What's news

Transport

CNR makes pitch for high-speed trains in US

China CNR Corp Ltd, the state-backed manufacturer of trains, is making a pitch to sell its high-speed locomotives to California, signaling China's growing ambitions to export its rail technology after building the world's longest network in a span of seven years.

It marks one of the first concrete attempts by China to sell its high-speed trains abroad and establish itself as a credible rival to sector leaders such as Germany's Siemens, Canada's Bombardier and Japan's Kawasaki.

Policy

UK simplifies visas for Chinese companies

The United Kingdom has further simplified the process for Chinese companies applying for a business visa, in an attempt to attract more investment from the country. A new visa application scheme, known as Select Business Scheme UK, was launched by UK Visas and Immigration on Oct 21, under which Chinese businesses will only need to provide an application form, an invitation letter and an employment letter to support their visa application. The service will be available to members of the China Britain Business Council and the British Chamber of Commerce in China. It will also be offered to members of the Confederation of British Industry and companies referred by UK Trade and Investment, according to the UK embassy in China. The number of UK visa applications in China was up 31 percent from 2013, according to the embassy.

Resources

Commodities hit five-year low

Commodities dropped to a five-year low on growing concern that slower economic growth will cool demand in China, the world's top consumer of metals, grains and energy.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials fell as much as 1.3 percent to its lowest since July 2009. Copper futures dropped the most since March while hog prices posted their biggest loss in 25 months. Raw materials have slumped 7 percent this year and are headed for a fourth annual decline in the longest slump since at least 1991.

Demand for copper to drop next year

The growth in demand for copper will drop next year, according to the CRU Group, a research firm headquartered in London. Led by China, the biggest consumer of copper, demand will inch up 3.3 percent next year from a 4-percent growth rate this year. China's consumption of the metal will rise 4 percent in 2015, a drop of a percent from 2014, said Vanessa Davidson, copper group manager at CRU. China's net imports will drop about 23 percent to 2.3 million metric tons next year, the lowest since 2008, she said. Copper prices declined 9.4 percent this year as China's economic slowdown curbed demand for the metal used in pipes and wiring.

Telecom

China Mobile net income slumps

China Mobile's profits fell for the fifth-straight quarter as the world's largest carrier by users invested heavily to encourage subscribers to switch to high-speed data services. Net income fell 15 percent to 24.2 billion yuan ($4 billion) in the third quarter, from 28.4 billion yuan a year earlier, the company reported on Oct 20. That missed the 26-billion-yuan median of estimates by Bloomberg. China Mobile CEO Li Yue is eliminating $2 billion in smartphone subsidies while analysts estimate net income will drop about 10 percent this year, the biggest fall since 1999. The government ordered mobile phone carriers in July to reduce their spending to boost profitability.

Trade

Russia to import more meat from China

Russia's food-import limits will trigger more demand for exports from China, a top industry official said on Oct 20. Meat processing enterprises in far eastern Russia alone need nearly 100,000 metric tons of meat each year, said Kitaev Pavel, vice-president of the Meat Processors Association of the Far East, at a purchasing fair in Heilongjiang province. The two countries developed logistical, transportation and storage systems for the meat exports, he said during the four-day event that ended on Oct 20. In August, Russia banned fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and dairy imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway after Western countries imposed economic sanctions on it.

Company

Alipay tool targets overseas retailers

Alipay, the online payment division of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd, is launching a new tool that will help US and European retailers sell products directly to Chinese consumers.

The service, named ePass, can be integrated into Western retailers' websites as an alternative payment solution like eBay's PayPal and is expected to help overseas merchants tap into China's rapidly growing online shopping community without actually expanding their presence in the Chinese market.

Through ePass, US and European merchants would be able to give Chinese consumers comfortable with shopping online in English a way to purchase goods directly from retailers' existing, stand-alone e-commerce websites in their home markets, said Li Jingming, president and chief architect of Alipay US.

Shell launches new payment method

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has teamed up with payment solutions provider China UnionPay for a new payment facility at its retail stations in Beijing, as part of the energy giant's efforts to expand its network in China.

The new payment service, called Shell EasyPay, enables customers to complete the entire payment and invoice process without having to leave their cars.

9-month profits for SOEs rise 6.6%

Profits for China's state-owned enterprises hit 1.1 trillion yuan ($179.17 billion) through the first nine months of the year, up 6.6 percent from the previous year. Total business revenue stood at 18.3 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, up 4.2 percent year-on-year, said the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, while total taxes and dues totaled 1.5 trillion yuan, up 5.6 percent from a year ago. There were 155,000 SOEs in China by the end of 2013, up 5.8 percent from the previous year. About 52,000 were owned by the central government and the rest controlled by local governments.

Auto

Vehicle sales to see slower 2014 growth

Vehicle sales in China will likely miss revised growth targets for the year as demand slows in the world's second-largest economy, said Dong Yang, secretary-general of the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. He said on Oct 21 that total passenger and commercial vehicle sales for the year would likely reach 23 million units, or an increase of about 4.6 percent. In July, the group lowered its projection for growth in Chinese vehicle sales to 8.3 percent, or 23.8 million units, down from a 10-percent growth rate it predicted in January.

Property

Wanda Group launches new apartments

One-bedroom apartments will cost at least 795,000 pounds ($1.3 million) as 200 properties designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates were offered for sale in Dalian Wanda Group's first London development. Wanda, the Chinese developer controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, will build 436 apartments and a five-star Wanda Vista hotel at One Nine Elms, located close to the Vauxhall Underground Station, the developer said on Oct 21.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily European Weekly 10/24/2014 page18)