economy - Profits car giants expected at least to half - FT

Unreasonable optimism has been one of the hallmarks of the automotive industry in China and even now the decline is clear, China's two largest car producers still expect a profit over the first half of this year, the FT reports.

Shanghai Automotive Company, the listed arm of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), and Chongqing Changan Auto both said at the weekend that lower prices, rising costs of raw materials and weaker demand were to blame for the likely drop in earnings.

The explanation explain the misplaced optimism. Listed Chinese companies have to tell us when they expect profits will be down with more than 50 percent. That might be a little bit more.