Chinese stocks rose to another record close Friday on strong demand from securities funds, despite signs the country's central bank may be poised to tighten credit again, AP reported. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 75.18 points, or 1.5 percent, to 5,107.91. It has closed at record levels every day this week. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.1 percent to 1,431.28. Indicating China's central bank will continue tightening monetary policy following an interest rate hike earlier this week, its fourth this year, Yi Gang, a vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said Beijing was determined to combat inflation. Yi told an economic forum in Beijing that an asset bubble could cause problems _ suggesting the central bank remains concerned about surging stock prices. The «central bank's determination to control inflation is unwavering,» he said. China's inflation surged to 5.6 percent in July, the highest monthly rate in a decade, due partly to soaring food prices. Analysts said share prices could still edge higher with more and more investors rushing to buy securities funds, bringing a fresh flow of funds into the stock market. «Many people who used to invest directly in shares are shifting to stock funds for professional management of their money,» said Zhou Lin, analyst at Huatai Securities in Nanjing. Among the most actively traded shares, Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd., or Chalco, rose 5.2 percent to 46.02 yuan; China Minsheng Banking gained 3 percent to 17.09 yuan; and Baoshan Iron & Steel added 6.3 percent to 17.63 yuan. Fuyao Group Glass Industries advanced 3.6 percent to 34.91 yuan. China's Ministry of Commerce has approved the automotive-glass maker's plan to sell a 10 percent stake through a share issue to a private-equity fund of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for 890.4 million yuan (US$117.2 million; ¤86 million). In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar fell against the Chinese yuan amid dollar weakness in international markets. The dollar was at 7.5667 around 0730 GMT on the over-the-counter market, down from Thursday's close of 7.5870.
