IN BRIEF

Deals

CIC, Sinopec consider Sunshine IPO

Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC) is considering investing $150 million (113 million euros) in Canadian oil explorer Sunshine Oilsands Ltd's initial public offering in Hong Kong, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, or Sinopec Corp, is also considering buying about $150 million of the shares offered in the IPO, said the people, who declined to be identified. Sunshine Oilsands, based in Calgary, plans to sell about $350 million in stock to so-called cornerstone investors, the people said.

BOC International Holdings Ltd, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley are managing the sale, the sources said.

State Grid to buy stake in Portuguese utility

Portugal's government has agreed to sell a 40 percent stake in REN-Redes Energeticas Nacionais SA (REN) for 592 million euros to State Grid International of China and Oman Oil Co to meet the terms of a bailout accord.

The price values REN, Portugal's power and gas grid operator, at about 150 million euros above its market value, Portugal Secretary of State for Treasury and Finance Maria Luis Albuquerque said. State Grid will buy a 25 percent stake and Oman Oil will buy 15 percent, Albuquerque told reporters in Lisbon.

The Chinese company will pay 387.2 million euros and Oman Oil will pay 205.1 million euros, she said.

Aviation

China bars airlines from EU carbon scheme

Airline companies from China will not be allowed to pay a charge on carbon emissions imposed by the European Union, hike freight charges or add other fees without government permission, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement on Feb 6.

The EU's decision to charge flights into and out of EU airports for carbon emission "runs contrary to relevant principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the international civil aviation regulations", according to the statement.

The EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, which has taken effect on Jan 1, is one of the widest-reaching measures adopted by any country or regional bloc to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change.

Rostvertol sets up helicopter plant

Russian helicopter maker Rostvertol PLC has partnered with a Chinese counterpart to set up a plant in northern China's Hebei province.

The plant is capable of manufacturing 100 lightweight civil Mi-2A helicopters annually, the local government and the company said.

Construction of the plant, located near Beijing in Pingquan county, Hebei province, will be completed by the end of July, county officials said, adding that the plant will also serve as a repair hub for Russia's Mi-series helicopters in the Asian region.

Property

Jones Lang LaSalle to boost China headcount

Property brokerage and advisory group Jones Lang LaSalle Inc will add about 1,250 employees in China and India this year, according to the head of its Asia business, as it looks to the emerging nations and Indonesia for growth amid unusually choppy property markets.

Jones Lang LaSalle also expects to swallow up more property brokerages in the region as it targets to work with domestic players in those markets.

Auto

Volkswagen forms new investment company

German automaker Volkswagen is preparing to expand financial services in China to tap new business opportunities in after-sales services, car rentals and electric vehicles.

Its wholly owned subsidiary, Volkswagen Financial Services AG, recently set up an investment company in Beijing after receiving the required government approval.

The newly established Volkswagen New Mobility Service Investment Co will "focus on building automobile-related service business along the group's value-added chain", according to a company statement.

Retail

Walmart picks Foran to head China business

Greg Foran, senior vice-president of Walmart International, has been named president and CEO of Walmart's China unit, effective March 1.

Foran, who previously headed the food and liquor business at Sydney-based Woolworths Ltd, Australia's biggest retailer, joined Walmart in October 2011, the same month Ed Chan, his predecessor, resigned. Chan quit amid a pork-labeling probe that shut all 13 of Walmart's stores in the southwestern city of Chongqing.

Materials

Zhongwang eyes overseas markets

Aluminum extrusion product maker China Zhongwang Holdings has set a goal of increasing the volume of its exports to the United States by fivefold in 2012, indicating the company's ambition to strengthen its overseas business.

The company will sell up to 50,000 tons of aluminum products overseas this year, mainly to the US, said Chief Financial Officer Vincent Cheung. The percentage of overseas sales in the company's total sales is expected to grow from 2 percent in 2011 to more than 10 percent this year.

Apparel

Li Ning plans staff cuts to bring down costs

Homegrown sports brand Li Ning Co Ltd has announced that it will reduce staff numbers to rein in costs after it had predicted its revenue for 2011 had fallen by 6 to 7 percent year-on-year.

The company, founded by famous Chinese gymnast Li Ning and listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, said on its website on Feb 4 that it will streamline the organizational structure of various departments, including those for human resources, information technology and strategic development.

China Daily-Agencies