China's Economy - News and Projects III

[snow is red]

Govt pumps 12.6b yuan into power firms

2009-02-20

The central government has injected a total of 12.6 billion yuan into the country's three State-owned power firms and two grid companies to boost their capital and help cover losses caused by last year's snowstorms and the Sichuan earthquake, the top State-owned enterprise watchdog said on Friday.

The government has provided 8.73 billion yuan in subsidies to State Grid and 3.34 billion yuan to China Southern Power Grid Co, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said in a statement on its website.

China Huadian Corp and China Huaneng Group received 250 million yuan capital injections respectively, while China Datang Corp got 100 million yuan, SASAC said.

China Guodian Corp and China Power Investment Corp, the other two biggest power-generating companies in the country, did not receive government assistance.

The State Council approved the capital injection plan, SASAC said in the statement.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7498116.htm

[snow is red]

China applies green index to foreign investment

2009-02-20

China will add an environmental protection index and a land-use intensity index to the evaluation of foreign-funded enterprises so foreign capital can be used more effectively, the Foreign Investment Office of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.

The environmental protection index will include capital input in the areas of environmental protection, annual sulfur dioxide emission and chemical oxygen demand. These factors will have to be considered by regional economic planners when approving foreign-funded enterprises.

According to a joint statement from the MOC and Ministry of Environmental Protection issued on February 3, foreign-funded companies will have to provide assessments from local environmental protection departments.

These moves are intended to tighten scrutiny of energy-intensive and polluting facilities funded by foreign investments, the MOC said.

The land-use index will include gross fixed-asset investment and the total area of land used, as well as a breakdown of how that land is used - for example, for buildings, residential facilities or "green" areas.

The MOC urged local governments Thursday to consider several factors when approving foreign investment, including the investment environment, overall quality, industrial upgrading, innovation, energy conservation and environmental protection and ethical issues.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China was $7.5 billion in January, down 32.7 percent year-on-year, the fourth consecutive month of decline. China used $108.3 billion of FDI in 2008, up 29.7 percent.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7497244.htm

[snow is red]

Technology sector gets more bytes

2009-02-20

China will step up investments in new technologies over the next three years in an effort to boost domestic consumption that will counter weakening global demand for the country's exports.

The nation will invest about 600 billion yuan to promote 3G mobile communication services, digital TVs and next generation Internet, a stimulus plan approved by China's State Council, or the Cabinet, on Wednesday night has chalked out.

The investments will be used to promote innovation, increase financing and foster widespread use of information technology.

The cabinet also agreed to promote outsourcing and to encourage electronics and information technology enterprises to go overseas to build research and development centers, production bases and marketing networks.

The stimulus plan is the latest effort by the government to pump up its economy, which has been impacted by the global economic slowdown. The government has unveiled similar plans for the auto, steel, shipbuilding, textile and machinery manufacturing industries.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China's imports and exports of electronic and information technology products reached $885.4 billion last year, up 10 percent over 2007.

Exports rose 13.6 percent to $521.8 billion, which accounted for more than a third of its total last year, while imports increased 5.4 percent to $363.7 billion, or 32.1 percent of the total.

Gao Sumei, an MIIT official, said yesterday that although China's electronic and information technology industry saw robust growth last year, it did feel the chill of the global economic slowdown in the last three months. She said the industry turnover fell by 3 percent in December last year.

The government has now taken a series of measures to boost investment in the technology sector. In January, it approved the country's long-awaited 3G licensing policy, which is expected to trigger 400 billion yuan in investments into the telecom sector by 2011.

The government has also expanded its efforts to give subsidies for rural people wishing to buy electronic devices such as televisions, mobile phones and personal computers.

MIIT said it expects the domestic market to see a revenue growth of 12 percent this year, the same as 2008.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/20...nt_7494962.htm

[snow is red]

Yangtze river ports see signs of recovery in cargo

2009-02-21

BEIJING -- Ports along the Yangtze River reported the first monthly increase in cargo in January, after six months' downward performance, a good sign that China's economic stimulus plan's commitment to increasing infrastructure projects has shown positive impact.

However, despite the recent growth, insiders predict businesses on the river will not see a full recovery until the year's second half.

Latest official figures stated that the major ports in the area reported cargo throughput of 80 million tons in January, representing a 5.7 percent year-on-year growth, Saturday's "China Daily" reports.

