China Business Briefs 9/1/14

ECONOMY

China’s 2012 GDP revised to 51.95 trillion yuan – Xinhua | English.news.cn China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2012 has been revised to 51.95 trillion yuan (8.52 trillion U.S. dollars), 52.8 billion yuan higher than the preliminary reading released in September, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

Primary industries took up a 10.1-percent share in the GDP structure, while secondary and tertiary sectors accounted for 45.3 percent and 44.6 percent respectively, remaining unchanged from readings of the preliminary verification.

China Asks Systemically Important Banks to Comply With Disclosure Rules – WSJ.com China’s banking regulator said Wednesday that it has asked the nation’s large commercial banks to disclose their off-balance-sheet exposures, in an effort to align its regulations with international practices.

The guideline applies to the Chinese banks identified by FSB as systemically important, as well as other banks with on- and off-balance sheet assets worth at least 1.6 trillion yuan ($264 billion), the CBRC said.

Carson Block backs China short calls as buyers circle – Market Extra – MarketWatch “Investors seemed to forget the lessons of 2011 by the time we got into 2013,” said Block, the founder of Muddy Waters Research and the man who became famous in the investing world two-plus years ago when a research report he wrote help set in motion the collapse of Sino-Forest Corp., a Toronto-listed firm that managed forest land in China.

China’s World: Beijing Should Scrap the GDP Target – WSJ.com Here’s another idea: Scrap the national GDP target altogether. It would send a powerful message that Beijing is serious about shifting the drivers of growth.

The target is a relic of the Stalinist planned economy, the basis on which the government planned the allocation of scarce resources for industrial production. Its continued existence is testament to how far China has to go to fully embrace a market economy, one that operates according to market signals.

China’s Toxic Debt Doctors Prepare for Surgery – Regulators eager to resolve China’s local government debt conundrum are setting standards for an emerging class of asset management companies (AMCs) responsible for settling bad loans without Beijing’s help.

One standard, issued in early-December by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), set the floor for each local AMC’s registered capital at 1 billion yuan. It was the first financial parameter of its kind since CBRC and the Ministry of Finance started promoting these debt restructuring vehicles in May 2012.

Chinese Consumers Bought Over 20 Million Vehicles In 2013 As Foreign Automakers Jockey For Market Share China’s 2013 auto sales figures are incomplete until next week, when the December figures will be released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. But as of November, Chinese have exceeded U.S. sales in every month of 2013 by as much as double the number of vehicles purchased in the world’s second-largest auto market.

China is importing more US-built cars|Business|chinadaily.com.cn According to the latest information from the US Department of Commerce, 1.9 million vehicles were exported from the US in 2012. China was among the top five markets for light vehicles made in the US, a list that also includes Canada, Mexico, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

Robots replacing low-end workers in China｜Markets｜Business｜WantChinaTimes.com As Chinese plants lay off workers in the wake of rising labor costs, producers of industrial robots have found their domain expanding, according to Guangzhou’s 21st Century Business Review, citing the example of the Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Group.

Speculative investment hurting China’s economy: report｜Markets｜Business｜WantChinaTimes.com The preference of Chinese investors to plow their money into financial markets rather than in the physical economy poses a great challenge for the country, which is trying to reinvent its manufacturing sector, reports the Chinese-language Economic Information Daily.

The sizable profits to be made from financial asset speculation in a market with ample liquidity and growing foreign capital attracted by an appreciating currency have pulled money away from investments in business, the paper said.

Oil-Tanker Data Show China Shift – MoneyBeat – WSJ Although China’s economic growth has diminished since the early post-financial-crisis period, when massive government stimulus made the country the last great hope of exporting nations, its gross domestic product growth has maintained a level above 7.5% that is enviable in most developed countries. It imported 255 million barrels of oil in the first 11 months of 2013, or 5.6 million barrels a day, up 3.2% on year. Its steady demand combined with the U.S.’s declining need for imports thanks to its energy boom have skewed the global flow of both oil and products.

Shenzhen to ease access – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn Shenzhen’s government aims to further relax the restriction of access to domestic and overseas financial institutions and plans to encourage more private capital to enter the financial services industry, Shanghai Securities News reported Wednesday.

Guangdong Starts Electricity Sales Pilot Involving Open Bidding – Late last year the southern province started to allow large industrial consumers of electricity and generators to determine the price together through open bidding. The move gained nationwide attention since it dealt with the nation’s rigid power pricing mechanism. It was designed to minimize resistance from monopolistic state power grid.

COMPANIES

Bank of China Chooses London to Sell Yuan-Denominated Bonds – MoneyBeat – WSJ China took another step towards broadening the use of its currency outside its shores Wednesday, with state-run Bank of China set to become the third Chinese  lender to sell yuan-denominated bonds in London.

Bank of China, the country’s fourth-largest lender and the sole yuan clearing bank in Hong Kong, Wednesday opened the sale of three-year bonds, with early signs suggesting a yield of 3.50%, one of the banks working on the deal said. The sale is expected to be concluded Thursday morning.

Bitcoin Banned by Alibaba’s Taobao After China Tightens Rules – Bloomberg Taobao Marketplace, one of the main platforms that link buyers and sellers on Alibaba, will bar from Jan. 14 the sale of Bitcoin and related products, including mining software and hardware for the virtual currency, the company said on its website yesterday.

Baidu in 2014: Can It Keep Rolling? (BIDU) China’s leading search engine raced back into investor fancy last year. Game-changing acquisitions and accelerating growth projections work wonders on discarded former market darlings. The stock soared 77% last year, and that’s pretty remarkable since it was trading lower for 2013 at its midpoint. However, now that Baidu is armed with new toys that will increase its presence in mobile and online video, it will be interesting to see if it can live up to heightened expectations.

