China conglomerate CITIC sees H1 net profit down by 40-50 pct

China's conglomerate CITIC Ltd expects its net profit to roughly halve in the first half of the year due to lower property sales, a sluggish stock market and a depreciation of the yuan currency. In another sign of China's slowing economy, CITIC's net profit is expected to fall by about 40-50 percent in the six months ended June, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday. CITIC recorded a six-month net profit of HK$37.7 billion ($4.86 billion) a year earlier.