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.