BoCom sees 2014 growth at 7.8% – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn China’s economy is expected to grow by around 7.8 percent in 2014, as both domestic and external demand will be sufficiently stable to maintain the overall economic growth momentum, Bank of Communications (BoCom) said Wednesday in its annual forecast for the country’s economy.

But the economy still faces downward pressure, including challenges arising from the central government’s pledge to de-leverage and rebalance the economy for longer-term sustainability, which might put short-term growth at risk, Lian Ping, chief economist with Shanghai-based BoCom, told reporters in Beijing Wednesday, while releasing the outlook report.

Anhui Conch to Step Up Acquisitions With Record Cash Level – Bloomberg Anhui Conch Cement Co. (914), China’s biggest cement producer by market value, plans to add as much as 30 million metric tons to capacity through acquisitions amid a government drive to consolidate production.

Rural Mobile Commerce Service MMB Launches Low-cost Smartphone Q1 Maimaibao (MMB.cn)  started in 2006 as a m-commerce retailer targeting at the rural China. It offers more than 50,000 items, from apparel to digital devices, and daily transactions are 20,000, according to the company intro.. As one of the biggest of this kind, MMB has developed its own logistics service to serve customers who buy through WAP pages and don’t have any online payment account. The company is funded by investors including Tencent and reached partnership with the latter on mobile shopping.

China’s Meizu plans to launch smartphones in US market in Q3 Chinese phone-maker Meizu unveiled its latest flagship phone, the MX3, last September, but it’s getting a fresh wave of coverage today as the company makes its debut at CES in Las Vegas. Meizu also revealed today that it will launch for the first time in the US market in Q3 of 2014.

Huawei talks up global goals at CES – Business – Chinadaily.com.cn Colin Giles, executive vice-president of Huawei Consumer Business Group, said Huawei’s goal this year is to deliver 80 million smartphones, a 28 million increase over last year’s number.

According to Giles, Huawei’s global brand awareness increased by 110 percent from 25 percent in 2012 to the current 52 percent. Over the past 18 months, Huawei’s brand awareness increased three to four times in countries such as Spain, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Japan. In the US, it rose from 9 percent to 22 percent.

Mobile Video Contest Co-Hosted by China Mobile and Youku Tudou Breaks New Records, Generating More than 100 Million Yuan in Mobile Box Office Sales – Yahoo Finance An annual mobile video contest co-organized by by China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: CHL; 0941 HK), and Youku Tudou Inc., China’s leading Internet television company, broke new records in 2013 with 110 million yuan in mobile box office sales and one single title garnering more than 5 million yuan from mobile video-on-demand sales, which is a new record in China.

Bank of China Limited : Bank of China London Branch issues RMB-denominated bonds | 4-Traders On 8th January 2014, Bank of China London Branch will issue RMB-denominated bonds, providing UK and European investors with an additional high quality RMB product.

China Life Insurance Stock Rating Upgraded by Deutsche Bank (LFC) | North Fork Vue China Life Insurance (NYSE:LFC) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, TheFlyOnTheWall.com reports.

SAIC Motor Corporation Limited : SAIC Motor 2013 Sold 5.1mn Cars | 4-Traders SAIC Motor posts that it sold more than 5.1 million complete cars in 2013, up 13.7% year on year. The company became the first Chinese automaker with an annual sales volume of over 5 million units.

Netizens React On Weibo To Mysterious Death Of Bai Zhongren, President Of China Railway Group Ltd. (601390) The story quickly spread through China’s major papers, but Chinese netizens were even quicker to call bluff in turn on the media report, pointing out that since China Railway Group Ltd. is a state-owned enterprise, the theory doesn’t make sense. Most executives of state-owned enterprises are bureaucrats and Communist Party officials who only assume the leadership of these companies for a few years before moving on to other posts.

Chinese company interested in rail link | Nuneaton News China Railway Group has expressed it wants involvement in the line in North Warwickshire.

The project attracting Chinese interest is the proposal, put forward six months ago, to restore the 11.7 kilometres (7.3 miles) Stonebridge Railway, together with a link to the planned HS2 Birmingham Interchange station and ‘people mover’ connections to Birmingham Airport, the existing Birmingham International Station and the National Exhibition Centre.

Moving further into West Africa’s frontier market – MarketWatch China is a huge investor in Sierra Leone. According to the country’s Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources, China’s Kingho Energy Group Co., Ltd  (private) will spend more than $6 billion in the development of mineral resources there. These projects include the construction of a railway and a deep-water port.

China State Const. Eng. Corp Ltd : Strategic Cooperation Agreement Signed | 4-Traders On December 25 2013, a strategic Cooperation Agreement on Qingyang Red Star Macalline Project was signed between China Construction Seventh Engineering Division Corp. Ltd. (CSCEC Seventh Bureau) and Gansu Wanhui Real Estate Ltd. The total contract price is 2 billion yuan.

Red Star Macalline Project, located in Qingyang City, Gansu Province, covers a total building area of approximately 900,000sqm. Being made up of large shopping malls, residences, office buildings and hotels, the Project will become a local landmark upon completion. (from CSCEC Seventh Bureau)

RPT-Fitch Upgrades China State Construction International to ‘BBB’; Outlook Stable | Reuters Fitch Ratings has upgraded China State Construction International Holdings Limited’s (CSCI) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘. The Outlook on IDR is Stable. The rating action follows Fitch’s reassessment of the credit profiles of CSCI’s parent companies.

Bank of China Limited : China : Bank of China Achieves Customer-Centric Transformation with IBM | 4-Traders Bank of China and IBM have successfully completed the launch of the Bank s next generation global online banking platform, providing 100 million customers with a fully integrated experience spanning branch, phone, mobile and web banking. The Bank leveraged IBM s business consulting expertise to revolutionize all aspects of its online banking strategy including site redesign, improved functionality and interactivity as well as implementation of more personalized services.

SinoShip News – BOCOM Finance Leasing completes first ship charter deal in FTZ Bank of Communications (BOCOM) Finance Leasing has signed shipbuilding contract with China Shipping Industry for the construction of three 9,400 teu containerships.

The ships will be leased to CMA CGM under a long term bareboat chartering contract upon completion. The deal is also the first ship charter deal BOCOM operated through its SPV in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Athabasca Oil loses its third executive since May The company is suffering from a shortage of capital as it waits for Alberta government sign-off on the Dover oilsands project it shares with PetroChina. Once final approval is granted, it expects to sell its 40 per cent share of the project to PetroChina for $1.3 billion.

China State Const. Eng. Corp Ltd : CSCEC Wins the Bid for RJZQ-1 Section of Ruichang-Jiujiang Railway | 4-Traders On December 29, 2013, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. won the bid for RJZQ-1 Section between Ruichang and Jiujiang Railway Station Project with the contract value reaching nearly 1.9 billion yuan.

Bank of Communications Co Ltd : BoCom Settled at Horgos Int’l Border Cooperation Center | 4-Traders Bank of Communications’ central sub-branch at Sino-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center opened on January 6, marking BoCom has settled at the center as one of the first financial institutions.

Posted from Diigo.

Top China Stocks Annual Performance 2013

Well, the year end is upon us, and we’ve heard how the Shanghai Composite Index has done over 2013. But what about the twenty major stocks which this website tracks? Let’s take a look. (All charts and data are from Google Finance).

Sinopec -27.11%

PetroChina -13.95%

ICBC -12.47%

China Construction Bank -8.63%

Agricultural Bank of China -10.51%

Bank of China -9.03%

China Mobile -11.08%

Noble Group -8.94%

China State Construction Engineering -18.23%

CNOOC -14.37%

China Railway Construction -19.66%

China Railway Group -12.17%

SAIC Motor -16.97%

China Life Insurance -25.05%

Dongfeng Motor +0.83%

China Shenghua Energy -36.2%

Ping An Insurance -5.22%

China Telecom -7.76%

China Communications Construction -22.2%

Bank of Communications -20.5%

In a handy chart:

Name	% Change
Dongfeng Motor	+0.83%
Ping An Insurance	-5.22%
China Telecom	-7.76%
China Construction Bank	-8.63%
Noble Group	-8.94%
Bank of China	-9.03%
Agricultural Bank	-10.51%
China Mobile	-11.08%
China Railway Group	-12.17%
ICBC	-12.47%
PetroChina	-13.95%
CNOOC	-14.37%
SAIC Motor	-16.97%
China State Construction Engineering	-18.23%
China Railway Construction	-19.66%
Bank of Communications	-20.5%
China Communications Construction	-22.2%
China Life Insurance	-25.05%
Sinopec	-27.11%
China Shenhua Energy	-36.2%

2013 has been very poor indeed for major Chinese stocks. No wonder SOEs have been warned that poor performance will be “severely dealt with“. (While all the companies listed are on the stock market, most still have substantial state ownership, and even more substantial state influence). But it’s equally clear that things have to change.

China Business Briefs 21/12/13

ECONOMY

Chinese Interest Rates in Money Markets Jump on Friday – WSJ.com **Amazing to see what tight margins the banks operate under – any increase in lending rates and they scream** The situation worsened Friday as the interest rate banks charge each other for short-term loans jumped to 8.2%, the highest level since a crippling liquidity shortage in the summer. The stress in the banking system is starting to spread: Stocks in Shanghai fell for a ninth consecutive day to the weakest level in four months, while government bonds dropped, pushing the 10-yield near to its highest level in eight years.

The People’s Bank of China issued its second statement about the developments in two days, saying it had injected a total of 300 billion yuan ($49.4 billion) into the financial system over the previous three days.

Video: China’s Banking System in Claymation – China Real Time Report – WSJ **Very cool** China’s leaders are well aware that there’s too much infrastructure spending and too little spending by consumers, and they’re trying to “rebalance” the economy by easing interest rates and adding deposit insurance. Ken Brown explains China’s financial system—with some help from claymation.

@PBOC: Nice work on the social media ploy | China Economic Review Governors at the People’s Bank of China have stepped up their social media game as of late. For days they’ve been posting cute cat photos on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter (which is blocked in China). That wasn’t gaining much traction, with only the suits at the ministries of finance and commerce re-posting the furry felines.

That’s probably why PBOC late on Thursday announced on its Weibo account that it pumped billions of yuan into China’s monetary system via short-term liquidity operations, or SLOs. You see, central bank rules say that SLOs must be announced a month after they are conducted. But PBOC just couldn’t wait that long to generate a storm in the social media universe.

China’s lenders in push to lure depositors |Markets |chinadaily.com.cn Lenders, especially smaller banks, are raising the returns on their wealth management products in a bid to attract depositors.

In the last week of November, a total of 423 wealth management products hit the market with an average promised annualized return of 5.3 percent, the Beijing Evening News reported. That figure was up 0.13 percentage point from the previous week and compares with 4.47 percent for the same period last year.

Tech bans to be relaxed: US – Chinadaily.com.cn The United States said on Friday it will “actively” carry out a plan to lift bans on high-tech exports to China, a long-term irritant in economic ties between the world’s two largest economies.

The development is a sign that recent military and trade friction will not deter the two nations from steadily advancing their economic relations, experts said.

China Ministry of Finance Official Praises U.S. Federal Reserve Move to Wind Down Bond-Buying – China Real Time Report – WSJ Many emerging markets have worried that the Fed’s efforts could reduce investment flows into their nations as investors looked more favorably at a recovering U.S. economy. But China’s central bank is far less worried and may welcome such an outcome, some Chinese and U.S. economists say.

Chinese tycoons top list of Britain’s richest property investors | South China Morning Post **London property has become a global asset, much to Londoner’s dismay** Tycoons from China have come from nowhere to top the list of the UK’s wealthiest property investors for the first time, ending the Duke of Westminster’s 10-year reign at the No1 spot.

China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin of the Dalian Wanda group, topped the 2013 Estates Gazette Rich List with an estimated fortune of £10.4 billion (HK$131 billion), closely followed in the No2 spot by New World Development chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun and his family at £10.2 billion.

Video: Christmas 2013: Inside a Chinese toy factory – Telegraph Malcolm Moore visits the Atopp toy factory in Shantou, finding remote control helicopters and harmony.

Chinese Leader Xi Weakens Role of Beijing’s No. 2 – WSJ.com **Cameron’s obsequious behaviour is designed to put UK ahead of EU partners in China trade – China/EU trade is still limited** British officials were finalizing details of Prime Minister David Cameron‘s visit this month to Beijing when they received a last-minute scheduling change: President Xi Jinping would host a banquet in Mr. Cameron’s honor.

The invitation, which delighted the British officials, effectively scrubbed dinner plans with Mr. Cameron’s official host, Premier Li Keqiang. And it illustrates an important shift in the Chinese leadership’s internal dynamics: Mr. Xi is downgrading the premier’s role and assuming the primary duty of overseeing economic reforms as well as briefing foreign leaders on economic affairs, Communist Party insiders say.

China to make new bid to join global procurement pact in 2014 | Reuters **Colour me sceptical** China has agreed to make a revised offer to join a global agreement aimed at creating a level playing field for foreign companies competing for government contracts, senior U.S. and Chinese officials said on Friday.

Lack of access has been a sticking point with trade partners since China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 12 years ago.

If China were to join the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), it would potentially open $100 billion of government contracts to foreign competition every year, and offer opportunities ranging from building highways to running data networks.

Elite Talk: A talk with former US Undersecretary of Treasury on China’s currency reform – People’s Daily Online How to see the yuan’s substantial appreciation? Is the Chinese currency really a one-way bet upward?

Joining the Elite Talk program to talk about these sizzling hot topics is former US Undersecretary of Treasury Mr. Timothy Adams. While at the White House, he was the George W. Bush administration’s point person on international financial and economic issues, including exchange rate policy issues. He has regularly interacted with top-ranking officials in key emerging markets including China and traveled extensively throughout the world’s second-largest economy. Here’s our talk.

Organization of Firms in P2P Lending Publishes Standards for Entering Industry – An organization of companies involved in peer-to-peer lending and information providers has published a set of standards that mark an attempt to set requirements for establishing P2P firms.

The requirements cover a range of items, from the credentials of employees and a company’s information disclosure to risk controls and the use and custody of client money.

Chinese factory manager from Hong Kong walks daily tightrope | South China Morning Post **Good insight into the control necessary with staff** “You want to make sure not a single area is dominating,” he said. “It’s not about those much-reported gang fights, but the loss of control if you have too many from one province.”

People from the same area tend to gang up, and not just because of differences in dialect and culture. Real interests can be at stake.

China, US start annual trade talks |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn Annual trade talks between China and the United States started on Friday in an effort to address trade frictions and build a foundation for the new model of major-power relations between the world’s two biggest economies.

China promises to promote US beef imports | South China Morning Post A Chinese deputy commerce minister, Wang Chao, said at a news conference the two sides agreed to “promote US beef exports to China” but gave no details. A deputy agriculture ministry, Niu Dun, said the two sides will work on technical issues but gave no timetable for when full-scale imports might be allowed.

Beijing banned US beef in 2003 due to fears of mad cow disease. It has promised in recent years to ease those restrictions but effectively maintained its ban.

COMPANIES

Treasure piles up for Alibaba as depositors desert China’s banks – FT.com **Savers desperately seeking returns** Li Mingyang only joined Alibaba’s investment platform one month ago but he has already transferred almost all the cash in his bank account – nearly Rmb200,000 ($32,000) – to the online fund.

He is far from alone. More than 30m people in China have signed up to Yu’E Bao, or “Leftover Treasure”, only six months since its launch.

Why Tencent’s Investment In Cyanogen Inc Matters Now, Tencent (HKG:0700) is no stranger to investing in software companies based outside of China. In the past year or two, the company has injected cash into Fab.com, Snapchat, Kakao Talk, and a handful of small, Silicon Valley startups.

But the CyanogenMod investment stands out because it’s an operating system – specifically, one that appears to aspire to compete with Android (even though it remains a fork for the time being).

Appliance Retailers Run an Online Marathon, Uphill – Indeed, it’s been an uphill race ever since Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co. Ltd. decided in around 2009 to gradually migrate business from traditional storefronts to online retailing.

Each company has invested heavily in e-commerce, but both have fought for their online stores, which sell consumer electronics, household appliances and related wares. Gome’s online unit lost about 400 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2013, the company said, bleeding slightly less red ink than in the same period 2012. Although Suning didn’t release profit figures of its e-commerce business, the company reported a 73 percent year-on-year decline in total net profit for the first three quarters. The company said with the rising online sales and the company’s effort to unify prices of its online and offline stores, Suning’s gross profit margin declined 3.48 percentage points to 15.2 percent for the first quarters compared to the same period last year.

Chinese firm to acquire Plaza Construction – Business – MiamiHerald.com Plaza Construction, a major New York-based construction management firm that is prominent in South Florida and the mid-Atlantic region, said its stock will be acquired by China Construction America Inc..

CCA is a unit of state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corp., based in Beijing, China.

China to become centre for ‘various disruptive changes’ in business as its digital, mobile and tech sectors grow, claims WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell | The Drum The research, published by WPP and conducted by research firm Millward Brown, reports on China’s most valuable brands, this year listing the top 100 for the first time, rather than the regular top 50 brands.

Top of the list was China Mobile at $61.4bn, followed by Industrial & Commercial Bank of China at $39.7bn and then Tencent at $33.9bn.

Bank of China Limited : Chinese Liquidity to Remain Tight in 2014 | 4-Traders **Plus how much bad debt?** Next year will see further liberalization in China’s banking system, but financing conditions will likely remain tight, Bank of China said on Friday in a report detailing its outlook for 2014.

Liquidity will remain tight for China’s financial institutions next year thanks to a combination of an increasingly vigilant stance by the central bank and the “tapering” of quantitative easing in the U.S., the bank said.

China Everbright Bank Shares Fall on Debut – WSJ.com Everbright priced its IPO at HK$3.98, near the middle of its indicated price range, but still increased its fundraising to US$3 billion last week by selling additional shares, from an original base deal worth US$2.6 billion.

Yet, as trade opened Friday, China’s 11th largest lender by assets saw its shares fall 0.5% below the IPO price of HK$3.98. Everbright Bank shares fell as much as 5% intraday before closing at HK$3.87, down 2.8% from their Hong Kong IPO price, underperforming the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which ended down 0.3% at 22,812.

Hershey hits sweet spot with deal for Golden Monkey |Companies |chinadaily.com.cn The Hershey Co, North America’s largest quality chocolate producer, has announced plans to acquire 80 percent of snack producer Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Joint Stock Co Ltd.

The acquisition will be carried out through Hershey Netherlands BV, a wholly owned subsidiary. It’s expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year, subject to approval from Chinese regulators and shareholders.

Analyst: Here’s Why the Apple-China Mobile Partnership Has Been Delayed Did Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) distribution deal negotiations with China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) hit a snag over declining sales of the iPhone 5C? According to a note to investors obtained by Apple Insider, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo attributed the distribution deal delay to the unexpectedly low sales of Apple’s mid-range smartphone.

Spy Shots | BaoJun’s First Minivan Revealed | China Car Times – China Auto News Baojun is apparently planning to expand its auto range in 2014 with the addition of a new MPV and hatchback to the sole 630 sedan that has kept the GM-Wuling-SAIC made sub brand alive so far. The hatchback has already been sighted testing in China, but the MPV is a new one in such clear conditions.

JinkoSolar Partners with Beijing University to Build the University’s First Experimental PV Plant | 4-Traders JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JKS), a global leader in the solar PV industry, today announced that it will partner with Beijing University’s Solar Power Engineering Center to construct the University’s first experimental PV power plant on campus which will be used for collecting and analyzing data on the power generation capabilities of PV modules when exposed to various conditions.

A place to call its own on the NYSE – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn **Um… yeah…** Investors have shown a strong bout of confidence in Autohome, after the Chinese auto information provider went public earlier this month, when the company’s share price soared 76.88 percent the day it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) – in an encouraging sign for the company to work harder to keep their backers happy.

Blacklisted by World Bank!: CHEC refutes PGPL’s claim | Business Recorder China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC) has refuted the claim of being blacklisted by the World Bank and has demanded an apology from Pakistan Gasport Limited (PGPL) which had claimed that CHEC is a blacklisted contractor by World Bank and cannot participate in the fast-track LNG tender.

Ministers of Finance &Transport in Beijing  | Sierra Express Media Sierra Leone Ministers of Finance and Economic Development and Transport and Aviation, Dr. Keifala Marah and Leonard Balogun Koroma, respectively on 17^th December, arrived in the People’s Republic of China to hold further discussions with EXIM Bank of China and China Railway International on the construction of the Mamamah International Airport Project and the Hunan Rice and rubber agricultural project.

Ineos says most at UK Grangemouth plant agree to terms – Yahoo Singapore Finance **This story has been big in Scotland, but there was no mention of PetroChina’s stake** Ineos is the full owner of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant and a joint owner of the 210,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery along with PetroChina , which holds 49.9 percent.

The company halted operations at Grangemouth in October and demanded changes in terms and conditions before it would permit a restart. It had previously said that losses would force it to shut the petrochemical plant.

Swiss Re buys stake in New China Life – Headlines, features, photo and videos from ecns.cn|china|news|chinanews|ecns|cns Swiss Re is acquiring directly from Zurich Insurance Company 152.9 million New China Life H shares (which are listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong). representing 4.9 percent of the total issued share capital of New China Life (which includes both H shares listed in Hong Kong and A shares listed in Shanghai). The total value of the transaction is HK$3.82 billion ($493 million).

