, while Western Mining was down 5.38 percent at 14.07 yuan. But Anhui Shanying Paper Industry bucked the trend, up 8.33 percent at 6.11 yuan after forecasting that net profit in 2009 could rise more than tenfold and saying it had received 9.2 million yuan in financial aid from the government so far in 2009.
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