Pharmaceutical firm makes $5m on BoCom share sale

Zhuzhou Qianjin Pharmaceutical Co (600479.SH) sold 13,955,000 shares in Bank of Communications (601328.SH, 3328.HK) for $17.40 million (RMB120.08 million), including commission and transaction charges, the Securities Times reported. Qianjin, which produces and sells traditional Chinese and Western medicine, made $5.15 million (RMB35.51 million) on the sale. Bank of Communications, which is about 19% owned by HSBC Holdings, earned US$1.13 billion (RMB7.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2008, up from RMB3.8 billion a year ago.