IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Geely seeks control of London cab maker

China's privately owned automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co is reported to have submitted a bid to take a controlling interest in Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC, the maker of London's iconic black cabs, which fell into administration in late October. Geely, which made its name in the Western market by purchasing Swedish luxury car brand Volvo in 2010, is bidding for 80.03 percent of Manganese, Bloomberg reported on Dec 20, citing anonymous sources. The report did not disclose how much the company is offering to pay to increase its stake from its current 20 percent, and Yang Xueliang, a spokesman for Geely, also refused to comment on whether the company was in talks with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Manganese administrator.

BYD to make electric buses in the US

The Chinese battery and electric vehicle producer BYD Co Ltd will establish its first wholly owned overseas manufacturing plant in 2013, going to the US to produce electric buses, a company executive has said. The factory will be in California, in an exact location to be announced in March or April, Xinhua News Agency cited Li Ke, BYD senior vice-president, as saying. Li said in Los Angeles that the Warren Buffett-backed company will put the plant into operation in 2013 and will be able to produce 50 to 100 buses there in 2014.

E-COMMERCE

Amazon starts selling Kindle e-books in China

Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest e-commerce company, has started selling e-books through its China site, a week after the company announced it was doing the same in Brazil. Users can download Kindle software for free from the China website onto their iPhone, iPad or Android devices, which allows them to read Kindle e-books on those devices, according to information on the website. The site does not indicate precisely when sales of e-books began, nor does it offer Kindle devices.

ENERGY

China Gas to buy Fortune Oil's operations

China Gas Holdings Ltd, the supplier of natural gas to 172 Chinese cities, will buy Fortune Oil Plc's Chinese natural gas operations for $400 million (302 million euros). Hong Kong-based Fortune Oil will receive $200 million in cash and either a $200 million deferred payment or 250 million shares of China Gas, it said in a statement on Dec 17. Fortune Oil had a market value of 181 million pounds ($293 million; 221 million euros) as of Dec 14. Buying Fortune Oil's gas business will give China Gas pipelines across seven provinces, a coal bed methane block in Shanxi province and compressed and liquefied natural gas operations.

Sinopec says Canada investment still open

China Petrochemical Corp's international unit is weighing up Canada's new foreign-takeover rules and believes there are still opportunities to invest in the nation's oil sands. "We can still work by the joint-venture model or some other kind," Hou Hongbin, vice-president of Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production in Beijing, told reporters in Toronto on Dec 12. Canada hasn't "closed the door" to state-owned enterprises investment, he said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Dec 7 allowed China National Offshore Oil Corp, another SOE, to acquire Calgary-based Nexen Inc for $15.1 billion (11.4 billion euros).

FINANCE

BNP Paribas to increase stake in Bank of Nanjing

BNP Paribas SA, France's largest lender, plans to bolster its stake in Bank of Nanjing Co to as much as 20 percent as the Chinese lender's profits defy the global economic slowdown on their way to a record high. BNP Paribas will buy the shares in the secondary market to increase its holding from about 15 percent to 20 percent, the maximum allowed under Chinese law, China Chief Executive Officer Clarence T'ao said on Dec 12 in Shanghai. A 5 percent stake would cost about $200 million (151 million euros) at Bank of Nanjing's share price on Dec 13.

Yuan halts advance as central bank lowers rate

The yuan halted a five-day advance after the central bank lowered the currency's reference rate amid concerns that the country's exports to the United States will slow unless US lawmakers agree to budget revisions. The People's Bank of China cut the rate by 0.05 percent to 6.2913 yuan per dollar on Dec 24, the lowest setting since Dec 14. The spot rate is allowed to trade as much as 1 percent on either side of the fixing.

RAILWAY

Chinese companies may build Serbian railways

Two Chinese companies may participate in the building of a railway network in the Serbian section of the Pan-European Transport Corridor 10, Serbian Minister of Transport Milutin Mrkonjic said on Dec 17. Mrkonjic said China Railway Signal and Communication Shanghai and China Communications Construction Company International had excellent references and had so far showed extraordinary results in Serbia, after meeting with representatives from the two companies. The minister said if Serbia could reach an agreement with its Chinese partners, construction could start in spring next year. The Pan-European Transport Corridor 10, which includes rail and road networks, connects Austria to Greece through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia.

Chinese train maker granted US patents

China CNR Corporation, the country's second-largest train maker, said on Dec 17 it had been granted four patents by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The four patents include car coupler designs, coupler buffering units, rescue passages for passenger trains and a comprehensive test bed for vehicles, according to the CNR. In addition to offering protection for the CNR's innovations, the authorization will help facilitate the company's overseas advances, said Sun Yongcai, chief engineer with CNR.

TELECOM

Apple's iPhone 5 China sales soar

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd, one of China's largest mobile operators, said it contributed the biggest share of iPhone 5 sales in the country in the three days following its launch on Dec 14 on the mainland. The Apple product has been strongly welcomed by domestic consumers, Lu Yimin, the company president, told a press briefing on Dec 21 in Hong Kong. Apple announced on December 17 that it had sold more than 2 million iPhone 5 smartphones on the Chinese mainland since its launch there.

Nokia looks to online sales to revive fortunes

Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia Corp has adopted an aggressive method to revive its Chinese market performance by cooperating with e-commerce websites and expanding its online sales. The company signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese online retailer 360buy.com on Dec 20. The latter agreed to procure 2 billion yuan ($320 million; 243.4 million euros) worth of mobile phones from Nokia next year. The Chinese company is the second-largest business-to-customer e-commerce retailer in China.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 12/28/2012 page14)