Quotable

Such a business model is going to resolve the last-mile challenge for imported goods, making it faster, safer, more accurate and flexible."

Huang Tingfa, president of the China Cross-Border E-Commerce Import Alliance, a government-backed association that plans to build a wholesale center for imported goods in Tianjin with potential collaboration from a subsidiary of Wire and Plastic Products Plc of London.

"Xiaomi has been an Internet company from the very start and thinks of smartphones as a platform for us to deliver Internet services, including content."

Hugo Barra, vice-president of smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp, which is to invest $25 million in Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, an online provider of music and video content in India.

"Bank stocks with cheap valuations and stable and safe returns have always been preferred by insurance funds."

Zhao Shasha, an insurance analyst at Huarong Securities Co, explaining Chinese insurance conglomerate Anbang Insurance Group's decision to boost its holdings of banking stocks, making it one of the top 10 shareholders of China's Big Four lenders.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/08/2016 page24)