IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Investment

Sovereign wealth fund cuts Europe exposure

China's $410 billion (328 billion euros) sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp has cut its stock and bond investments in Europe as it sees rising risks of a eurozone breakup, the fund's chairman was quoted as saying.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Lou Jiwei as saying China was also unlikely to buy common eurozone bonds, should they eventually be sold as part of a resolution of the European debt crisis, as "the risk is too big, and the return is too low". Lou said "there is a risk that the eurozone may fall apart, and that risk is rising".

Finance

Hong Kong pledges to keep currency peg

Hong Kong's incoming leader, financial secretary and top central banker all pledged their commitment to the city's currency peg after the former monetary chief Joseph Yam called for a review of the link to the dollar.

Norman Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's central bank, said in a joint statement with John Tsang, the financial secretary, that the government is fully committed to the peg and has no plans to change it. Leung Chun-ying, the city's chief executive-elect, who begins a five-year term on July 1, also said there are no plans to adjust the link.

The Hong Kong dollar peg was adopted in 1983, keeping the exchange rate at about HK$7.8 per dollar. In 2005 policy makers committed to limiting the currency's decline to HK$7.85 per dollar and capping gains at HK$7.75.

Train

Euro crisis deters deals, CSR says

CSR Corp, China's biggest train maker by market value, is unlikely to act on proposed acquisitions in Europe this year because of concerns about the region's economy and the future of its single currency.

Chairman Zhao Xiaogang said he wanted to stay calm and watch for a while as the debt crisis is still developing.

Beijing-based CSR said in April that it was in talks on deals in Britain, France, Italy, Germany the Spain.

Technology

Apple urged to unify global IPR standards

Chinese authorities are urging Apple Inc to unify its global intellectual property protection standards, in the wake of allegations that it has infringed on the rights of prominent Chinese writers.

Issuing details of its overall progress in cracking down on piracy and other intellectual property rights violations, the Ministry of Commerce said it now plans a wide-ranging consultation process among a cross-section of Chinese literary figures, including literary property owners and agents, and Apple itself, about the case.

The main aim will be to force the company to put systems in place to better protect the lawful rights of intellectual property owners, under a common standard for IPR protection globally.

E-Commerce

Alibaba discounts TVs to woo online shoppers

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is taking a new approach to boosting sales online: paying its customers to cut their prices.

China's biggest e-commerce company plans to spend 300 million yuan ($47 million, 38 million euros) on summer promotions for goods ranging from iPhones to televisions to air-conditioners sold through its Tmall.com. The website, which operates a marketplace similar to Ebay Inc's, is subsidizing its vendors' deals for their customers.

The program steps up Alibaba's battle with its online rivals 360Buy.com and Tencent Holdings Ltd for China's Internet shoppers, estimated at 193 million by Boston Consulting Group.

Aviation

Chinese aircraft to enter European market

China's Xi'an Aircraft International Corp will sell three MA60 regional aircraft to Mars RK, a Ukrainian airline, marking the first time for China-made civil regional aircraft to enter the European market, XAIC said. It did not disclose the contractual price or the delivery date.

The deal, concluded on May 23, marks a breakthrough in China-Europe cooperation in aviation, said Jiang Jianjun, general manager of XAIC.

Jiang said XAIC's twin-turboprop MA60 aircraft have become popular in domestic and overseas aviation markets because of their fuel efficiency.

China Eastern to cut debt ratio by 2015

China Eastern Airlines Corp, one of China's top three carriers, aims to cut its debt-to-assets ratio to below 70 percent by the end of 2015 from its current 81 percent, its chairman, Liu Zhaoyong, said, amid a new round of capital injections by the government to support the country's aviation industry.

The company plans to reduce debt by raising funds from the market, through capital injections, and from its own profits, said Liu, speaking on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting.

Liu said he had no information on whether the Shanghai-based carrier would soon get new capital from the government.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 06/15/2012 page14)