Rapid expansion of AI supply chain has given rare earth prices a strong upwards trajectory, analyst says
China’s rare earth producers have reported or anticipated hefty first-half profits, with Beijing’s use of the strategically critical minerals as leverage in trade relations with Japan and the United States not appearing to impede normal activity.
of domestic mining investmenton Friday, widely viewed as diversifying the country’s rare earth supply chain away from China’s near-monopoly – has helped drive up product prices and also the valuations of listed Chinese firms.
Shenzhen-listed China Rare Earth Resources and Technology saw its first-half net profit surge 46.53 per cent year on year to 237 million yuan (US$35.1 million), the company said in an exchange filing on Friday.
Its price-to-earnings ratio, an indicator of investor expectations, was 636.88 in February and currently stands at around 254, still very high compared with the market average.
The same ratio for Shanghai-listed China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech, the nation’s largest producer, reached 105.4 in February and now stands at about 58.
China Northern has said it expects a first-half net profit of between 1.98 billion yuan and 2.06 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth between 112.74 and 121.33 per cent.
“Rare earth prices have maintained a strong upwards trajectory driven by the rapid expansion of the AI supply chain and surging demand for hardware components,” said Guo Lingyu, an investment manager at Jianyuan Fund.