The ports along the Yangtze River include the port of Chongqing, Shanghai Yangshan port, and ports from the provinces of Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu.

Increasingly growing investment injected into the construction of railways, roads, bridges and metros is driving demand for iron ore and coal, two major commodities shipped via the ports along the Yangtze River.

The ports posted strong growth in cargo - an average 14 percent- in the first eight months of last year, but was hurt by the financial crisis. In September there was zero growth and in the last three months it fell 17, 21 and 30 percent respectively.

Container throughput in the ports grew to 550,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in January, up by 19.6 percent year-on-year, compared with 8 percent and 14 percent growth in November and December respectively.

Both cargo and container growth rates are on a par with the same period last year when China's overall economic growth was much stronger.

For all ports in China, cargo throughput reached 449.96 million tons in January, up by 5.7 percent year-on-year, and container throughput amounted to 8.99 million TEUs, up by 13.3 percent, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The growth in cargo throughput for all Chinese ports was merely0.5 percent last December, the lowest in a decade.

Despite the positive growth in January, prospects ahead for the ports along the Yangtze River are less optimistic. "There will be a few more difficult months before the bad time is over, but we are confident that business will improve in the second half of 2009 and annual cargo throughput growth will be around 9 percent," said Huang Qiang, party secretary of Yangtze River Administration.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_7499212.htm

[snow is red]

Exports of high-energy-consuming products down

2009-02-21

China saw export of high-energy-consuming products down year-on-year by a big margin in 2008, as government efforts to restrict foreign sales of such goods for environmental protection purposes had paid off.

The products include rolled steel, iron alloy, steel billet, pig iron, aluminum, copper, cement and chemical fertilizer.

The General Administration of Customs said on Saturday that last year China sold abroad 103 million tons of high-energy-consuming products, a decline of 16.2 percent from the previous year.

But the value of the exports was up 31.4 percent to $89.8 billion, the administration added.

The Republic of Korea was China's top export destination for high-energy-consuming goods, accounting for 16.1 percent, or 16.53 million tons of China's total foreign sales of such products, up 1.6 percent.

China's exports of high-energy-consuming goods to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members, the European Union and the United States down 24.9 percent, 43.2 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively, to 13.78 million tons, 12.39 million tons and 8.42 million tons.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7499285.htm

[snow is red]

Fewer MNCs relocate

2009-02-21



Fewer multinational manufacturing companies are planning to relocate their manufacturing facilities out of China despite higher operational costs and the impact of the global economic downturn, according to a survey unveiled on Friday.

The global business community is increasingly viewing China as an essential player in an eventual economic turnaround with multinational manufacturers strengthening their commitment to China as a key base of operations for Asia.

The survey, jointly conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and management consulting firm Booz & Company, found that among the 108 multinational companies (MNCs) polled, only 10 percent expressed interests in relocating their manufacturing plants outside of China over the next five years, compared with 17 percent last year.

The number of companies that expressed concern over China losing its competitive edge to lower-cost countries such as India and Vietnam fell by more than half.

The global economic crisis has changed assumptions regarding future business strategies for virtually every manufacturer operating in China. Overall, multinational companies said they were facing difficult times in China.

Before the recession, the bigger challenges facing companies were higher material and compensation costs as well as the appreciation of the yuan, but now declining rates of domestic growth, weaker demand for Chinese exports and tight credit are becoming paramount problems.


This file photo taken on June 21, 2004 shows billboards of world financial institutions in Pudong Lujiazui Financial and Trade Zone, Shanghai

Near half of the MNC manufacturers said they suffered a fourth-quarter export decline of more than 10 percent year-on-year, with about 13 percent saying they experienced a sharp export shortfall of 30-49 percent.

Despite all the challenges of the downturn, most MNCs surveyed said they were still fairly optimistic about China's efforts to position itself as a world-class manufacturing center.

Meanwhile, the ongoing economic recession has pushed multinational manufacturing businesses to focus more on "how we manufacture" in China, instead of the mass quantity of products they made here.

Nearly 25 percent of the respondents were upgrading their production facilities in China with the best technologies they had, with the Chinese government sparing more efforts to improve industrial infrastructure as it continues its quest to become a higher-value global manufacturing center.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7499154.htm

[tiger]

Japan Exports Plummet 45.7%, Deficit Widens to Record

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Japan’s exports plunged 45.7 percent in January from a year earlier, resulting in a record trade deficit, as recessions in the U.S. and Europe smothered demand for the country’s cars and electronics.

