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Technology

Xiaomi steps into cloud sector

Chinese billionaire Lei Jun finally has found a major cloud service provider for Xiaomi Corp, the fast-growing smartphone startup he founded nearly five years ago.

Xiaomi and software company Kingsoft Co Ltd, both co-founded by Lei, on Dec 3 said that they would invest $222 million in 21Vianet Group Inc, the largest carrier-neutral Internet data center service provider in China.

Kingsoft will take an 11.6 percent stake in 21Vianet as a result of the transaction, while Xiaomi will take 3.4 percent.

Temasek Holdings, a Singapore government investment firm, also agreed to inject $74 million into 21Vianet.

Teaming up with a major local cloud computing provider will enable Lei to put more mobile services on smartphones made by Xiaomi and software products developed by Kingsoft.

Economy

Women a vital forcein restructuring

Chinese women entrepreneurs are taking a more important role in China's economic development, according the China Association of Women Entrepreneurs says.

The number of Chinese women entrepreneurs has risen in recent years, an association report says, with more showing their interest in starting up their own business.

Most Chinese women entrepreneurs have a top role in business management, with two-thirds of them being companies' biggest shareholders and about 46 percent holding more than 75 percent of company shares.

The report says women entrepreneurs are mainly involved in secondary industries including mining, manufacturing and power sectors, and the service sector.

The educational level of Chinese women entrepreneurs continues to improve. The number of those with master's degrees has risen 19 percent over the past five years, the report says.

Companies

Metro to step uppace of expansion

German wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry will accelerate the pace of its expansion in China by tapping into the full potential of its various multi-channel businesses through various initiatives, the company said on Dec 1.

As part of its efforts to speed up the expansion, the company has signed strategic agreements with Luohe Shuanghui Logistics Investment Co Ltd and Shanghai Dah Chong Hong Logistics Co Ltd to upgrade its cold chain logistics management capabilities. The cooperation will extend to more than 5,000 Metro products such as fruit, vegetables, frozen foods, dairy products, bean products, meat and fish and cover all its stores in China.

"The partnerships will help enhance our cold chain logistics management capabilities and allow us to provide better quality and safer products to customers with higher efficiency," said Jeroen de Groot, president of Metro China.

Wal-Mart cuts250 more jobs

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer by sales, is cutting 250 jobs in China and closing its regional office in Dalian in an effort to improve efficiency and regain its declining market share, it said. The moves came just days after it axed 20 senior level jobs in the country.

According to a statement, the company has been undergoing a transformation over the past few years that has resulted in organizational changes in its management structure.

The latest changes, it said, were aimed at consolidating its business in some regions and some divisions.

The latest 250 job losses represent 0.2 percent of its total workforce, it said. Management responsibilities previously carried out in the regional office in Dalian, in the south of Liaoning province, will be transferred to Beijing.

Funds firm looks tofashion to lift returns

Standard Life Investments, Edinburgh's biggest fund company, picked a Chinese online fashion retailer among its stocks to boost returns. Vipshop Holdings Ltd "still has some way to go" as Internet use in China expands, Mikhail Zverev, head of global equities at Standard Life, said in the Scottish capital. The Guangzhou-based company's share price in New York has almost tripled this year. "Their business model has gone from strength to strength," said Zverev, whose company manages about 200 billion pounds ($315 billion; 255 billion euros). "We are surprised at how quickly the Chinese market is transitioning to all things digital."

Chow Tai Fookseeks diamond mine

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, the world's largest listed jeweler, is considering acquiring stakes in diamond mines to secure long-term supply of the gems as demand in China for the precious stone grows. Several mines around the world have asked Chow Tai Fook to invest, and the company has looked at some Canadian ones, said Adrian Cheng, the executive director. Chow Tai Fook has diamond processing and cutting factories, but does not own any mines, he said. Chow Tai Fook, whose name partly means "big blessing", is expanding into the diamond business as rising incomes boost demand for precious gems in China.

Finance

China expandsbond trading

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, is expanding trading in the country's biggest debt market as it weans companies from shadow financing, adding to speculation that the notes are set to extend gains. The bank will allow rural commercial lenders, rural cooperative banks and village lenders to open trading accounts in the interbank market, which accounts for more than 90 percent of all outstanding bonds in the country. Trust companies and the asset-management divisions of brokerages, mutual funds and insurers will also be authorized to trade on the bourse, the bank said.

Yuan 'gains groundas global currency'

The renminbi was used for 11.2 percent of the total payments by value between China and the rest of the world in October, up from 6.2 percent 18 months ago, the global payment services company SWIFT of Belgium says. SWIFT's latest renminbi tracker showed that 15 more countries are now using the currency for more than 10 percent of their payment value with the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong compared with April last year. In total, 50 countries of the 161 that exchanged payments with the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in November have crossed the 10 percent threshold, SWIFT data shows.

Aviation

Lessor's $10.2b dealwith Airbus

China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd has finalized a $10.2 billion deal to buy 100 aircraft from Airbus Group, subject to shareholder approval. The jets will be delivered from 2016 to 2022 and financed by bank loans, debt, equity financing and working capital among other means, CALC said in a stock exchange filing. The deal, announced on Nov 6, includes 74 A320neo aircraft. The A320neo is a revamped version of the best-selling 150-seat A320, offering fuel savings of 15 percent.

Transport

Bullet train orderfrom Malaysia

Malaysia's new 200-kilometer high-speed rail line between the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the city of Ipoh to the north, will feature the world's fastest inter-city bullet trains by the end of next year, built by China's CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co.

The meter-gauge electric units will run at a set speed of about 160 km/h, said Zhou Qinghe, president of CSR ZELC. The trains will also be used on a 900-km railway line being planned between Johor Bahru, at the southern tip of the country, and Padang Besar on the Thailand border, the train manufacturer said.

After the first batch of 10 trains produced in China is delivered, Zhou said, trains of the same type will be built at a new factory being constructed in Malaysia.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily European Weekly 12/05/2014 page18)