IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Chinese utility buys big in Brazil

State Grid Corporation of China announced on Jan 24 that it has taken ownership of a controlling stake in Brazilian power utility CPFL Energia SA, the largest power distributor in the country. State Grid, the world's largest utility company, concluded the deal for a 54.64 percent stake in CPFL five months after signing the agreement for the acquisition. Records show that the value of the deal will total $4.49 billion (4.19 billion euros; 3.58 billion), the State Grid's biggest overseas investment project so far.

Mainland investors snap up overseas real estate

The rapidly expanding appetite of Chinese mainland capital for international real estate assets reached a record high in 2016 and is likely to continue to play a significant role in the global property market in the next few years - although more domestic capital may look at opportunities on the mainland in 2017, a leading real estate services provider said.Research by Jones Lang LaSalle found that the Chinese mainland's outbound investment last year in commercial and residential properties surged 53 percent from 2015, hitting $33 billion. The report said that over the past three years investments in land, office buildings and hotels accounted for 90 percent of the overall outbound property investments. In 2016, hotel and industrial properties were the two segments that saw the biggest investment increases.

Regulator: No curbs on foreign firms' profits

Repatriation of normal profits by foreign-invested firms will not be restricted, the head of China's foreign exchange regulator said on Jan 24. The comments follow several similar government statements, meant to reassure international companies that stronger controls on capital leaving the country will not affect operations of foreign firms in China. Pan Gongsheng, the head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, also said China supports legitimate overseas direct investment by Chinese firms.

Alibaba raises forecast for sales in 2017

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd raised its full-year sales forecast after quarterly results beat estimates, as Chinese spending stays strong and the company wrings revenue from fledgling areas such as cloud computing, entertainment and search. China's biggest e-commerce company increased its projection for fiscal 2017 revenue growth to 53 percent, from 48 percent previously, according to reports by Bloomberg.

Beijing-based Oceanwide set to buy IDG

A Chinese consortium made up of China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co Ltd and IDG Capital announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire International Data Group (IDG). With operations in 97 countries worldwide, Boston-headquartered IDG is a leading global media, market research and venture company engaging in the most influential technology ventures and buyers. This acquisition also includes IDG's subsidiaries International Data Corporation (IDC), IDG Communications and IDG Ventures. With this deal, China Oceanwide will be the controlling shareholder of IDG's operating businesses, including IDC and IDG Communications. IDG Capital will become the controlling shareholder of IDG Venture. The consortium has received clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for the transaction, which is expected to close within the first quarter of 2017. Although the amount of the transaction is not disclosed, earlier media reports stated that it would amount to over $1 billion.

Renminbi currency card issued in Hungary

The Bank of China in Hungary and China UnionPay issued the first Chinese renminbi and Hungarian forint debit card in the Eastern European country on Jan 23. It is the first renminbi bank card to be issued in Europe by the Bank of China. The card will operate in the Hungarian currency, the forint, as well as Chinese renminbi. Customers will be able to draw cash through ATMs and at point-of-sale locations with the UnionPay logo all over the world. Xu Luode, the bank's executive vice-president, said at the card issuing ceremony that the debit card was an important achievement in financial cooperation between China and Hungary.

Xiaomi Corp's vice-president quits

Xiaomi Corp Vice-President Hugo Barra has quit after four years with the Chinese smartphone maker and will return to Silicon Valley. The former Google Inc executive was hired with much fanfare to be the up-and-coming Chinese brand's international face, becoming a fixture on the global conference circuit and Xiaomi's main pitchman to foreign audiences. In a Facebook post on Jan 23, Barra said it was time for him to return to the United States, though he didn't say in what capacity. During his time at Xiaomi, the company briefly rose to become China's biggest smartphone vendor, with high-end components packed into inexpensive devices. It has since been dethroned by local brands such as Oppo, vivo and Huawei.

Third batch of FTZs on the way, official says

China's seven new free trade zones are just around the corner, a breakthrough to further open up more areas, according to a government official on Jan 19. The Ministry of Commerce, together with other related departments, is accelerating the pace of setting up the third batch of FTZs, which was proposed last August, said its spokesman Sun Jiwen at a news conference. It will disclose the overall plan, including geographic locations, soon after the mandatory approval process. In addition, Sun urged national-level economic and technological development areas to learn from the successful experience of running the existing FTZs.

BYD plans electric car sales in United States

BYD Co Ltd plans to sell electric cars in the United States in about two to three years, an executive said on Jan 19, as it races to be the first Chinese automaker to sell cars to US drivers. BYD, backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, specializes in electric and plug-in petrol-electric hybrid vehicles. At present, its US presence is limited to producing buses and selling fleet vehicles such as taxis. Li Yunfei, BYD's deputy general manager for branding and public relations, said its passenger car plan was not fixed as entering the US was a complicated process. "It could be adjusted," Li said at an event in Beijing. "Now we can only say roughly two to three years."

Tech companies add Pokemon to festive fun

China's tech companies are adjusting to the digital age by adding Pokemon Go-inspired features to their mobile red envelope apps. Alipay, the e-wallet from Ant Financial Services Group, has unveiled a location-based, augmented reality game that allows users to collect virtual red envelopes as they move around. Through the app, users can scan with their smartphone cameras to hide the digital red envelopes, and then send clues to their friends to help them find them. To promote the virtual game, Alipay has allocated 200 million yuan ($29.1 million; 27.1 million euros; 23.2 million) to encourage users who adopt the function. By scanning the Chinese character fu, which stands for luck and fortune, participants have a chance to receive one of the five designated lucky cards. Those who collect all five cards by the eve of the Spring Festival on Jan 27 are entitled to a share of the 200 million yuan.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/27/2017 page24)