China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (LFC) is Overbought, What’s Next? – Tale of the Tape – NASDAQ.com Investors have definitely seen some solid trading in China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (LFC) lately, leading to gains for some. However, LFC is now in overbought territory thanks to its latest move, as the firm has an RSI value of 76.1. Additionally, China Life Insurance Company Ltd. currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), so if the earnings estimate trend is any guide, a fall might be coming for this overbought stock.

Peabody, Shenhua form thermal coal joint venture – Pennenergy Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and China’s Shenhua Group announced they have entered into an agreement to create Sino-Pacific Coal Trading Corporation Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based joint-venture company that will supply Shenhua’s growing coal import demand with thermal coal from Peabody’s global production and coal trading platform.

Market Research Reports, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd (601668) – Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd (601668) – Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review provides you an in-depth strategic SWOT analysis of the company’s businesses and operations. The profile has been compiled by GlobalData to bring to you a clear and an unbiased view of the company’s key strengths and weaknesses and the potential opportunities and threats. The profile helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.

ICBC has Business Focus For First NZ Branch | Stuff.co.nz The country’s newest bank, China’s state-controlled ICBC, says it will focus largely on business banking as it sets up shop in New Zealand.

But the local arm of the world’s biggest bank also intends to branch into commercial property deals, as well as offering retail banking services.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: China Petroleum and Chemical, Apache, Chevron, SM… — CHICAGO, Nov. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Reportedly, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (NYSE: SNP–Free Report) is discussing the purchase of a minor stake in Kitimat liquefied natural-gas (LNG) project with U.S. energy firm Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA–Free Report). China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, is one of the largest petroleum and petrochemical companies in Asia.

Details relating to the purchase have not been disclosed. Moreover, Sinopec’s management has not sanctioned the investment yet. However, a source revealed that Sinopec’s stake investment will be utilized to fund the LNG project.

Shenhua Unit Wins Russia Coal Resources Use Right – Financial and Business News – MENAFN China Shenhua Energy Company Limited (01088) announces that Razrez Ugol, a unit in which the company indirectly holds 50% of equities, gained the resource use right for coal exploration and exploitation at Zashulanskoye Mining Area in Russia through a bidding at RUB 247 million or CNY 45 million.

OilVoice | Green Dragon Gas announces MOU with PetroChina Green Dragon Gas Ltd. (AIM: GDG), one of the largest independent companies involved in the production and sale of CBM gas in China, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with PetroChina Company Ltd (“PetroChina”), regarding confirming the Company’s participating interests in the Chengzhuang block (“GCZ”), a block included within the Shizhuang South (“GSS”) Production Sharing Contract.

Under the MOU, PetroChina will provide all information necessary for the Company to complete an audit so as to conclude and accept the capital expenditures incurred to develop the block, the gas production, gas sales and related revenues. Commercial gas sales began in March 2010. The parties have agreed to conclude the audits and the related definitive agreements on payments in the first quarter of 2014. Furthermore, the parties agreed that PetroChina will continue to be the operator of the GCZ block, while the Company will continue to operate the GSS block.

Posted from Diigo.

China Business Briefs 17/12/13

 ECONOMY

Coal group’s woes threaten China’s trust industry – FT.com **The coal industry in China is an abomination** Figures presented by the court revealed the extent of the company’s woes, according to the website of the People’s Daily, the official Communist party newspaper. “Liansheng Group’s financial situation is bleak,” it said. “Its debts have nearly reached Rmb30bn and it has already basically lost the ability to repay its debts. Moreover, it faces multiple financial problems, including owing money for taxes, workers’ pensions, project funds, materials and equipment.”

Shoppers dropping department stores |Industries |chinadaily.com.cn **No wonder. They are painfully inefficient** Department stores in China’s big cities likely will face increasing pressure to be profitable in 2014 due to mounting consumer preference for other retail formats, rising rents and a shifting of growth to lower-tier cities, analysts and market insiders said.

A report by Fitch Ratings put China’s department store outlook in 2014 as “negative” despite an anticipated mild acceleration in sales growth, as stiff competition and customers drawn to other sales channels will continue to challenge the sector’s recovery.

China Adds to U.S. Treasury Holdings – WSJ.com China boosted its holdings by $10.7 billion in October to $1.3045 trillion, according to the latest monthly data released by the Treasury Department on Monday. Foreign investors overall added $24.4 billion in U.S government-debt holdings. China primarily bought T-bills due in one year or less, with $8.4 billion added in the month.

UK paid more than £27m in aid to China last year – Telegraph Government officials said UK money went towards schemes to combat climate   change and help boost economic growth.

Podcast: The role financial reform plays in transitioning China’s growth model – People’s Daily Online Timothy Adams is the current President and CEO of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and a former Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was the George W. Bush administration’s point person on international financial and economic issues. He recently shared with me his perspectives on the role financial reform plays in transitioning China to a better balanced and more sustainable growth model.

The Challenge of the State-Co-opted Enterprise – Silicon Hutong **Difficult for regulators to assess. Which I guess is the point** When we talk about broad categories of Chinese enterprises, we focus on ownership: state-owned enterprises, or those companies owned and guided by the government; private enterprises, or those companies owned by other companies or by individuals; and foreign enterprises, those companies legally or functionally owned by non-Chinese corporations or individuals.

You don’t need to work with this taxonomy for long to discover that it is inadequate. Hybrids abound, and there are a growing number of firms that do not fit neatly into these distinctions.

