GOVT AND POLICIES

Coal producers see better profits

Coal producers in China have reported impressive profits for the first half of this year. Of China's 37 listed coal companies, more than half have estimated half-year profits to double in the first half of the year from a year ago. In its semi-annual report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Henan Shenhuo Coal and Power Co Ltd said the company's net profits excluding non-recurring gains and losses increased more than 11 folds year-on-year to 576 million yuan ($86 million) due to a rise in prices. Meanwhile, China Shenhua Energy Co, the country's largest coal miner, announced earlier that its first-half profit jumped 147 percent from the same period last year to 24.3 billion yuan. The company attributed the huge rise to higher coal prices.