What's news

Honeywell eyes growth in China

Honeywell International Inc, the Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing company, is targeting opportunities from the Chinese government's commitment to increasing energy efficiency and the safety of its workers, said Alex Ismail, the company's president and CEO of automation and control solutions.

Speaking at the recent opening of Honeywell's new plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province, which will serve as Honeywell's global glove research and development center, Ismail said: "Our goal is to grow at two to three times China's GDP growth."

He said the company will consider China its "second headquarters" for automation and control solutions activities, which will help it grow particularly in India, Russia, Turkey, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and the Middle East.

Court allows Xiaomito sell smartphones

An Indian court has partially lifted a sales ban on Xiaomi Corp, saying the world's third-largest smartphone vendor can now import devices as long as it uses chips from Qualcomm Inc.

A two-judge panel in Delhi High Court cleared the sales until another hearing on Jan 8, said Kapil Sibal, a lawyer representing Xiaomi. The decision comes after Xiaomi appealed against a ban imposed by a judge in the same court on importing and selling mobile devices in the company's biggest overseas market.

The Beijing company and Indian e-commerce partner Flipkart.com were blocked from making or selling devices that Ericsson said infringe its wireless-technology patents, according to court papers. Xiaomi suspended all sales in India "until further notice". Ericsson has said its lawsuit follows more than three years of attempts to negotiate licensing for patents with Xiaomi.

Accor signs deal withChina Lodging Group

French hotel operator Accor has announced a strategic alliance with China Lodging Group to create a major new player in the fast-growing Chinese domestic travel and hospitality market.

The deal will combine the French hotel operator's brands including Ibis with more than 2,000 existing establishments run by China Lodging's Huazhu Hotels, the companies said.

The partnership "will leverage the strengths of Accor's global brands with a leading player in Chinese hospitality", said Sebastien Bazin, Accor's chairman and chief executive.

Huazhu aims to open 350 to 400 new hotels under Accor brands in the next five years, the companies said. Under the deal, Accor would buy a 10 percent stake in Huazhu and have a seat on its board, in return for which the company will become Accor's main franchisee in China.

Auto

Volvo's online routeto challenge rivals

Volvo Car Corp says it will start selling vehicles online as it produces new models to compete with German luxury rivals such as BMW. The Swedish carmaker, controlled by Geely of China, will gradually introduce web sales and spend more on digital advertising, it said as it outlined changes to its global marketing strategy.

"The plan is to have all our car lines in all our markets offered digitally," Alain Visser, Volvo's sales chief, said.

Few manufacturers have tried selling directly online. A notable exception is Tesla, whose electric car sales have cut out traditional dealers, leading to conflict and effective exclusion from parts of the United States.

GM outlines plansto promote Cadillac

General Motors Corp, the United States automobile giant, has charted ambitious plans for its luxury brand Cadillac in China, believing the premium segment will provide strong growth momentum in the longer term.

"Cadillac will introduce nine new models in China over the next five years, with more than 95 percent of its product lineup being localized by 2018," said Johan de Nysschen, who took over as executive vice-president of GM and president of the Cadillac division in July.

Daniel Ammann, president of GM, said the global growth and elevation of Cadillac would be a strategic priority for the company.

Trade

Import and export taxes to be adjusted

China will adjust its import and export taxes from Jan 1 as part of a larger effort to foster economic growth, the Finance Ministry says.

To refine the mix of imports, China will levy provisional taxes at a rate even lower than that reserved for countries in the Most Favored Nation category, a low-rate status given to particularly valued trading partners.

Taxes will be reduced on imports of optical fiber-equipped communications devices, advanced manufacturing equipment and electric car parts.

On the commodities front, the ministry said it would reduce import taxes on ethylene, ferro-nickel and coal products, and import tariffs for natural rubber will be raised.

Export levy for coalremains unchanged

The country's coal export tax will remain unchanged at 10 percent next year, but officials say they will appropriately reduce tariffs for coal products, the Ministry of Finance said. Many in the sector had hoped China, the world's top producer and consumer of coal, would agree to an industry proposal to cut coal export taxes to 3 percent as part of broader efforts to help local miners.

Industry

Express delivery firmsenjoy business upsurge

Revenue for Chinese express delivery businesses was 182.07 billion yuan ($30 billion) in the first 11 months this year, up 41.6 percent year-on-year, according to figures from the State Post Bureau.

A total of 12.32 billion deliveries were made in the period, up 51.8 percent year-on-year.

Wearables market setfor more growth

Turnover in the wearable devices market in China will exceed 2 billion yuan ($323 million) this year, a recent forum was told, the Xinhua-run cnstock.com reported.

The market size was put at 900 million yuan last year, 80 percent higher than the year before. An official with Shanghai's science and technology authority said wearable devices are expected to become the second-most popular terminal following smartphones and become another important portal to mobile Internet.

Resources

CNOOC goes ahead with oil exploration

CNOOC Ltd, the third-largest oil producer in China, says it is still exploiting the $2 billion oilfield in Kingfisher, Uganda, although global oil prices have plunged recently.

A company spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that both the road construction to the oilfield and test work is proceeding smoothly and its proven reserves are about 635 million barrels. CNOOC will work closely with other parties to develop the oilfield, it said. CNOOC, Tullow Oil Plc of Britain and Total SA of France jointly own the oilfield. It is expected that the highest daily crude output will be 40,000 barrels, when the oilfield opens in 2018.

Finance

NZ central bank addsyuan to trade index

New Zealand's central bank was expected to add the renminbi to its trade-weighted index to reflect changes in the country's trading partners.

The new index, a measure of the value of the New Zealand dollar relative to the currencies of the country's major trading partners, would include 17 currencies, replacing the current five-currency index from Dec 17, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said. The weights for each currency will be based on the two-way trade in goods and services between the foreign country and New Zealand.

Data on trade in services, representing about 25 percent of New Zealand's total trade, is to be included in the calculation of the weights for the first time.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily European Weekly 12/19/2014 page18)