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CITIC dips on possible HK$15.5b forex loss

By Lillian Liu (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-22 13:46

Shares in China's leading investment firm Citic Pacific plunged to a nearly 18-year low yesterday after it said an executive had made improper currency bets that could lead the firm lose up to HK$15.5 billion.

Citic Pacific, the Hong Kong-listed arm of China International Trust and Investment Corp, indicated the possible losses in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday.

Although executives at the group stressed the company had no cash-flow problems and its parent company would help to arrange a standby loan for the company, investors reacted aggressively by dumping their holdings in the red-chip conglomerate.

"Shares in Citic Pacific may have dropped to an attractive price level," said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities, "but I would warn investors not to engage in bargain-hunting and existing shareholders are recommended to sell their shares in the company."

Citic Pacific invested billions of Hong Kong dollars in the Australian dollar, betting that it would rise. But the currency tumbled about 30 percent against the greenback over the last three months amid the global financial meltdown.