ANHUI Conch Cement Co, China's biggest maker of the building material, dropped to the lowest in two years in Hong Kong trading yesterday on concerns slowing demand will lower product prices.
Anhui Conch fell 8.7 percent to close at HK$21 (US$2.70), the lowest since November 2006. UBS AG lowered its recommendation on the shares to "neutral" from "buy," Bloomberg News reported.
China's economy grew at the slowest pace in five years in the third quarter as export orders and property sales slumped.
Conch may cut cement prices early next year and be more "cautious" in future expansions, Board Secretary Zhang Mingjing said on October 15.
"The softening of demand is more severe than previously assumed and hence we have turned more cautious on the cement price outlook," UBS analyst Mick Mi said yesterday. "The industry is in a downturn and might not start to recover until the second half of 2009."
Housing prices in Shanghai, China's biggest financial center, fell 20 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, Savills Plc said last week.