IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Downpayments cut toboost property market

China says it will cut the minimum downpayment for first-home buyers in many cities, stepping up support for the sluggish property market and stumbling economy.

Minimum downpayments would be cut from 30 percent to 25 percent in cities that do not have restrictions on purchases, the People's Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission said.

It was the second measure in two days intended to fire up consumption, following a government decision to halve the tax on the sale of small cars. The move is intended to "support reasonable consumption of housing", the bank and the commission said.

Industrial zone willput aircraft to flight

China's leading aircraft maker has begun building what it hopes will be the first of many industrial centers dedicated to serving the country's general aviation market.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China and the local government in Jingmen, Hubei province held a ceremony to launch construction of the center, which will eventually cover 30 square kilometers.

The corporation is spending 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) on the center, where aircraft will be built and there will be aviation research and training. It is due to be completed in eight years, Lin Zuoming, the corporation chairman said.

General aviation refers to all civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services.

Yahoo spinoff aims tokeep investors sweet

Yahoo Inc said it is on track to spin off its nearly 15 percent stake worth about $22 billion in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd of China this year into a separate corporate entity called Aabaco Holdings Inc.

The move is aimed at assuaging investor concern about a multi-billion-dollar tax hit from the transaction. Yahoo's board authorized the spinoff, even though the United States Internal Revenue Service declined to grant the company an advance ruling blessing the deal, it said.

While the agency is stepping up scrutiny of such transactions, Yahoo is proceeding with the plan, which was announced in January, after the IRS indicated a decision is not likely to be retroactive.

RMB overtakes yen in payment rankings

The renminbi has overtaken the Japanese yen and moved into fourth place among the world's payment currencies, global transactions organization SWIFT said on Oct 6. The renminbi had a 2.79 percent share of world payments based on value in August, SWIFT said in a statement, besting the yen's 2.76 percent. SWIFT said that the Chinese currency had jumped past seven currencies since August 2012, when it ranked 12th with a share of just 0.84 percent.

CITIC Bank to offerno-card payment

China CITIC Bank says it is introducing an offline payment system for smart devices that requires no bank card.

The Cloud QuickPass does away with bank cards altogether and uses near-field communication so that bills can be paid by tapping on an icon.

It is easy to use, safe, user friendly and offers more convenient, efficient and secure payment, the bank said. More than 5 million point-of-sale terminals with UnionPay QuickPass logo across the country can support the service, CITIC said.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily European Weekly 10/09/2015 page18)