The shortfall widened to 952.6 billion yen ($9.9 billion), the biggest since 1980, the earliest year for which there is comparable data, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo. The drop in shipments abroad eclipsed a record 35 percent decline set the previous month.

Exports to the U.S. tumbled an unprecedented 52.9 percent from a year earlier, and shipments to Asia and Europe also posted the largest-ever declines as the global recession deepened. The collapse is likely to force Japanese companies to keep firing workers and closing factories, worsening an economy that shrank the most in 34 years last quarter.

“The pressure on companies to cut jobs and investment is rising and that will make the recession deep and protracted,” said Yasuhide Yajima, a senior economist at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo.

Shipments to Europe slid 47.4 percent in January from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said. Exports to China fell 45.1 percent and those to Asia dropped 46.7 percent.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...oA&refer=japan

Hong Kong’s GDP Shrinks by Most Since 1999 on Crisis

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s economy shrank by the most since the first quarter of 1999 as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression sent exports tumbling and unemployment climbing.

Gross domestic product fell 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from a year earlier, the Census and Statistics Department said today on its Web site, after growing 1.7 percent in the third quarter. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had estimated a 2 percent contraction.

The global financial crisis has sent export demand plunging and driven a 54 percent decline in the Hang Seng Index of stocks since the start of last year. The city slid into recession in the third quarter and unemployment has jumped by the most in a decade, adding pressure on Tsang to announce more economic stimulus measures.

“The trade sector is in deep water, and there’s no optimism on consumer spending as unemployment is rising fast,” said Joanne Yim, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank Ltd. in Hong Kong. “The outlook may improve later this year when stimulus measures start to take effect in the advanced economies.”

Gross domestic product shrank a seasonally adjusted 2 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months. That was the third straight quarter-on-quarter contraction.

Getting Worse

“Hong Kong’s economy will probably contract 3.4 percent in 2009 from a year earlier,” said Sean Yokota, an economist at UBS AG in Hong Kong. “We won’t see a recovery until exports start to stabilize, which is likely to happen in the second half of this year.”

PCCW Ltd., Hong Kong’s largest phone company, said last week that it fired about 80 workers. HSBC Holdings Plc, Europe’s largest bank by market value, announced in November that it was cutting about 450 jobs in Hong Kong. Standard Chartered Plc, a U.K. bank, said in December that it was trimming 200.

The 11,620 bankruptcy petitions filed in 2008 were the most in four years, according to the Official Receiver’s Office.

Unemployment jumped 0.5 percentage points to 4.6 percent in the three months through January, the largest increase in a decade.

The government has provided loan guarantees to businesses, quickened infrastructure spending and boosted temporary work. It says it will create 55,000 jobs in construction in 2009-10.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...YdI&refer=asia

[Whiteeclipse]

Not sure why other Asian economic news being posted here but I would also like to add one.

Taiwan’s export orders, industrial output saw record plunge in Jan
Taiwan's export orders and industrial output both experienced record drops in January, according to a statement made by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Tuesday.

Export orders last month dived 41.67% to US$17.68 billion from a year ago, reflecting a drop steeper than the 33% drop in December, according to the statement.

Industrial output plummeted 43.11% from a year earlier, reflecting a decline steeper than the projected decline of 39%.

Orders from mainland China and Hong Kong, Taiwan's largest market, dropped 54.71% year on year, following a 47.13 % decline in December, while orders from the U.S., Taiwan's second-largest market, dropped 36.75% year on year, following a 24.73% decline in December.

Last week, Taiwan's central bank lowered interest rates to a record low, and it is likely to further cut rediscount rates to boost its economy.
http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswi...1&NewsID=21410

[Whiteeclipse]

Energy chemical industry base to be set up in Ningxia
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved the proposal on setting up an energy and chemical industry base in coal-rich Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, to further boost the local economic development.

The local government will allocate RMB 32 billion for the new base, which is expected to provide job opportunities to around 28,000 people during the construction period.

NDRC noted, by 2010, the base will be able to produce 50milliontons of coal and 4.7 million tons of coal chemical products per year. The installed electricity capacity of the base is expected to reach a year7.08 million kilowatts.

