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What's news [China Daily: Hong Kong Edition](China Daily: Hong Kong Edition Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sinopec, Tencent sign cooperation agreement China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, signed a cooperation agreement with Internet giant Tencent Holdings on Tuesday to jointly explore opportunities in mobile payment, map navigation, online to offline, cross marketing and other businesses. The two companies hope to exploit their unique advantages to serve the customers better. Fu Chengyu, chairman of Sinopec, said that the non-fuel sector, which has huge potential, will be a gold mine for the company in the long run. E-commerce volumessurge in Guangdong E-commerce transactions in Guangdong totaled 1.09 trillion yuan ($308.9 billion) in the first half of 2014, up 30 percent year-on-year and making it the leading province in the country, Cai Yong, deputy director of the provincial department of commerce, said on Monday. Online shopping accounted for 221 billion yuan, representing 16.3 percent of retail sales in the province, an increase of 6.4 percent over last year. Default threat looms over mall developer Renhe Renhe Commercial Holdings Co, a developer of underground shopping malls, doesn't have enough cash to repay its creditors over the next 12 months, according to global ratings agency Standard & Poor's. The Chinese converter of civil defense shelters for retail use will have to pay $413.3 million in coupons and principal on US dollar-denominated notes by May 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Indonesia to boost sugar imports by 29% next year Refiners in Indonesia, which is set to become the world's largest buyer, will probably boost imports of raw sugar by 29 percent next year to meet expanding demand by the domestic food industry. Shipments are set to rise to 3.6 million tons from 2.8 million tons in 2014. The country will replace China as the top importer in the year to April, buying 3.65 million tons, US Department of Agriculture data show. Money market rate falls on increased cash supply The benchmark money market rate in China fell for a third day in succession on speculation the central bank will ensure ample cash supply to help meet demand for banks' month-end requirements and new share sales. On Tuesday, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, capped the amount drained via repurchase agreements at 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), compared with 65 billion yuan of such contracts maturing this week. Qihoo's rising expenses take toll on US share price Shares of Qihoo 360 Technology Co, owner of China's second-largest online search engine, tumbled this month in US trading after rising marketing expenses cut into profit margins. American depositary receipts of Qihoo sank 7.7 percent Monday in New York. Beijing-based Qihoo, which competes with top search engine operator Baidu Inc., said its operating margin shrank to 13.8 percent in the second quarter from 24.1 percent a year earlier as operating expenses more than doubled. CITIC Pacific completes $37 billion acquisition CITIC Pacific Ltd completed the purchase of assets worth HK$286.6 billion ($37 billion) from its State-owned parent, adjusting the payment to include less cash and more new shares. The Hong Kong-based company paid HK$53.4 billion in cash and issued 17.3 billion new shares to units of its parent in exchange for CITIC Corp. CITIC Pacific, to be renamed CITIC Ltd, said it also completed the private sale to investors of 3.95 billion shares, raising HK$53.3 billion. Dongfeng Citroen plans new facility in Chengdu Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co Ltd, a joint venture of French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor Corp, is expected to build a fourth factory in China. The plant, with an investment of 12.3 billion yuan ($2 billion) and an annual capacity of 320,000 vehicles, will be based in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan province. Construction will start later this year, with the first car scheduled to roll off the line late in 2016. China Pacific to join forces with Allianz by next year The third-largest health insurance provider in China said a joint venture with German insurance giant Allianz will officially start operations in the first half of next year if "nothing unexpected happens", said Gao Guofu, chairman of Shanghai-listed China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd. The joint venture is of critical importance to the business diversification of China Pacific, which currently focuses primarily on life, property, agricultural and endowment insurance, Gao said. Lender reports sharp rise in cross-border yuan deals Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd reported it handled total cross-border renminbi transactions worth 1.7 trillion yuan ($276 billion) in the first half of 2014, jumping more than 70 percent from a year earlier. ICBC, China's largest lender by market value, said on Monday it had finished cross-border renminbi settlements worth nearly 6.7 trillion yuan since 2009, when China started trials of cross-border trade settlement using yuan in Hong Kong, Macao and Association of Southease Nations members, as well as a few other locations. Pro-business measures spur 5.5 million new enterprises A growth spurt in new Chinese enterprises is the direct result of recent pro-business measures, an official said on Tuesday. Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said over 5.5 million new market entities, including private businesses and farming cooperatives, were registered from March to July. Among them, about 1.6 million were commercial enterprises, up 64.5 percent from the same period of 2013. More funds set aside for vehicle charging stations The government is considering providing as much as 100 billion yuan ($16 billion) in funding to construct more charging facilities and spur demand for electric vehicles, according to two people familiar with the matter. Increased State funding would be a tailwind for carmakers coping with consumer concerns over the price, reliability and convenience of electric vehicles. Great Wall Motors building automotive plant in Russia Automaker Great Wall Motors has begun construction of a $520 million plant in Russia's Tula Region, the regional government spokesperson said Monday. Tula Governor Vladimir Gruzdev said the regional government plans to purchase Chinese cars made by GWM. The localized enterprise also will build China-designed cars from scratch, not merely assemble them. It will be the first firm to be located in the Uzlovaya industrial park, will employ 2,500 workers and is forecast to build 150,000 Haval cars by 2020 after starting production in 2017. GM to recall Saab 9-3 cars over seat belt defects US automaker General Motors will recall 65 units of defective Saab 9-3 cars on the Chinese mainland, China's top quality watchdog said Monday. Starting March 31 of next year, GM will recall the 65 Saabs produced between June 13, 2006, and Nov 3, 2008, due to seat belt flaws, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. GM said it will repair the defective parts for free. China Daily-Xinhua-Bloomberg-Reuters Sweet surprise Shoppers check out a "super mooncake" weighing 94 kilograms and with a diameter of 80 centimeters at a shopping mall in Xuchang, Henan province, ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept 8. It took eight hours for two pastry chefs to make the mooncake from 10 kg of peanuts, 7.5 kg of pumpkin, sesame, sunflower seeds, walnuts, 20 kg of syrup and sugar, 17.5 kg of flour and other ingredients. Geng Guoqing / China Daily (China Daily 08/27/2014 page14) (c) 2014 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |