IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Investment

Starbucks opens its own China University

Starbucks Coffee Company announced the launch of Starbucks China University on Nov 26 in Beijing to meet the rising talent demand in its second-largest global market. The university will offer a training curriculum that encompasses areas and functions of the Starbucks China business, including coffee knowledge and culture training, and provide tailor-designed curriculum in retail training, as well as leadership competency on digital and mobile platforms. It will also run a "partner professors" initiative, made up of experienced professionals, from store partners to senior management executives.

China Resources seeks Carrefour stake: Report

China Resources Enterprise Ltd is seeking to buy a stake in Carrefour SA, the French financial daily Les Echos reported on Nov 26, citing unidentified people. The Hong Kong-listed firm may be interested in a partnership with the French retailer, the report said. Vincent Tse, Hong Kong-based head of strategic planning at China Resources, declined to comment.

Wuliangye, ABC to set up finance company

Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd, the listed company of Wuliangye Group Co Ltd, announced it will partner ABC International to establish a finance company. Wuliangye Group is the manufacturer of Wuliangye, one of China's most famous liquor brands. ABC International is the Hong Kong-listed company of Agricultural Bank of China, one of the four largest banks in China. The registered capital of the finance company will be 2 billion yuan ($321 million; 248 million euros), of which 720 million yuan will come from Wuliangye Group.

ZTE eyes the Greek Internet market

ZTE Corp, a key player in China's telecom equipment industry, is prepared to invest 700 million euros in a project to create Greece's high-speed Internet network, Athens-based Imerisia reported, without saying how it got the information. The investment would mean ZTE taking control of a fibre optic network, reaching 1.2 million households, it said. Greece is actively seeking investors for Internet upgrade projects.

Wal-Mart tight-lipped on closure reports

As Wal-Mart Stores Inc expanded its internal bribery probe to developing markets, including China, the world's largest retailer refused to comment on recent reports that the company will close 100 stores that are not making money. Wal-Mart began a global internal bribery probe in March 2011, in a number of markets including Brazil, China and India, in addition to an ongoing investigation in Mexico, according to Wal-Mart China's public relations office.

Rothschild sets up mainland HQ in Tianjin

The Asian subsidiary of private investment bank Rothschild will set up its Chinese mainland headquarters in the northern port city of Tianjin. Rothschild (Hong Kong) Ltd signed the agreement with Tianjin's Yujiabao Financial Zone on Nov 26 in a move to tap the huge potential of the Chinese market, the government and company sources said. With headquarters in Tianjin, the company's business in China will not only include the energy industry, but also the manufacturing and consumer goods industries, said Yu Liping, chairman of Rothschild (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Trade

China poised to delay corn imports

China, the largest corn consumer after the US, may delay imports of the crop until prices fall, helping ease global supply concerns, the US Grains Council said. The nation may draw from its reserves to meet demand, allowing importers to defer buying until 2013, said Bryan Lohmar, a country director for the council, who previously worked for the US Department of Agriculture. China's imports reached a record of 5.23 million metric tons in the year ended September after State reserves bought supplies to boost stockpiles, customs data show.

Probe launched into polysilicon imports

China launched an investigation on Nov 26 to determine whether retroactive duties should be levied on imported solar-grade polysilicon from the United States, South Korea and the European Union. One analyst described the decision as signifying an intensifying trade war in the solar industry. The investigation comes after complaints lodged by domestic producers of solar-grade polysilicon. The Ministry of Commerce is also to determine whether to levy anti-subsidy duties retroactively on the material from the US and the EU, according to a statement on its website.

China suspends Sunland nuts imports

China said on Nov 23 it will suspend imports of nuts produced by US Sunland Inc because of salmonella outbreaks. Quarantine branches will step up checks on nuts or nut products from the United States, as well as postal goods and luggage carried by passengers, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Nut products from Sunland Inc have been linked to salmonella outbreaks. Forty-one people have fallen ill in 20 US states, with 10 being hospitalized, according to the World Health Organization's international food safety network.

Economy

GDP tipped to grow by 8.4 percent

China's economic growth will pick up in the fourth quarter after slowing for seven consecutive quarters, due to booming domestic consumption and increasing infrastructure investment, according to a report on Nov 25. The economy is expected to grow by 8.4 percent year-on-year in the October-December period, up from the 7.4-percent growth seen in the third quarter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, according to the report by the Institute of Economic Research of Renmin University of China.

Adoption of yuan payments declines

Yuan international payments fell by 10 percent in October over the previous month, a report by SWIFT RMB Tracker showed on Nov 26. The tracker provides monthly reporting on key statistics to understand the progress made by the yuan toward becoming an international currency. October was the second consecutive month that saw a decline in yuan payments, leading to it being demoted to 16th place in the world currency payment table. Institutional transfers, as opposed to trade settlements, are driving the adoption of the yuan, representing 98 percent of the total payment value for the United Kingdom and 94 percent for Singapore in October, the report said.

Aviation

Airbus wins 60 orders after EU retreat

Airbus SAS won an order for 60 A320 planes from China Eastern Airlines Corp less than two weeks after the European Union backed down in a dispute with the government in Beijing over jetliner emission levies. China Eastern received a "substantive" discount to the list price of $5.4 billion (4.2 billion euros) for the single-aisle planes, it said in a statement from Shanghai on Nov 23, adding that Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, also agreed to take 18 regional jets off its hands. EU plans to impose carbon dioxide-emission fees on flights in and out of the bloc were suspended on Nov 12 after countries including China, India and Russia threatened retaliatory steps.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 11/30/2012 page14)