Govt to relax cross-border yuan rules – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn In cross-border yuan direct investment, overseas investors (including those from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao) can use yuan obtained legally from overseas to invest in the mainland by setting up companies, increasing investment, or participating in mergers and acquisitions of mainland firms, the statement said.

China’s Pollution Revolution The all-engulfing environmental crisis China faces is not about melting ice and rising temperatures — in fact, it is the unusually cold winter that is driving up energy use and hence pollution. (In China, coal is king, which is why winters are particularly polluted times.) Rather, Chinese citizens are angry about much more pressing and existential needs: to breathe clean air, for example, and to escape cancer and other pollution-related afflictions. Lung cancer rates in China are skyrocketing, and not only due to smoking. Skin cancer, on the other hand, is much less widespread. U.S. rates are over 50 times China’s — melanoma grows far less frequently where the sun is blocked by tiny airborne particles.

First Chinese forest project seeks local carbon cash | Reuters If the government approves the application, Cuifeng will be issued offset credits known as Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions (CCERs) for the carbon cuts it achieves.

Last month, state-owned PetroChina became the first Chinese company to announce it had bought CCERs, paying renewables firm Longyuan 16 yuan ($2.62) a piece for 10,000 credits.

Fall in copper futures ends seven-day rise – BUSINESS – Globaltimes.cn The Shanghai benchmark copper contract for delivery in February declined by 0.78 percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) Friday compared to Thursday, ending at 51,160 yuan ($8,429.59) per ton.

COMPANIES

China’s PetroChina receives notice from U.S. court on probe into executives | Reuters **Not just officials being taken down. President Xi’s campaign is claiming numerous ‘tigers’** China’s oil giant PetroChina Co Ltd has received a notice from a U.S. court related to a complaint involving its former and current chairmen on suspected violations of U.S. securities regulations.

PetroChina, which with its parent China National Petroleum Corp has been embroiled in a major corruption probe by Chinese authorities, is unaware of amounts related to the complaint, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges on Tuesday.

Kunlun Energy Chairman Resigns as Government Graft Probe Widens – Bloomberg **”Helping”** Wen Qingshan quit with immediate effect as both chairman and director of the company due to personal matters, Kunlun Energy said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Kunlun suspended its shares following a report in China’s Caixin magazine yesterday that Wen is helping in a government graft probe. Wen was taken into custody to assist with an investigation, a person with knowledge of the matter said today, asking not to be identified as he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about it.

China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd (SHA:601818) ‘Admits’ To 6.5 Billion Yuan Interbank Loan Default **Was this due to conditions then, or a more systemic problem?** China Everbright Bank Co. Ltd. (SHA:601818), the country’s 11th-largest bank by assets, finally admitted that it had defaulted somewhat on 6.5 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) worth of a loan it was due to repay to another bank back in June.

Shortly after the June 5 liquidity squeeze that sent interbank lending rates soaring to as high as 30 percent, media reports started to circle that Everbright failed to repay a loan borrowed from Industrial Bank Co. Ltd. (SHA:601166) on time because of tight liquidity conditions.Huwei

Tencent’s Ma Becomes China’s Second-Richest Man on WeChat Mania – Bloomberg **Two years ago all the attention was on Sina because of its weibo, but it never made money – too much oversight required. WeChat is I think the first world-class Chinese tech product** Ma Huateng, chairman of Asia’s largest Internet company Tencent (700) Holdings Ltd., overtook property tycoon Wang Jianlin to become China’s second-richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Ma has a net worth of $12.1 billion, surpassing Wang by $100 million, according to the daily index. Tencent shares have soared 90 percent this year in Hong Kong trading, compared with a 2.5 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

InterDigital execs threatened with arrest in China | Politics and Law – CNET News **Sometimes you shake your head and wonder** To discuss the matter, the NDRC proposed a meeting with InterDigital CEO Bill Merritt on December 18. Merritt replied that he’d be unavailable that day as he’s scheduled to attend a board meeting, reported Reuters. Instead, he suggested sending some of his key executives, and apparently the NDRC didn’t like that suggestion.

In a letter seen by Reuters, InterDigital said the NDRC told its attorney that it would not ensure the safety of any executives sent in place of Merritt and that they could be arrested or detained. So it’s safe to say that those executives won’t be taking that trip to China.

CNOOC Limited (ADR) (CEO): Mexican energy reforms clear final hurdle of state approval – Seeking Alpha Mexico’s sweeping energy reform clears its final major hurdle, as San Luis Potosi becomes the 17th state legislature to give rapid-fire approval to constitutional changes that will allow foreign investment into what has been a 75-year-old state monopoly.

Although the first Mexican opportunities may go to the major independent oil companies in the U.S. and Europe, Chinese groups such as Cnooc (CEO) and Sinopec (SNP) will actively seek opportunities; Mexico’s president plans to visit Beijing in 2014 and his trip may reveal whether Chinese firms are acceptable partners.

UPDATE – Green Dragon Gas to raise up to US$100mln through convertible bond – Proactiveinvestors (UK) Chinese coal bed methane group Green Dragon Gas (LON:GDG) has launched a convertible bond facility of up to US$100mln, with the funds earmarked for its 2014 drilling plan.

The first chunk of US$35mln has been fully subscribed for by GIC Private Limited, the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, and future issues of the bond will be at the discretion of the company.

Fonterra challenged in China’s fast-growing milk powder market | Reuters Milk powder buyers in China are starting to cut their reliance on New Zealand’s Fonterra, opening the way for U.S. and European firms to break the dairy giant’s grip on an infant milk formula market set to double to $25 billion by 2

Chinese drinks maker Want Want has said it plans to reduce imports to diversify its supply chain, and at least two multinational infant formula sellers have either cut supply from Fonterra or plan to diversify supply for the China market, people in the industry told Reuters.

