China Corporate News: Sinopec Oil Output Up 7.9% in 1H; LDK 2 Months Behind on Staff Pay

Sinopec Oil Output Up 7.9% in 1H
Sinopec Corp (NYSE: SNP, SHA: 600028, HKG: 0386), China's biggest refiner, said it processed 109.76 million tons of oil – 4.4 million barrels a day – in 1H 2012, up 1.1% from the same period a year earlier. The company produced 77.03 million tons of refined oil between January and June, up 2.6% year on year; gasoline output was up 7.9% to 19.61 million tons and diesel output was up 1.7% to 39.1 million tons. It recovered 163.09 million barrels of crude oil in 1H 2012, up 4.3%; crude oil production from overseas surged 82% to 11.13 million barrels.

LDK 2 Months Behind on Staff Pay
LDK Solar Co (NYSE: LDK), a leading Chinese photovoltaic manufacturer, has halted a ¥630 million project as it struggles with debt problems, the Securities Times reported. The Xinyu, Jiangxi province-based company had begun construction on a 333,335m2 plant began in November 2009. It had ¥30.2 billion in liabilities as of the end of 2011, putting it on the brink of bankruptcy. It posted $185 million in losses for Q1 2012 after industry-wide overcapacity deflated prices. Some employees told the Securities Times that they had not been paid for two months. Spokesman Li Longji said last week that the company would not be nationalized, in response to news that the local government would continue to inject cash into the company to repay its loans.

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