Wednesday's Asia ADR Recap: Icici Bank

Chinese oil refiners rose sharply Thursday after speculation hit the sector that the government might remove the windfall production profit tax to help ease the pain of high crude oil prices. Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical(SHI Quote) climbed 7.6% to $40.95, China Petroleum & Chemical(SNP Quote) added 5.6% to $97.15, and PetroChina(PTR Quote) moved up 2.6% to $139.15.

Beijing-based online travel service company eLong(LONG Quote) announced that its first-quarter net loss widened due to unrealized foreign exchange losses and a drop in interest income. The company said its first-quarter unaudited net loss was $32.6 million yuan, vs. an audited loss of 781,000 from a year ago. Revenues for the first quarter jumped 25% to $81.4 million yuan, and total revenue rose 23% to $77.7 million yuan. Looking forward, the company said second-quarter revenues should come in between the range of $79 million yuan ($11.4 million) to $12.7 million, vs. Wall Street estimates of $13.1 million. Shares of eLong lost 8% to $8.58.

According to the Shanghai Securities News, China Life Insurance(LFC Quote), the nation's largest life insurer, plans to expand its investment overseas. The newspaper reported that China Life's chief investment officer, Liu Lefei, is currently overseas looking at potential investments. Shares of China Life rose 1% to $60.26.

Shares of Jinpan International(JST Quote), a Chinese maker of cast resin transformers for voltage distribution equipment, plunged 15% after the company reported a 46.6% jump in first-quarter net sales due to strong demand for cast resin transformers in China and overseas. The company said first-quarter net income was $2.4 million, or 30 cents per share, vs. $1.6 million, or 20 cents per share, a year ago. Net sales rose sharply to $23.8 million, vs. $16.23 million a year earlier. Looking forward, Jinpan reiterated its 2008 outlook for a 30% rise in net income to $21.4 million and a 30% jump in revenue to $155 million. Shares of Jinpan fell $7.06 to $37.84 on heavy volume.