Shares of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) fell Tuesday morning after the company reported losses for the first half of this year at 3.52 billion yuan (US$515 million) late Monday.

Chalco, the listed firm of Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), dropped 3.66 percent to 15.01 yuan as of 10:51 am Tuesday in Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The Chinese aluminum producer attributed the ugly result to weak demand in the automotive and construction industries amid the global economic downturn, according to its statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Shares of the country's other nonferrous metal companies also fell due to their poor half-year performance amid the financial crisis.

Jiangxi Copper dropped 4.67 percent to 37.59 yuan as of 10:51 am Tuesday after the company said its net profits fell 60.99 percent from a year earlier to 1.20 billion yuan in the first half of this year. Western Mining Co slid 5.37 percent to 14.28 yuan as of 10:51 am Tuesday after it reported a 93.67 percent drop in half-year net profits.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2009)