IN BRIEF

Eurocopter Group has won seven orders from CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co Ltd. [Provided to China Daily]

Aviation

COHC places helicopter order

CITIC Offshore Helicopter Co Ltd (COHC) has ordered seven helicopters in an agreement with Eurocopter Group.

Seven EC225 LP long-range helicopters will be delivered between December 2012 and December 2015 and will be used in COHC's work in the offshore oil and gas industry.

COHC and Eurocopter also agreed to develop joint ventures in training and maintenance services for China and the wider Asian market. These efforts are expected to include a helicopter training center with flight simulators and an overhaul facility for dynamic components such as gearboxes.

Deals

Yanzhou Coal to buy Aussie mining firm

China's Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd announced that it will acquire the Australian miner, Gloucester Coal Ltd, to increase its overseas expansion.

The deal is likely to create Australia's biggest coal miner, according to an industry insider, and initial indications were that it could be worth as much as $2 billion (1.5 billion euros).

"The deal is significant for Yanzhou Coal Mining because it will help its Australian assets to be listed in the country, fulfilling its promise to the local government in 2009 when it bought Felix Resources Ltd, another Australian coal miner," said an industry insider who declined to be named.

Three Gorges eyeing Portuguese stake

China Three Gorges Corp, the country's largest hydropower developer, has purchased a 21-percent government stake in Portugal's biggest power producer.

China Three Gorges, the operator of the world's biggest dam, will spend about 2.7 billion euros to buy the stake in Energias de Portugal SA, according to the Chinese company.

The deal is part of the Portuguese government's austerity plan. It agreed to sell its shares in State-owned enterprises after a bailout by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Law

Court rules against BMW over rocket image

A Beijing court has ordered BMW China to compensate a leading rocket designer 90,000 yuan (10,886 euros, $14,300) for the unauthorized use of a rocket image in a car advertisement.

The verdict issued by the Beijing Fengtai district court said the carmaker violated the rules of fair play and rendered economic losses on the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALV).

In November, CALV, designer and developer of the Long March rocket family, sued BMW China for using the image of a Long March 2F rocket in an ad without permission.

Resources

BHP Billiton to double China purchasing

Australian resources giant BHP Billiton Ltd plans to double its expenditures in China in the next five years while working with Chinese suppliers.

Dirk Van De Putte, chief procurement officer for BHP Billiton, said the company "plans to spend $6 billion in China to purchase infrastructure facilities and consumables in the next five years".

He said the money will help the company develop its businesses in copper, uranium, iron ore, petroleum and potash.

Machinery

Sany to build assembly plant in Poland

Sany Heavy Industry Co Ltd, China's leading heavy equipment manufacturer, will establish an assembly plant in Poland to serve markets in Eastern and Central Europe, said Andrzej Juchniewicz, head of the China branch of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.

An investment between $40 million and $50 million will start in 2012, said Sany Vice-President Cui Yongqian.

Internet

Yahoo mulls selling most of Alibaba stake

Yahoo! Inc is considering cutting its 40-percent stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to about 15 percent, two people briefed on the matter said.

The deal, which may let Alibaba repurchase the stake free of tax, values the Asian assets at about $14 a share, or more than $17 billion. Yahoo would also sell its stake in Yahoo Japan Corp in the deal, this person said.

Alibaba has sought to buy back the stake after the September ouster of Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who had opposed a sale.

Auto

Shanghai GM to recall imported Cadillac SRX

Shanghai General Motors has decided to recall more than 9,862 imported Cadillac SRX SUVs due to defective gearboxes, China's consumer quality watchdog said.

The recall targets the 2011 model produced between Feb 2 and June 23, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

Flaws in the gearboxes may result in malfunctions when shifting gears. The SUVs may not be able to restart or be driven properly under extreme circumstances, according to the statement.

Pang Da halts its bid for Saab

Pang Da Automobile Trade Co Ltd said it would halt its attempt to acquire the Swedish carmaker Saab AB in light of Saab's bankruptcy, which was recently declared in court.

"In view of Saab being declared bankrupt, Pang Da Automobile Trade has decided to stop the acquisition transaction of Saab," the Chinese company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Saab, which has made cars for 64 years, has been experiencing a shortage of cash since March after 2010 sales fell short of targets.

Geely seeks to prove quality to woo buyers

As Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, China's leading carmaker, plans to try it hands in the United Kingdom market, one of Geely's first priorities will be to convince customers that its cars are safe.

Earlier this month, Geely announced it would bring a four-door sedan and five-door hatchback to the UK next year, each selling for about 10,000 pounds (11,984 euros or $15,600), according to The Daily Telegraph.

Finance

Overseas funds get nod for yuan investments

The China Securities Regulatory Commission has started to issue licenses to overseas fund companies, which will soon be allowed to use the yuan to invest in the mainland's capital markets.

A subsidiary of E Fund Management Co Ltd in Hong Kong is reported to be the first overseas institutional investor to obtain such a license. Other fund companies, including Bosera Asset Management Co Ltd and China Asset Management Co Ltd, have reportedly received the regulator's verbal approval.

Energy

CNPC venture clears Afghan hurdle

Afghanistan's cabinet has cleared the way for the war-torn state to sign a deal with China National Petroleum Corp for the development of oil blocks in the Amu Darya basin, the Afghan president's office said on Dec 26.

The deal concerns drilling and a refinery in the northern provinces of Sar-e Pul and Faryab. It will be the first agreement pertaining to international oil production that the Afghan government has signed in several decades.

Sinopec completes deal for Canadian firm

Oil refiner China Petrochemical Corp, or Sinopec Group, said it had completed the acquisition of Canadian oil and gas explorer Daylight Energy Ltd for C$2.2 billion ($2.16 billion, 1.65 billion euros).

Its subsidiary Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp will get Daylight's assets in 69 oil and gas fields in northwest Alberta and northeast British Columbia in the deal, according to Sinopec.

China Daily-Agencies