Morgan Stanley: Upgrade Zijin Mining Group (02899) to "buy" rating with target price of 22.9 Hong Kong dollars.

Morgan Stanley released a research report stating that they have issued a "buy" rating for Zijin Mining Group (02899), with a target price set at 22.9 Hong Kong dollars. The report mentioned that Zijin expects a 16% year-on-year increase in gold production and a 7.5% year-on-year increase in copper production by 2025. This is a decrease of 5.7% compared to the company's previous copper production target. The report stated that Zijin Mining Group's preliminary net profit for the 2024 fiscal year is expected to be around 32 billion Chinese yuan, which is 51.5% higher than the bank's forecast. After deducting one-time costs, the core net profit is expected to be 31.4 billion Chinese yuan, a 45.3% increase year-on-year. Due to last year's gold and copper production being in line with the bank's expectations, the higher-than-expected profit is attributed to better cost control and higher silver profits.