IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Alibaba sees business potential in Russia

China's e-commerce giant Alibaba sees promising prospects for the development online trading in Russia, said Ma Yun, founder and chairman of the company.

"Although we have only one employee working in Russia, Aliexpress has become the most-visited e-commerce website in the country," Ma said.

Aliexpress allows buyers around the world to buy small quantities of goods at wholesale prices.

Company to sell e-commerce website

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd will sell a website in the United States, 11 Main, to rival online marketplace OpenSky as it adjusts its strategy in niche e-commerce. Alibaba will hold a "significant" stake in the combined entity, which will help sales of more than 50,000 brands, according to an e-mailed statement on June 23. Alibaba did not specify how much it would own or provide a valuation on the deal. China's biggest e-commerce operator started 11 Main last year, envisioning a shop-window for small US merchants and brands as Alibaba sought to lessen its dependence on its home market.

Energy equipment maker in global push

The energy equipment firm Lanzhou LS Group Co Ltd says it expects its overseas operations to expand over the next five years on the back of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Feng Xiping, deputy general manager for international business at the Chinese oil and petrochemical manufacturing giant, predicted that overseas income would rise to 60 percent of the company's overall revenue by 2020 from its current level of 20 percent.

"Most countries along the Belt and Road Initiative are rich in energy resources, which will bring us business opportunities."

Cautious approach can eliminate currency risks

A finance expert has warned China about the risks of turning the yuan into a global currency while pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative.

Song Min, a finance professor and director of the Center for China Financial Research at the University of Hong Kong, said: "It is fine to take the Belt and Road Initiative as a grand, long-term strategy, but we should be cautious and guard against impetuosity."

Car prices set to fall after Great Wall cuts

Chinese motor vehicle manufacturers will offer bigger discounts on their SUVs after the market leader Great Wall Motor Co cut prices on two of its most popular models, said Barclays Plc and Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Great Wall, the biggest maker of sport-utility vehicles in China, cut prices for its H2 and H6 models by 5,000 yuan ($800; 720 euros) and 6,000 yuan, respectively, sending its stock to a five-month low in Hong Kong trading.

Chinese banks now net foreign exchange buyers

China's banks turned into net buyers of foreign exchange on behalf of their clients in May for the first time in nine months, signaling capital flows are stabilizing. The lenders bought 24.5 billion yuan ($3.95 billion) more in overseas currencies than they sold last month, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement. A net $20 billion of capital flowed into China in the first five months, an official said.

Chinese dominate foreign home purchases in US

Chinese buyers topped Canadians to rank as the biggest foreign purchasers of United States homes by both sales and value, accounting for more than one-quarter of all international spending.

Buyers from China spent $28.6 billion on US homes and made up 16 percent of transactions by foreigners in the 12 months to March, the annual report of the National Association of Realtors said.

Canadians, who had led international purchases since 2008, ranked second with $11.2 billion in spending and a 14 percent share of sales.

In recent years, increasingly affluent homebuyers from China have flooded the US market.

Shanshui may face cash crunch in months

China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd, which is embroiled in the nation's latest corporate governance conflict, could run into a cash crunch in two months, a company official says.

"To communicate with the banks and restore confidence is our top priority right now," said Henry Li, the group's head of finance. "Otherwise the company will run into liquidity problems in two months."

Investors have increased scrutiny of corporate governance and accounting in China after a string of defaults this year.

London exchange works on accord with Shanghai

The London Stock Exchange has expressed an interest in creating a stock-trading link with the Shanghai Stock Exchange, similar to the one between Shanghai and Hong Kong, to tap into opportunities as China's capital markets continue to open up.

"We are working on it and trying to understand what might be involved," Nicolas Bertrand, head of equity and derivative markets of the London Stock Exchange Group, said in Beijing.

Bertrand, who declined to offer a timetable for any launch, said the arrangement could add more complexity to the British bourse's operations, but that it was in talks with regulators, clients, and assets firms to ensure a potential stock-connect program could meet the relevant regulatory requirements and conditions.

Qualcomm plans new chip research center

Qualcomm Inc is setting up a high-end semiconductor research center with China's top chip makers. This is the US company's biggest move in China after regulators imposed a record $975 million fine on Qualcomm for anti-competitive practices this year.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, one of the largest chip makers in the country, will be in charge of the daily operations of the new research center, which will be in Shanghai, sources said.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Imec, a Belgian nano-electronics research center, will also join the collaboration.

China's corn, sugar imports surge

China's corn imports surged fivefold in May as overseas prices slid while sugar shipments tripled amid shrinking domestic output. Inbound shipments of corn rose 410 percent from a year earlier to about 400,000 metric tons, the highest since February, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

E-commerce access for overseas investors

Foreign investors will get greater freedom in the booming e-commerce industry as they will be allowed full ownership of e-commerce companies in China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says.

The ministry said it would open up the online data processing and transaction processing businesses to foreign investors. The new policy will enable more foreign companies to compete with local enterprises and improve the industry's standards, the ministry said.

Insurance for travelers canceling bookings

Allianz Insurance has partnered with online travel service provider Ctrip and People's Insurance Company of China to offer hotel cancellation insurance in China from June 18. The insurance allows buyers to cancel hotel reservation without losing all room fees and reservation fees. Consumers can purchase the cancellation insurance when booking hotels on Ctrip.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/26/2015 page18)