Fujian Cement Inc. led gains among stocks based in the southeastern Chinese province on the prospect of closer ties with Taiwan as President Hu Jintao called for faster development of an economic zone.

Fuzhou-based Fujian Cement rallied the 10 percent daily limit to 8.84 yuan at the close, the biggest advance since Nov. 6. Fujian Expressway Development Co., a toll-road operator, added 2.6 percent to 7.48 yuan, the most traded stock by volume on the Shanghai Composite Index, which lost 0.5 percent.

Hu celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year in Fujian and met with Taiwanese living on the mainland, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Feb. 16. Fujian provincial secretary Sun Chunlan may visit the island in May, the Commercial Times reported today, without citing anyone. Fujian lies on the western side of the Taiwan Straits.

“Support for the province is coming from the state level,” said Wei Wei, an analyst at West China Securities Co. in Shanghai. “If the region wants faster economic growth and closer trade relations with Taiwan, infrastructure will be the top priority.”

Xiamen International Airport Co., operator of the biggest harbor in China’s Fujian province, climbed 4.9 percent to 19.41 yuan. Xiamen C & D Inc., an investment holding company that operates trade and property businesses, gained 3 percent to 12.21 yuan.

Cross-Border Investment

Taiwan and Chinene mainland held initial talks in January on a proposed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA, that will lower tariffs on imports. Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said in Beijing that the two parties could sign a deal this year if they “work hard.”

Taiwan companies have invested an estimated $150 billion in China in the past 20 years, while Chinese companies have invested NT$1.19 billion ($37 million) in Taiwan since June 30, 2009, according to data from the Straits Exchange Foundation.

Source: Business Week