** Shares of China Oriental Group Co Ltd 0581.HK fall as
much as 6.9% to HK$3.11, their lowest since July 2017, after the
Chinese iron and steel products maker forecast sharp fall in
first-half profit
** Stock on track for 4th consecutive session of fall
** Co expects H1 profit to fall 35-55% from a year ago
period amid an increase in production cost due to rising raw
materials prices, and a decrease in sales volume on policies of
production restriction with notable decrease in gross profit
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** Stock down 27.2% this year as of Tuesday's close
** China Oriental has underperformed the Hang Seng Commerce
& Industry Index sector .HSNC by 15.9 percentage points in the
past one month
** The Hang Seng China enterprises index .HSCE falls 1%,
while the benchmark index .HSI eases 0.8% on Wednesday
((Reuters Messaging:
donny.kwok.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))