The base is located near Maowusu Desert, which has proven coal reserves of 27.3 billion tons. It is estimated that the potential coal reserves may reach 139.4 billion tons.
http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswi...1&NewsID=21394

[snow is red]

China unveils stimulus plans for nonferrous metals, logistics

2009-02-25

China's State Council, or the cabinet, announced support plans for the country's nonferrous metals and logistics sectors Wednesday.

Presided by Premier Wen Jiabao, cabinet members agreed to promote company restructuring and will offer subsidized loans to support technical innovations within the nonferrous metals sector.

Nine key projects were also decided on as a way to boost the logistics sector, including supplying necessary equipment as well as promoting an industry standard and an information platform.

Beginning last month, China has unveiled stimulus packages for 10 industries. Previous support packages include the auto, steel, shipbuilding, textile, machinery-manufacturing, electronics and information industries, the light industry and petrochemical sectors.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7512715.htm

[snow is red]

China sovereign fund posts 5% investment return

2009-02-25

China Investment Corp (CIC), the nation's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, made a profit of $10 billion in 2008, Shanghai Securities News quoted an unnamed source as saying.

That would put the CIC's annual return at 5 percent, notwithstanding its controversial investments in US private equity firm Blackstone and investment bank Morgan Stanley. CIC has lost more than half of the $8 billion it invested in the two firms.

Officials from CIC declined to comment.

The source said CIC had $90 billion invested in highly liquid financial assets, including treasury bills and bank notes. These investments yielded a pretax income of $3 billion.

Meanwhile, CIC has also received considerable dividends from its stakes in domestic financial institutions such as China Construction Bank and Bank of China, the source said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7511533.htm

[snow is red]

Employment crisis 'top of NPC agenda'

2009-02-26

Discussions about the current tough employment situation will soar to "unprecedented heights" at this year's annual parliamentary sessions, a senior lawmaker said yesterday.

Employment will be one of the main topics at the two meetings," Zheng Gongcheng, a member of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said. "The discussions will focus on job stimulus policies and government investment to boost employment."

Since the global financial crisis began, about 20 million migrant workers have lost their jobs. Also, about 7.5 million college graduates will enter the job market this year, with the number of jobs available at a two-year lowin the first half of the year.

The urban registered unemployment rate, which excludes migrant workers, jumped for the first time in five years to 4.2 percent as of Dec 31, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said. It is expected to hit 4.6 percent this year, the highest level since 1980.

In the Monday's government work report to be submitted to the coming NPC meeting, employment is a very important part of the central government's future work, Zheng said.

"Priority should be given to college graduates and migrant workers," he said.

Some experts have said the rising unemployment rate will be a threat to social stability and have urged the government to do more to create jobs.

Zheng, a scholar in social security at the Renmin University of China, said: "All the policies need huge investment. I expect the government will put more money into the employment services."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_7516403.htm

[snow is red]

Stimulus package 'may grow'

2009-02-26


China's government may spend another four trillion yuan to stimulate the slowing economy, Sun Mingchun, chief China economist with Nomura International, said at an investment forum on Wednesday.


"We expect that the central government's stimulus package is very likely to grow to seven billion or to eight trillion yuan if the country's economy doesn't rebound as expected," said Sun.

According to Sun, economic data for March and April is the deciding factor as to whether the government increases the stimulus package.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7513636.htm

[tiger]

Chinese Firm Buys Fortescue Metals Stake

China's Hunan Valin Iron & Steel said it will buy 16.5% of Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Ltd. for 1.2 billion Australian dollars ($770 million), adding to a recent rush of Chinese investment in Australian mining assets as China tries to secure supplies of key industrial commodities.

Hunan Valin, a Chinese steel maker, will become Fortescue's second biggest shareholder after Chief Executive Andrew Forrest and will be offered a seat on the iron ore exporter's board.

Hunan Valin will buy 225 million new Fortescue shares for A$558 million, or A$2.48 each. It will also buy 275 million Fortescue shares from U.S.-based fund Harbinger Capital Partners. The Chinese company said the acquisitions will be funded out of cash reserves and finance facilities.

A person familiar with the deal said that Harbinger will be left with a 7% stake in Fortescue after its sale to Hunan Valin, which he said has lined up financing for the acquisition from "multiple Chinese banks." A person familiar with the situation said Chinese policy lender China Development Bank is part of the financing. China Development Bank has played a key role in financing the recent spate of Chinese investments into Australian natural resources. Valin's press official declined to provide details of the financing facilities.

