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China Daily Europe | Updated: 2015-07-24 08:09
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VistaJet, a Switzerland-based company and its Chinese partner plan to offer point-to-point service in China by the third quarter of this year. The company said in Shanghai on July 21 that it was extremely confident about the growth prospects in the country's corporate jet market. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

VistaJet, Apex link up on flights

Switzerland-based VistaJet, a company specializing in premium long-range private jet travel, and its Chinese partner will start offering point-to-point services in China by the third quarter of this year, making it the first global private aviation company to operate large-cabin business aircraft in China, sources said.

On July 21, VistaJet said that Apex Air, a business jet operator authorized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, will manage and operate its China-based fleet of aircraft, and Chinese customers will have access to VistaJet's large-cabin, long-range Bombardier Challenger 850, their first China-registered aircraft.

According to Thomas Flohr, VistaJet founder and chairman, more than 15,000 flights have been operated by VistaJet so far this year, and the Zurich-headquartered company is looking to achieve double-digit growth in its China business in the coming 12 months.

Chinese-led consortium wants 'ghost airport'

A Chinese-led consortium hopes to buy one of Spain's "ghost airports" for a knockdown price of 10,000 euros and turn it into an European freight hub for Chinese mainland companies.

Ciudad Real's Central Airport, which is about 235 kilometers south of the capital Madrid, became a symbol of Spain's spending frenzy during a construction boom that ended with the financial crisis of 2008.

Costing between 450 million and 1.1 billion euros to build, the airport opened for international flights in 2010. Three years later, the airport operator CR Aeropuertos went bankrupt after it failed to attract enough flights and passengers, with Ciudad Real's Central going into administration. Since then, it has remained virtually deserted and dubbed "one of the ghost airports" along with another airport in Castellon on the eastern coast, by the Spanish press.

Marginal decline in SOE profits during first half

Total profits at China's state-owned enterprises slipped 0.1 percent year-on-year to 1.23 trillion yuan ($198.55 billion) during the first half of this year. Statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on July 21 show the January to June result compared to a 3.2 percent fall for the January to May period. The profits of provincial-level SOEs grew by 8.2 percent compared with the year earlier, however.

Spring to raise $735m in private placement

Spring Airlines, China's largest low-cost carrier, plans to raise 4.5 billion yuan ($735 million) to fund the purchase of 21 Airbus A320 jets through a private placement of shares. More than 80 percent of the money will be spent on the purchase of the Airbuses with the rest used to improve inflight WiFi, upgrade information management and build its online ticket sales platform, it said.

Huawei gets 'smart' boost

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on July 20 said its revenue during the first six months of the year rose 30 percent to 175.9 billion yuan ($28 billion), fueled by strong growth in its smartphone, enterprise and telecom equipment businesses.

The biggest communications equipment maker in China said its operating margin during the January-June period was 18 percent, compared with 18.3 percent during the same period a year ago. Privately owned Huawei did not disclose the earnings for individual sectors.

China embraces record box office sales

China's total box office sales surpassed 400 million yuan ($64.4 million) on July 18, a record for a single day, data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television reported on July 19. The biggest contributor was the domestic fantasy-comedy Monster Hunt, which brought in 180 million yuan on July 18.

China's aluminum production high

Aluminum output advanced to a record in June, underscoring the threat to global producers as low-cost capacity expands in the world's biggest supplier. China made 2.8 million metric tons of aluminum in June, 18 percent more than a year earlier. Production climbed 12 percent in the first half to 15.61 million tons.

China lowers LNG imports in 2015

China will import less liquefied natural gas than contracted this year, as the world's third-largest consumer of the fuel switches to less energy-intensive industrial production amid slowing economic growth, IHS Energy estimated. While the country is set to surpass South Korea as the world's second-largest LNG importer by 2020, Chinese purchases will probably fall short of the 25 million metric tons committed for 2015, said James Taverner, senior principal researcher with IHS Energy in Tokyo.

June soybean imports rise to near-record levels

Overseas purchases of soybeans rose to the second-highest monthly level on record in June as buyers stocked up on cheap supplies from South American producers. Customs data showed the country imported 8.09 million tons of soybean last month, just below an all-time high of 8.5 million tons in December. Arrivals have continued to climb amid a record harvest in top exporter Brazil, which shipped 6.66 million metric tons of soybeans to China last month, an annual 22.9 percent rise.

$193 million Audi aid package

Audi AG is providing 1.2 billion yuan ($193 million) in financial aid to its Chinese dealers as demand for luxury vehicles slows in its largest market. According to industry sources, the car producer has also lowered its sales target for 2015 from 600,000 units to about last year's level. Audi delivered 578,932 vehicles in China, including Hong Kong, last year.

Volkswagen sales slump in first quarter

Volkswagen AG has posted its first decline in first-half deliveries in Chinese mainland in a decade as demand slowed. VW counts the country as its largest market, but deliveries in China and Hong Kong fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier to 1.74 million units between January and June. First-half sales in China last fell in 2005, when deliveries slumped 14 percent. Car sales in China have been hit this year after economic growth slowed down, more cities capped the number of new cars, and a volatile stock market diverted funds from vehicle purchases.

P2P firms to feel the pinch

Peer-to-peer, or P2P, lenders in China will henceforth function only as intermediaries and cannot raise funds on their own, the People's Bank of China said.

Releasing fresh guidelines for the sector, the PBOC said: "P2P lending companies will serve only as intermediaries between lenders and borrowers and cannot 'enhance borrower creditworthiness' by raising funds of their own to lend."

Transaction volumes of P2P lending, often done without a traditional financial intermediary such as a bank, almost doubled during the first six months of the year, with average annual returns of about 15 percent, according to data from wangdaizhijia.com, an online lending information and exchange platform.

(China Daily European Weekly 07/24/2015 page18)

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