IN BRIEF

Data

Foreign investment rises 13.4% in May

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in China rose 13.43 percent year-on-year in May

 to $9.225 billion (6.53 billion euros), the Ministry of Commerce said.

The growth slowed from an increase of 15.21 percent for April when FDI stood at $8.46 billion.

The May figures brought the total FDI for the first five months of this year to $48.03 billion, up 23.4 percent from a year ago, Yao Jian, the ministry's spokesman, said at a briefing, adding that the growth is "not bad."

The ministry also said Chinese companies invested $20.35 billion in non-financial sectors in 110 countries and regions during the first five months, up 42.3 percent year-on-year.

Electronics

TCL enjoys la dolce vita with Italian partners

TCL Corp, one of China's consumer electronics giants, signed a series of business contracts worth a total of $300 million (212 million euros) with Italian manufacturers and distribution partners on June 15.

Covering color TVs, mobile phones and home appliances, the pack of contracts is TCL's biggest in the Italian market.

"We treasure the long standing win-win partnership with our dealers and partners," said Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL Corp.

TCL has shipped 3.3 million units of mobile phones to Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the first quarter of this year, a 62 percent year-on-year increase.

Construction

Volvo expects China's building to rev profit

Swedish construction equipment maker Volvo Group expects China to be among its top three revenue contributors in the coming three to five years, according to Lansi Jiang, vice-president of Volvo (China) Investment Co Ltd.

"Asia is now the second-largest market for Volvo Group, thanks to the rapid expansion of the Chinese and Indian markets," Jiang said.

She said China contributed only 1 percent of the total revenue of Volvo Group in 2006, but the proportion rose to 7 percent in 2009, making the country one of the Swedish company's top five revenue contributors.

Construction equipment manufacturing in China is a major business of the Volvo Group - whose products also include trucks and buses - accounting for more than 80 percent of its revenue in the country.

Investment

CITIC Securities buys stake in brokerages

China's largest listed brokerage CITIC Securities Co Ltd will pay $374 million (265 million euros) for a stake in Credit Agricole SA's CLSA and Cheuvreux brokerage brands, the latest push onto the global stage by China's emboldened financial sector.

CITIC will take a 19.9 percent stake in both units, with regulatory approval expected by the end of this year, the two firms said, concluding more than a year of talks.

"It's probably a good idea for

CITIC to take a small stake first, seeing how uncertain market conditions are right now," said Wang Mingfei, an analyst at Orient Securities in Shanghai.

"Once things have settled down, it can then look at how things are going with the stake there and decide whether to expand its presence."

CITIC's latest purchase aims to unite the pan-European Cheuvreux with the more Asia-focused CLSA to tap into investment banking opportunities in the east and create a global brokerage platform, said Credit Agricole and CITIC.

R&D

AkzoNobel boosts China outlay

The Dutch coatings and chemicals company AkzoNobel NV plans to allocate 15 percent of its global research and development (R&D) resources to China within five years, in its latest effort to tap into fast-growing markets, the company's R&D head said.

"Around 50 percent of our R&D resources will be put into the high-growth markets, and China will be our No 1 choice," said Graeme Armstrong, AkzoNobel's executive committee member responsible

for research, development and innovation.

The company now spends 2.5 percent of its revenue on R&D, with the emphasis on sustainable innovation.

AkzoNobel's revenue in high-growth markets, currently representing around 40 percent of the company's total, grew more than 20 percent last year, compared with a 10 percent increase in mature markets, according to the company's financial report.

Transportation

CNR receives order from France

China CNR Corporation, a leading provider of locomotives, said it has signed an agreement to sell 20 railway ammonia tank cars and 20 liquefied gas tank cars to Atir Rail of France.

The deal marks the first time that Chinese-made trains will be exported to Europe, CNR said on June 13 on its website.

It did not disclose the value of the agreement or the delivery time.

Auto

Youngman to buy equity stake in Saab

Saab Automobile has agreed for China Youngman Automobile Group Co Ltd to take an equity stake in the company as part of a distribution and manufacturing joint venture in China aimed at rescuing the ailing Swedish automaker.

Saab said it had signed a memorandum of understanding involving Youngman buying an equity stake in it for 136 million euros and entering the distribution and manufacturing joint venture in China.

The deal is subject to approval from Chinese government agencies and third parties.

Saab owner Spyker Cars NV signed a deal with the Chinese car distributor Pangda in May worth up to 110 million euros that involved setting up a joint venture with Spyker and a partner in China to start making Saabs there within two years.

Entertainment

China to overtake Germany in showbiz

China is expected to overtake Germany this year to become the world's third-largest entertainment and media market with spending hitting $96 billion (67 billion euros), according to a recent report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The country's overall spend on entertainment and media grew by 13.9 percent to $85.5 billion in 2010. The sector is expected to continue to grow over the next five years.

Wu Binghui, a Beijing-based partner at PwC, said that China's overall entertainment and media market is experiencing a shift to digital platforms facilitated by an explosion in broadband households and mobile access.

Tourism

Chinese tourists lead global shopping

Chinese mainland tourists spent more on shopping in 2010 than any other nation according to the first Chinese Luxury Traveler White Paper.

The paper recently released by the Hurun Report in association with the International Luxury Travel Market Asia shows that mainland tourists consumed 17 percent of the global shopping market, a 91 percent increase from 2009.

It was the first time China has topped the consumer index, followed by Russia accounting for 16 percent, Japan and the United States with 5 percent and Indonesia with 4 percent.

Watches and jewelry lead the list of favorite products purchased by Chinese shoppers followed by garments and fashion accessories.

China Daily-Agencies