Australia has seen interest from Chinese government-backed entities in its mining sector reach a fever pitch in recent weeks. The Australian government, which will have to approve Fortescue's share sale to Valin, is already pondering approval of the $19.5 billion planned investment in Rio Tinto by Aluminum Corp. of China, known as Chinalco, and the A$2.6 billion takeover offer of OZ Minerals Ltd. by China Minmetals Corp.

Perth-based Fortescue is trying to raise funds for the expansion of its operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, which it originally planned to fund from free cash flow, before the global slowdown slowed demand for iron ore. The miner expects to ship about 38 million metric tons of iron ore in 2009 but has long-range plans to boosts its annual output to about 120 million tons a year.

Fortescue has also said it is in talks with China's sovereign-wealth fund, China Investment Corp., over a hybrid funding package for its expansion. It is expected that any funding package with CIC will raise an even larger amount than the planned investment by Hunan Valin. CIC declined to comment.

Fortescue is also considering raising around A$500 million through a share placement to institutional investors, according to another person close to the situation.

Fortescue has long broadcast its interest in bringing in Chinese investors given that it ships most of its production to China. In consideration of the "sensitivities around foreign investment in Australian domiciled companies," the deal includes an agreement that caps Valin's interest at 17.5%, Fortescue said. Also, the one board representative from Valin must be the Valin chairman, Fortescue added. Mr. Forrest's stake will shrink to 32% from 34% after the deal.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Grant Samuel and Azure Capital advised Fortescue. Deutsche Bank AG advised Valin.

UBS calculates that Chinese firms have been involved in at least 26 Australian mining deals in the past two years, nearly half of them in iron ore. The investment bank said the current downturn in the commodity cycle is providing a "good opportunity for Chinese firms to achieve self-sufficiency in raw materials by acquiring Australian resource companies or assets at compelling valuations."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1235...r&ru=msn_money

[snow is red]

Chinese banking profit up 30.6% in '08

2009-02-26


BEIJING -- China's banking industry reported 583.4 billion yuan (US$85.79 billion) of after-tax profit in 2008, up 30.6 percent, said China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Thursday.

CBRC chairman Liu Mingkang released the figure at a press conference on Chinese banks' measures against the financial crisis.

According to a report on CBRC website, the after-tax profit for 2007 stood at 446.7 billion yuan, while the pre-tax profit for 2006 was 337.9 billion yuan.

"The impact on China'a banking system is limited and the risks are under control," said Liu.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...nt_7517061.htm

[snow is red]

China says banks are in good shape, boosting economy

2009-02-26

China's banks are in good shape to ride out the global financial crisis and have provided a crucial boost to the domestic economy through a surge in lending, the banking regulator said on Thursday.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, mixed his confident overview of the country's banking sector with a pledge that the government would act firmly to prevent a rise in bad debt.

That vigilance will include careful examination of new loans by Chinese banks, along with tighter regulation of their overseas investments, a source briefed on the plans said.

China's banks made 1.6 trillion yuan ($234 billion) in new loans in January, a monthly record, after strong loan growth in the last two months of 2008 as well.

Some analysts have expressed concern that the rush of lending could swell bad debts on banks' books, but Liu said the ample credit would give a lift to the economy and was nothing to be worried about.

"Our general analysis and investigations have proven that the fundamentals are normal," he told a news conference in Beijing.

He also struck an upbeat note on the health of Chinese banks at a time when many of their international counterparts have seen balance sheets battered by plummeting asset values and have turned to investors and governments for capital injections.

"Generally speaking, this financial crisis has limited impact on the Chinese banking system and the risks along with it are under control," Liu said in a statement.

The amount of bad debt on the books of Chinese banks fell sharply in 2008, with the sectors' overall non-performing loan (NPL) ratio dropping to 2.45 percent, down 3.71 percentage points on the year.

Analysts had said that the fall was mainly caused by the write-off of 800 billion yuan in sour loans at the Agricultural Bank of China, the last State bank to receive a government bailout.

