IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Syngenta takeover likely to be approved

Syngenta AG Chairman Michel Demare said he expects only a "few" concessions would be needed to get regulatory approval for China National Chemical Corp's $43 billion (40 billion euros; 35 billion) takeover of the Swiss agrochemical and seeds company. "The overlap is extremely small," Demare said at the World Economic Forum in Davos."There's a few market concessions that will have to be made, but nothing that will fundamentally change the business model of Syngenta," he added. The deal has faced delays as authorities, who are concerned the acquisition might raise prices or reduce choice for crop-protection products sold to farmers, requested more information from the companies.

Feng Shui Index predicts flighty Year of Rooster

In the coming Year of the Rooster, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is destined for a flat start, before tracking upward to peak around July and August and finally ending on a positive note amid year-end volatility. This is the prediction from Hong Kong-based brokerage and investment company CLSA's 23rd Feng Shui Index. The tongue-in-cheek report, first published back in 1992 in Lunar New Year cards for clients, uses the traditional methodology of feng shui to chart the seasonal movements of Hong Kong's benchmark equity index.

Rich people favor overseas properties

A report showed that nearly half of people on the Chinese mainland with total assets worth more than 10 million yuan ($1.45 million; 1.35 million euros; 1.17 million) consider overseas properties their most important means of investment. The group has 2.3 overseas houses each on average, and 15.6 percent of them own at least four each, according to the report published by Hurun Research Institute. Over 50 percent of the properties they bought were purchased for school district access, the report said, adding that children's education and the need to hedge against risks are two major reasons for their purchases. As of May 2016, the Chinese mainland had about 1.34 million people with assets worth more than 10 million yuan, up 10.7 percent year-on-year, the report said.

Shanghai Disney packs in 6 million visitors

Shanghai Disneyland took close to 6 million visitors through its gates in the first seven months after its opening in mid-June. That's according to Fan Xiping, chairman of Shanghai Shendi Group, Disney's Chinese partner. Fan said that 5.6 million people visited Shanghai Disneyland by Dec 31, 2016. An independent survey found 86 percent of the visitors said they were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their trip. Meanwhile, Shanghai Disneyland Hotel and Toy Story Hotel reported occupancy of up to 90 percent. The first-ever Mandarin production of The Lion King was staged over 220 times, making it the most-run Broadway musical on the Chinese mainland.

COSCO 'bidding' for Orient Overseas

A source says the race to buy HK's biggest container shipping line is heating up. Chinese media outlet Caixin reported China COSCO Shipping Corp and other liners will bid for Orient Overseas International Ltd, owner of Hong Kong's biggest container-shipping line. Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd and CMA CGM SA are also bidding, according to the report, which cited an unidentified employee of COSCO Shipping. Orient Overseas stock jumped as much as 12 percent, the biggest intraday gain since March 2011. The company has a market value of about HK$26.8 billion ($3.5 billion; 3.3 billion euros; 2.8 billion). A representative at COSCO Shipping's media relations department said the company wasn't aware of the bidding.

Rise in outbound investment last year

China's non-financial outbound direct investment increased 44.1 percent year-on-year to $170.11 billion in 2016, official data showed. Chinese companies invested in 7,961 overseas companies in 164 countries and regions in the past year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The ministry said the Belt and Road Initiative provided a strong boost in dealings between Chinese and international groups. Outbound investment to countries involved in the initiative totaled $14.53 billion in 2016, said ministry official Han Yong. Chinese companies focused on the real economy and emerging industries for their outbound investment, Han said.

Big data industry to triple its size by 2020

China aims to more than triple the size of its big data industry by 2020, as the world's second-largest economy steps up efforts to accelerate the application of the cutting-edge technology. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology unveiled a plan on Jan 17 that it would devote more resources to nurturing the big data sector, with the aim of increasing its annual sales to 1 trillion yuan by 2020 from an estimated 280 billion yuan in 2015. The government is targeting a compound annual growth rate of around 30 percent for the industry's sales in 2016-20, according to the plan. It also set goals to create 10 world-leading big data companies by 2020 and establish 10-15 experimental zones to speed up the industry's development.

Huawei to target $33b in phone unit revenue

Huawei Technologies Co is aiming for revenue growth of more than 25 percent from its consumer electronics business this year as global smartphone sales bounce off record lows, people familiar with the matter say. The smartphone maker is shooting for $33 billion in 2017 revenue from a consumer business that also makes tablets and watches, the people said, declining to be identified talking about internal targets. That would put Huawei's consumer division almost on par with annual revenue at companies such as Oracle Corp and Nike Inc. But it marks a sharp slowdown from 2016, when the unit's revenue soared by about 42 percent to 178 billion yuan.

Wanda's input for outbound investment

China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, said on Jan 17 his Dalian Wanda group has earmarked $5-10 billion each year for outbound investment, focusing on entertainment and sports. The billionaire property tycoon-turned-entertainment mogul, speaking to Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, said the United States would be the top priority for investment opportunities, followed by Europe. The group was also considering a "a very large" tourism project in Australia because it is a favorite destination for Chinese tourists.

Cadillac expects major sales growth

General Motors Co's Cadillac expects sales in China to continue growing at a double-digit rate this year, but at a slower pace than in 2016 when volumes saw a sharp spike after the brand opened its first dedicated factory in the country. Cadillac, relatively late to introduce local production in the world's biggest auto market, is among a second wave of luxury car brands in China seeking to take market share from established brands.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/20/2017 page24)