Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China Cosco Holdings Ltd., Asia's largest container-shipping line, rose in Hong Kong trading after the company boosted its profit forecast for this year.

China Cosco gained 2 percent to HK$22.60 in Hong Kong today. The stock has surged more than fivefold this year, beating the 35 percent advance by the benchmark Hang Seng Index. Its Shanghai shares gained 4.8 percent to 41.68 yuan.

Net income will probably jump ninefold this year to 18 billion yuan ($2.44 billion), China Cosco said in a Shanghai stock exchange filing today. Demand for commodities to feed the world's fastest-growing major economy combined with China's surging exports have boosted orders for shipping services.

``Dry-bulk shipping will be the main profit driver for the company,'' said Stella Kei, a Hong Kong-based analyst at UOB Kay Hian Ltd. ``The market looks good for 2008 and 2009 on strong demand for iron ore and coal from China and India.''

The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of chartering rates for different sized vessels, fell 1.6 percent yesterday to 9,591. The index closed at a record 11,039 on Nov. 13.

The container-shipping line agreed in September to buy 412 dry-bulk vessels for 34.6 billion yuan from its parent to tap rising imports of iron ore, coal and grain. China's surging economy has helped dry-bulk rates more than double this year.

Selling Assets

China Cosco said Dec. 18 it got regulatory approval to sell 864.3 million shares to parent China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. to buy the world's largest fleet of dry-bulk ships. It also plans to sell 432.7 million new shares to as many as 10 institutional investors.

The company will probably include the dry-bulk unit in its fourth-quarter earnings, Kei said.

Profit is likely to be 50 percent higher than a forecast of 12.17 billion yuan made in September, based on international accounting standards, China Cosco said.

The company posted a third-quarter profit of 664 million yuan and sales of 12.5 billion yuan, helped by surging exports of furniture, toys and clothing. The company listed shares in Shanghai in June.

To contact the reporter on this story: Clare Cheung in Hong Kong at scheung4@bloomberg.net; Jiang Jianguo in Shanghai at jjiang@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 20, 2007 04:20 EST