Liu effectively confirmed that, saying the NPL ratio dropped only 0.84 percentage points when stripping out the effects of reform of the Agricultural Bank of China along with special measures to ease financing in the areas of southwest China hit by an earthquake last May.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchin...nt_7517229.htm

[Whiteeclipse]

CNOOC to launch China's biggest offshore gas filed project
The project will cost about US$6 billion to US$10 billion, and will be put into operation by the end of 2012, said Zhou, adding South China Sea has long been regarded as one of the sea areas with most potential for offshore gas exploration.
Zhou also said that CNOOC plans to invest RMB 200 billion to tap the oil and gas resources in the South China Sea over the next 20 years and expected the annual production in this area to reach 50 million tons.
The Liwan 3 gas filed, the first deep sea gas fi

China, Swiss firms sign trade deals worth US$300 mln
The Chinese purchase delegation on Thursday signed trade deals worth more than US$300 million during its visit to Switzerland, the second stop of their four-nation European purchase tour.
The deals focus on software, advanced electric equipment and raw metals, said Chinese trade officials.
China Nuclear Power Engineering Company will import generator circuit breakers from Switzerland's ABB, a global leader in power and automation technologies, according to a letter of intent signed by the two parties.
An agreement was also reached between Switzerland's Glencore, one of the world's top suppliers of commodities and raw materials to industrial consumers, and Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), the world's second largest alumina maker and the third largest primary aluminum manufacturer.
Holcim agreed to provide technical service, technology and new equipment supplies to China's Huaxin Cement Co for the next two years.
The trade volume in 2008 between China and Switzerland hit US$11.25 billion, exceeding the US$10-billion level for the first time. China has become Switzerland's second largest trade partner in Asia, said Chen Deming, the Chinese Commerce Minister.

S. Korea's Shinsegae to open 1,000 supermarkets in China
Shinsegae Group, the largest retailer in South Korea, plans to open 1,000 supermarkets in China, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the company's CEO Koo Hak-su.
The retailer, which currently has 20 supermarkets all across China, plans to open 10 more in the Chinese market this year. Shinsegae launched its first supermarket, E-mart, in China in 1997, according to Koo.
Shinsegae will stick to its expansion strategy in China to further tap the world's most potential market with such a huge population. In recent years, its investment in China has amounted to KRW 100 billion, 10% of the group's annual investment worldwide.
Shinsegae, with eight department stores and 120 supermarkets throughout South Korea, recorded annual sales revenue of KRW 14.5 trillion last year.

China, Germany ink US$14 bln procurement deals
China inked a total of 37 procurement deals worth of EUR 11 billion (US$14 billion) with German companies to further boost bilateral trade, the China Daily reported.
The deals, consisting of purchasing contracts and cooperation agreements, cover industries such as electronics, automotive, textile and medical etc.
Both sides will focus on deals in engineering equipments, electronics and auto vehicles such as Mercedes and BMW, said China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who led a high-level delegation to visit four European countries.
China will purchase about 37,000 BMW cars and Mini worth US$2.2 billion and also agreed to buy 27,000 units of Mercedes cars, according to a draft deal.
Chen added that more entrepreneurs, including the current 200-member delegation, will come to Germany for further talks on investment in the two countries.
The trade volume between China and Germany totaled US$115 billion last year.

Eton Property to build giant commercial complex in Xiamen
Eton Properties Philippines Inc (EPPI), a global real estate brand established by a prominent Chinese Filipino business magnate Lucio Tan, plans to invest more than RMB 2.4 billion in a commercial complex in Xiamen, Fujian Province, sources reported.
The huge project, the largest ever in the city, covers a land area of about 21,810 sq m and gross floor area of 350,000 sq m.
The complex includes one super five-star hotel, a serviced apartment building, one Grade A office building, a shopping mall and relevant facilities.
As one of the Philippines' biggest conglomerates, EPPI specializes in high-end and mid-income luxury residences, state-of-the-art IT and BPO office developments and township projects.

http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswi...1&NewsID=21455

[tiger]

China National to Acquire Verenex for C$499 Million

Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- China National Petroleum Corp., the biggest Chinese oil company, agreed to buy Canada’s Verenex Energy Inc. for about C$499 million ($400 million) to expand in Libya, home to Africa’s largest crude reserves.

Beijing-based China National agreed on Feb. 24 to buy the Canadian company for C$10 a share in cash, according to a statement today from Calgary-based Verenex. The company said its largest shareholder, Vermilion Resources Ltd., supports the sale.

