China Union Reduces Equity in Hualian Sunshine    

China Union Holdings Ltd. (SZ: 000036) announced on August 13th that as the company does not purchase the new shares issued by Zhejiang Hualian Sunshine Petrochemical Co., Ltd.(Hualian Sunshine), the interest held in Hualian Sunshine will reduce from 35% to 26.436%.
   Hualian Sunshine, a PTA producer, suffered a loss of RMB960 million in 2007. China Union is engaged in petrochemical materials business (PTA) and real estate. The real estate business has become the pillar for China Union. To reduce the impact of the PTA business, ensure the real estate projects and increase the profit-earning ability, China Union has decided to reduce the equity in Hualian Sunshine.
   Hualian Sunshine, established in March 2003, is jointly funded by China Union, Zhejiang Zhanwang Holdings Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Gabriel Holdings Co., Ltd. Located in Shaoxing of Zhejiang province, the company is engaged in the production and sales of PTA, polyester chips and chemical fibers, with a PTA capacity of 1.80 million t/a.
    Due to the slackness of the chemical fiber market in China, the price of PTA has been kept at a low level in the past two years. With the surging energy price, most PTA producers in China have suffered a loss.