Tokyo (Platts)--4Jan2011/210 am EST/710 GMT

Zhuzhou Keneng New Material has been issued an export quota of 24.5 mt for the first half of 2011, the largest among 18 licensed indium exporters in China, according to a notice on a government website.

The ministry of commerce regulates the export of indium by allowing only licensed producers and trading houses to export a set amount. The indium export quota system was launched in 2007.

The quota issued for the whole of 2011 is 233 mt with 140 mt allocated for H1 2011. The company quotas for H2 2011 is expected in July. The H1 2011 quota is flat from 139.8 mt in the corresponding period last year.

Zhuzhou Keneng, a producer in the Hunan province, which started exporting in 2008 with a H1 2008 quota of only 4 mt, emerged as the country's top exporter for H1 2011 with the 24.5 mt quota. For 2010, the company had an export quota of 24.2 mt -- 14.2 mt for H1 2010, and 10 mt for H2 2010.

The company exports mainly to Japan and Europe on long term contracts and on a spot basis.

The second-largest export quota for H1 2011 is for state-owned trading house China Minmetals with 18.8 mt. The company did not export indium last year, but started making contacts with Japanese consumers in the fourth quarter of last year to restart exporting indium in 2011, Japanese buyer sources said.

Trading house Nanjing Foreign Trade & Development was issued a 18.1 mt quota for H1 2011, a slight increase from 17.6 mt a year ago.

Producer Guangxi Debang followed with a 15 mt quota, a steep rise from 6 mt a year ago.

Meanwhile, the quota for state-owned zinc producer Zhuzhou Torch Metals was cut to 4.7 mt from 29.4 mt a year ago. The company has held the top exporter position among the producers for the last five years. Torch Metals underwent a reorganization in the previous quarter and most of its indium export businesses will now be handled by other licensed exporters, sources close to the company said.

The H1 2011 quotas issued to other companies are -- Sainty group 2.8 mt, down from 3.3 mt a year ago; Huaxi Tin 6.4 mt, down from 15.3 mt; Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star 1.2 mt, up from 1 mt; Yunnan Chengfeng Nonferrous 2.2 mt, up from 2.0 mt; Nanjing Germanium 14.5 mt, up from 7.8 mt; Nanjing Sanyou 4.2 mt, down from 4.3 mt; Guangxi Intai 5.9 mt, up from 1.3 mt; Hunan Zhentan 7.5 mt, up from 6.7 mt; Liuzhou Yinli 5.8 mt, unchanged; Shuikoushan Nonferrous 0.6 mt, down from 1.2 mt; Kunming Hua Lian Yin Ye 4.4 mt, up from 3.2 mt; Guangxi Tanghan Zinc & Indium 0.4 mt, unchanged; and Qinghai Western Indium 2.6 mt, down from 2.7 mt.

--Mayumi Watanabe, mayumi_watanabe@platts.com

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