Verenex put itself up for sale in November after four straight years of losses. The takeover needs approval from Libyan officials under terms of an exploration and production accord with the state-owned oil company, Verenex said.

China National, which began exploring for oil in Libya in 2005, has the right to match any rival offer, and Verenex agreed to pay a C$15 million breakup fee if the company scuttles the deal.

Verenex surged C$1.72, or 22 percent, to C$9.52 at 10:32 a.m. on the Toronto Stock Exchange after earlier increasing as much as 24 percent, the biggest intraday gain since Nov. 28. The shares have more than doubled in value since the company opened its books to potential suitors on Nov. 26.

Libya has 41.5 billion barrels of crude reserves, about 35 percent of the available oil on the African continent, according to London-based BP Plc.

Standard Chartered Bank and FirstEnergy Capital Corp. acted as financial advisers to Verenex. Macleod Dixon LLP provided legal counsel.

Scotia Waterhous Inc. was financial adviser to China National. Dewey & LeBouf LLP and Stikeman Elliot LLP provided legal counsel, while Ernst & Young acted as tax and accounting adviser to the Beijing-based company.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aR_rfdqsTyKI

[big-dog]

China's aquatic product export tops $10 bln

www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-01

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China's aquatic product export volume valued at 10.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, making it the biggest sources, or 26.2 percent of the country's total farm produce exports, according to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) statistics.

China exported 2.97 million tonnes of aquatic products last year, a year-on-year drop of 3.2 percent, but the export value was8.9 percent higher than 2007, due to rising prices, the MOA said Saturday.

The total import and export volume rose 4.9 percent to 6.85 million tonnes, worth 16.02 billion U.S. dollars, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier.

Influenced by the United States import ban on four Chinese aquatic products in 2007, fearing it contained carcinogen and other harmful substances, and "dumpling poisoning" case in Japan in early 2008, China's aquatic products export faced difficulties for some time.

The situation began to turn around since last March thanks to efforts from various sides, the ministry said.

Japan remained China's biggest overseas market, although the export value was down 5.8 percent from a year ago, according to the ministry.

MOA official noted the aquatic product export would face severe challenges in 2009 as the global financial crisis deepened.

He said the ministry would take measures to secure and expand market to ensure a stable export in 2009.

[big-dog]

China makes breakthrough in coffee exports

www.chinaview.cn 2009-02-28

KUNMING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China will export coffee directly to the United States in April, according to a deal signed between the ECUM Coffee Group and Yunnan Hogood Co. Ltd..

In a statement Saturday, Hogood said it will export 240 tonnes of coffee beans per month to Atlantic (USA) Inc., a member of the Denmark-based ECUM Coffee Group.

Before this deal, Chinese coffee reached foreign consumers via international coffee suppliers, such as Nescafe and Starbucks.

Jon H. Stefenson, director of marketing at the ECUM U.S. subsidiary, said packages of the company's coffee products will carry marks indicating the plantation origin as Yunnan.

Yunnan Hogood, which is based in Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, is one of the largest coffee suppliers in China.

It has contracted 30,000 rural households to grow coffee. By the end of 2008, it had 5,333 hectares of contracted land.

Xiong Xiangru, chairman of the board of Hogood, said the company aimed to gradually reduce its dependence on supplying beans to foreign coffee brands. Instead, he wants to focus on promoting the company's own brand of products.

Currently, the world's top five coffee suppliers, including Nescafe, Maxim, Maxwell and Kraft have purchased beans from Yunnan. The province accounts for 98 percent of China's total coffee output, according to Xiong, president of the Yunnan Coffee Association.

Nescafe is the largest buyer of Yunnan coffee. Its purchase in Yunnan reached 8,000 tonnes last year,

Starbucks offered last month to use Yunnan coffee beans in its global procurement system.

"World consumers may have already tasted Yunnan coffee, before they recognize the coffee's plantation origin," said Xiong.

According to figures from the provincial forestry bureau, Yunnan had 23,000 hectares of coffee plantations last year. Its total coffee output was 28,000 tonnes.

Coffee planting only has a decade of history in China because many people prefer tea. However, coffee's popularity is increasing.

Better business has benefited poor farmers in Yunnan.

Zhou Yuetuan, a farmer of the Dai ethnic group, said her family earned more than 20,000 yuan (2,900 U.S. dollars) last year planting coffee.

The per capita income for farmers in the province was 3,102 yuan last year.