HK Stock Market Move | CMOC (03993) rose nearly 5% in early trading to hit a new high. Bank of America said that the surge in cobalt prices offset the impact of the extended ban on cobalt exports.

CMOC (03993) rose nearly 5% in early trading, reaching a high of HKD 8.38, setting a new historical high. As of the time of writing, it rose 3.63%, closing at HKD 8.27, with a turnover of HKD 3.07 billion. On the news front, recently, the Strategic Mineral Market Supervisory Authority of the Democratic Republic of the Congo issued a notice extending the temporary comprehensive ban on the export of cobalt for another three months, covering all forms of mining. IXM stated that this ban made it "legally and practically impossible" for its suppliers to export cobalt products from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the company could not fulfill its contractual obligations. It is reported that IXM is owned by the world's largest cobalt producer, ERMO. Bank of America Securities released a research report stating that due to the resilience of copper prices, the bank raised its full-year copper price forecast to $9,557 per ton, equivalent to an 8% increase year-on-year. CMOC continues its technological restructuring, helping to improve copper production. The bank originally expected the annual production to remain flat, but now expects a 3% increase to 670,000 tons. In addition, the surge in cobalt prices offset the impact of the extension of the cobalt export ban, with the price of cobalt hydroxide expected to reach RMB 173,000 per ton this year. The group's balance sheet remains stable. Proper management, more merger and acquisition projects, coupled with expansion in the TFM and KFM mining areas, are all laying the foundation for the group's next steps in development.