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Consumers losing taste for instant noodles

Chinese instant noodle retailers are struggling amid rising public concerns that instant noodles are junk food and have no nutritional value. In the third quarter of last year, sales volume of instant noodles declined 9.1 percent from the previous year and revenues fell 4.4 percent, according to global market research firm Nielsen.

Three-quarters of interviewees in a Nielsen survey said they were willing to pay a higher price healthy food, including natural foods without artificial flavoring and foods that are not genetically modified.

From 2000 to 2010, about 90 percent of instant noodle companies shut down their businesses in China, according to the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology.

EU imposes tariffs on steel items from China

The European Union will impose punitive anti-dumping duties from March 26 on imports of stainless steel cold-rolled sheet from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, according to a notice on March 25 published in the EU's Official Journal. The EU will apply tariffs of about 24 percent to 25 percent for imports from the mainland and about 11 percent to 12 percent for those made in Taiwan, following a complaint lodged in May 2014 by European steel producers.

Bulgarian, Chinese associations reach deal

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-Council on March 24 signed a cooperation agreement, aiming to boost bilateral ties.

The agreement, signed during a Bulgaria-China business forum, says both parties shall keep constant and close contacts with each other, provide each other with information with regard to trade, technical transfer and economic cooperation, and exchange publications.

BCCI and CCPIT Beijing shall also recommend and introduce to each other opportunities for cooperation or partners for trade and investment.

Luxury goods affordable for more Chinese

The falling euro has sent many Chinese shoppers abroad in search of deals. Those who cannot swing a trip to Paris now have an alternative - luxury discount malls. Operators Value Retail and Fingen Group are rolling out high-end shopping centers that go beyond mainstream malls by offering discounts on brands from Armani to Valentino. There are as many as 80 outlet malls across China now and an additional 100 will open in the next five years, CBRE China estimates.

LeTV to produce smart cars

LeTV Holdings Co Ltd, owner of a Chinese online video portal, will work with Beijing Automotive Group Co Ltd to develop smart cars, the companies said. LeTV will provide software and Web-connectivity systems for the automaker's cars. The first car will be introduced at a Shanghai auto show this summer. China offers subsidies and other incentives to the electronic vehicle producers.

Hutchison buys mobile unit in UK for $15.3b

Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd has agreed to acquire Telefonica SA's O2 unit in the United Kingdom, intensifying a push into businesses that provide stable income as he continues efforts to remake the conglomerate. The price of 10.25 billion pounds ($15.3 billion) includes an initial 9.25 billion pounds in cash, with the remainder to be paid when financial targets are met, Telefonica said on March 24. O2 said regulatory approval may take a year, while Madrid-based Telefonica said it expected the transaction to be completed by June 2016.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily European Weekly 03/27/2015 page18)