IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Ningbo, Zhoushan ports complete merger

Trading in shares of Zhejiang-based Ningbo Port Co was suspended on Sept 29 as the company revealed it has completed merger procedures with Zhoushan Port Co.

The new company will be named Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group Co, officials said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange announcement on Sept 28, adding its ownership will be shared by both Ningbo and Zhoushan branches of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The new company will hold 75.46 percent of Ningbo Port Co's stock.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is now considered the busiest in the world in terms of cargo tonnage, with a combined throughput of 873.47 million metric tons.

Railway projects worth $17 billion approved

China has approved three new railway projects worth 109 billion yuan ($17 billion; 15 billion euros), the National Development and Reform Commission said on Sept 28. The projects include a 13.7 billion yuan railway running through the three southwestern provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, a 42.8 billion yuan railway project in the eastern province of Jiangsu, and another one in central Hubei province entailing investment of 52.7 billion yuan. Feasibility studies are due.

China's investment in railway construction was worth 379 billion yuan in the first eight months of the year, up 2.4 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Transport says. Investment in fixed railway assets is expected to be 800 billion yuan for the whole year.

China and Georgia sign currency swap pact

The central banks of China and Georgia have signed a bilateral currency swap framework, officials said. The People's Bank of China said the agreement will boost use of local currencies for payment settlements and promote bilateral trade and investment flows. A free-trade agreement may be considered next.

Trade between China and Georgia was worth $960 million last year, and China is Georgia's third-largest trading partner.

Firms receive license to import crude oil

The Chinese government has granted licenses to two independent refiners to import crude oil directly, shortly after they were allowed quotas to use imported crude oil, the Commerce Ministry said on Sept 28. The two refiners are Dongying Yatong Petrochemical Co and Baota Petrochemical Group, the ministry said.

Regional innovation fund gets 10b yuan

Zhongguancun Development Group and 14 local governments and institutes, including Baoding, Chengde, Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, and Baodi, Jinghai county in Tianjin municipality, will set up a 10 billion yuan innovation investment fund to support innovation, promote industrial upgrading and improve startup eco-systems in the region. This fund will make use of social capital.

Shanghai-Auckland air route to boost trade

China Eastern Airlines' new air route between Shanghai and Auckland will boost trade and people-to-people links between China and New Zealand, Liuwen Tian, senior vice-president of the airline, said on Sept 28. The year-round service began two days earlier with a flight to Auckland. Initially, there will be four flights a week, and from January, daily flights.

Direct sea route to Singapore opened

Qinzhou, the largest container port in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, has opened a route to Singapore that will facilitate direct exports to Singapore and Europe without the need for Hong Kong's facilities. With support of Qinzhou port, the Beibu Gulf port in Guangxi had throughput of 116,200 containers in August, up 24.4 percent year-on-year.

Brilliant wins bid for housing project

Shenyang Brilliant Elevator Co Ltd has won a 3 billion yuan housing project contract near Abidjan, capital of Cote d'Ivoire. Once finished, 60 percent of the houses on 200 hectares of land will be sold at a fixed price. The other 40 percent will be sold at a price the company sets.

Railway Rolling Group comes into being

Chinese Railway Rolling Group Corp was officially established on Sept 28, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said. The railways company will concentrate on high-end equipment, investment and a strategy of going global, said Liu Hualong, its general-manager.

Beijing Yishang to offer online supplies

Beijing Yishang Group will start global online supply chain services shortly. Users will be able to procure commodities. The Beijing company will also act as an import-export agent between countries and help in customs clearances, exchange payments and financing.

Money market rate at three-month low

China's benchmark money market rate fell to a three-month low after the People's Bank of China injected a net 40 billion yuan via open-market operations to meet quarter-end and pre-national holiday cash demand. The central bank also auctioned 60 billion yuan of treasury deposits.

Fruit, meat exports aid NZ trade prospects

Growing demand from China and other markets for fruit and meat helped slightly offset New Zealand's biggest annual goods trade deficit in six years last month, the government statistics agency said on Sept 24. The value of goods exported in August was 3.7 billion NZ dollars ($2.33 billion), up 5.6 percent year-on-year, led by meat and fruit exports, Statistics New Zealand said.

Forex regulator steps up anti-graft drive

China's foreign exchange regulator is stepping up its risk controls against corruption, it said in a statement released on Sept 29 via the ruling Communist Party's anti-graft watchdog. The risk control system is a vital part of the battle against corruption.

Subway deals worth 465b yuan approved

The National Development and Reform Commission's website said China has approved subway projects in three cities including Beijing, Tianjian and Shenzhen worth 464.77 billion yuan. The country's top economic planner said the second construction phase of a subway system in Beijing will entail an investment of 212.28 billion yuan, and is expected to be finished by 2021.

Public-private projects identified for funding

The finance ministry's website has published details of 206 proposed projects worth 658.9 billion yuan that can receive funding under the public-private partnership scheme. This is the second batch of proposed projects. Among them is an expressway in Beijing.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/01/2015 page18)