China Gas Holdings Ltd reported that first-half profit rose 91 percent because of increased demand. 　　

The Hong Kong-listed piped-gas distributor said that net income for the six months ended in September climbed to HK$101.4 million (US$13 million), or 2.87 Hong Kong cents a share, from a restated HK$53 million, or HK$1.61, a year earlier. Sales jumped 81 percent to HK$475.1 million from HK$262.5 million.

The gas distributor wants to tap increased consumption of cleaner-burning fuels on the Chinese mainland, where the government has a target of gas contributing eight percent of energy supply by 2010, up from about three percent now.

China Gas, which gets its supplies from producers including PetroChina Co and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, has bought a stake in an exploration company.  China Gas agreed to invest 800 million yuan in a liquefied natural gas venture in Chongqing, a city in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The company plans to almost triple gas sales to 500 million cubic meters by March 2007 and extend its distribution network to include 10 more cities.
 

Source:未知