Chinese Fast Food Consumers Continue to Avoid KFC **Reputations can smash very quickly** Chicken continues to be a hard sell for KFC restaurants in China. The good news is that the restaurant’s poultry supply, managed by its owner Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) , has been cleared by the Chinese government as being safe to eat.

KFC restaurants in China are still plagued with low sales, as consumers are still in doubt over the safety of their food. To convince consumers that its food is safe, Yum! has taken to social media outlets to promote the safety of its food. The company has also rolled out a mobile app to bring customers back by offering coupons and the option to pay for orders through a mobile device.

allAfrica.com: Tanzania: IFC Gives U.S. $22 Million for New Dar es Salaam Building The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has agreed to provide $22 million to a Chinese developer China Railway Jianchang Engineering Co, (CRJE) Estate Ltd.

The company is to construct an energy-efficient commercial building in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. Predictions are it will one of most populated cities in 20 years due to the magnet of natural resources.

CEO Crosses Below Key Moving Average Level – Forbes In trading on Monday, shares of CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE: CEO) crossed below their 200 day moving average of $189.67, changing hands as low as $189.55 per share. CNOOC Ltd. shares are currently trading off about 2.3% on the day. The chart below shows the one year performance of CEO shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Alipay and Tenpay Terminate Payment and Clearing Services for Bitcoin Alipay and Tenpay terminated payment and clearing services for crypto-currencies after the Chinese central bank People’s Bank of China (PBOC) issued a ban which forbids payment companies from doing business with Bitcoin exchanges (report in Chinese).

Sina Weibo Initiates Short Video Strategy with Miaopai as Hit Product, Announces 500 Million Users Miaopai is a Vine-like short video sharing app, which enables users to shoot up to ten seconds of video, and then edit or add frames to the video before sharing to friends. The service, which ensures real-time synching, is embedded in 4.0 version of Sina Weibo.

Tencent Invested in Online Financial Products Provider HOWbuy HOWbuy, a Chinese online financial product provider, announced today that it has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Chinese Internet Giant Tencent (announcement in Chinese) and existing investor Legend Capital, a Lenovo company. Legend Capital contributed in Series A round in the company in late 2012.

China’s Huawei to sell Honor 3C for less than Xiaomi Hongmi **Competition at lower-end of the market is ruthless** It seems Huawei won’t be content to sit back and let Xiaomi get all the glory for selling low-cost, high-performance smartphones. The Chinese handset maker today announced it will start selling the Honor 3C starting on Christmas day for RMB 798 ($131) – a mere one yuan cheaper than Xiaomi’s budget model, the Hongmi.

China Computer Gaming and Software On December 17, CLB co-blogger Steve Dickinson will be presenting at an IPR Helpdesk/EU SME Centre webinar on China Computer Gaming and Software Development.

UBM Sinoexpo Acquires a Majority Interest in China Vending & Kiosk Show and Shanghai Digital Signage Show from Tiansheng | SYS-CON MEDIA Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co Ltd (UBM Sinoexpo), one of UBM Asia’s joint venture companies in China, today announces that it has acquired the China Vending & Kiosk Show, the Shanghai Digital Signage Show, and their co-located shows from Shanghai Tiansheng Exhibition Service Co., Ltd (Tiansheng) in Shanghai and will organise the shows from 2014 onwards.

Taiwan Objects to China Construction Bank Use of ‘Island’ – Bloomberg Taiwan’s market regulator told financial institutions to respect Taiwan’s dignity in marketing materials for cross-strait financial products, after China Construction Bank Corp. (939) referred to Taiwan as an “island.”

Thai group’s China supermarket deal collapses – FT.com The failure of CP’s all-share deal, announced in October and which would have seen it sell 36 supermarkets, also torpedoes a plan by the two companies to take stakes in each other’s businesses and boost their Asian regional expansion.

Shares in CP Lotus fell 4.3 per cent yesterday while those of Chinese supermarket operator Wumart fell 0.2 per cent in Hong Kong, reflecting dashed hopes of a tie-up that was seen as an example of needed money-saving consolidation in China’s increasingly competitive retail market..

RENAULT : Renault, Dongfeng Motor-Vehicle JV to Start in 2016 | 4-Traders Renault expects to sell about 30,000 vehicles in China this year. Motor-vehicle sales in China last year topped 19 million vehicles and could exceed 21 million this year, analysts project.

Renault plans SUVs to buck slowing China growth | 4-Traders Renault plans to harness its Formula One renown and alliance with Nissan to build a 3 percent market share as a latecomer to China, after signing a joint venture deal with Dongfeng Motor Group on Monday.

The French carmaker said it would expand its current vehicle line-up to manufacture near-premium sport utility vehicles (SUV) in 2016 with the Chinese group, which has an existing venture with Nissan. Renault owns 43.4 percent of Nissan Motor Co.

China sovereign fund Huijin completes purchase of bank shares | Reuters **This kind of thing is what makes it harder to assess share performance** Central Huijin Investment Co, which holds Beijing’s investments in state-owned financial firms, finished buying shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China, the four banks said in stock exchange filings on Monday.

ASF Group raises $6.3M for working capital – Proactiveinvestors (AU) ASF’s partners are China Communications Construction Company – third largest construction company in the world, Guangzhou Dredging Co Ltd and China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited.

 

Posted from Diigo.