IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Hisense renews rugby partnership

Hisense South Africa announced on Aug 22 that the company will be renewing its status as the Official Electronics Partner of Lions Rugby for another year. It was only recently that the Lions had Johannesburg fans clinging to the edge of their seats after the team tackled their way to the final rung on the Super Rugby ladder. Though a South African victory was not secured for the Lions going against the Crusaders in the final, they still managed to win hearts for taking the country so far into the tournament. In light of this, Hisense South Africa decided to renew its partnership with the Lions. The sponsorship will stretch across the 2018 Vodacom Super Rugby and Currie Cup competitions, with Hisense receiving exclusive signage rights within Emirates Airline Park.

Siasun is looking at overseas targets

Siasun Robot & Automation Co, China's largest robot maker by market value, will step up efforts to acquire foreign companies, as it strives to become a global robot heavyweight in 2020. Qu Daokui, president of Siasun, says the company is looking at investing in robot technology leaders in Europe and the United States, with acquisition deals starting from at least $1 billion (848 million euros; ￡850 million). "We are interested in companies that have state-of-the-art technologies or have a key presence in the industry chain," Qu said on the sidelines of the 2017 World Robot Conference in Beijing. Currently, the Shenyang-based company's industrial robots and other products are exported to more than 30 countries and regions. Moreover, two-thirds of Siasun's customers are foreign companies.

Excavator sales set to jump in 2017

Chinese excavator manufacturers are expected to see a 50 percent year-on-year jump in sales to 120,000 units by 2017, despite the low stocks available due to the quiet market in the past five years, officials said on Aug 23. The excavator branch of the China Construction Machinery Association reported that the country's major construction machinery makers sold 82,725 units to domestic and overseas markets between January and July, up by 101.3 percent year-on-year. The figure for the first seven months of this year outperformed the total annual sales of 70,320 units last year. Both domestic and overseas markets have shown growing demand for excavators, with 77,814 sold at home, up by 111.7 percent year-on-year, and 4,884 sold abroad, up by 14 percent. Yin Xiaoli, deputy secretary-general of the CCMA, said the excavator segment will continue to grow robustly in the second half of this year, thanks to China's ongoing railroad, highway and airport projects in lower-tier cities, as well as urbanization.

Wanda pulls out of London deal

Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda has pulled out of plans to buy part of the Nine Elms Square site in central London, which comes hot on the heels of the Chinese government's latest rules on investment in overseas deals. The company said it has transferred its interest in the ￡470 million ($603 million; 511 million euros) development to Hong Kong-listed R&F Properties and CC Land. Under the new rules issued by the State Council on Aug 18, investments in property, hotel, film, entertainment and sports are restricted. The policy came as the government increased scrutiny of overseas investment and reined in speculative deals by Chinese companies in some industries and sectors, such as equity investment funds, and the defense sector.

MoU signed on electric vehicles

Ford Motor Co said on Aug 22 it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese company Anhui Zotye Automobile to explore establishing a joint venture to build electric passenger vehicles in China. It said in an emailed statement that the vehicles produced would be sold under a brand owned by the new joint venture, in which each companies will hold a 50 percent stake. Zotye, which Ford described as the market leader in China's all-electric small vehicle segment, sold more than 16,000 all-electric vehicles this year through July, representing a year-on-year growth of 56 percent, it said.

China moves higher in innovation

China is steadily working its way toward a higher position on the world's innovation index ranking, as a newly released report placed it 17th on the index measuring innovation capability out of 40 major ranked countries. The national innovation index report 2016-17 by the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development shows the top five countries as the United States, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, and Denmark. China moved one place higher in 2016, surpassing Belgium. It is the only developing country among the top 20 on the index. Data showed China's research and development expenditure accounted for 15.6 percent of the world's total, ranking second only to the United States.

Cargo train links Qinghai with Russia

A new China-Europe freight train service began on Aug 20, linking Russia with Golmud in the Qaidam Basin, in northwestern China's Qinghai province. The train, loaded with containers of chemicals, left China through the Alataw Pass in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and will pass through Kazakhstan before reaching Perm in Russia. The trip covers about 6,360 kilometers and takes 10 days, 30 fewer than the sea route. "The new service can boost the international competitiveness of local goods," says Meng Hai, governor of the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai. Encouraged by the Belt and Road Initiative, more than 20 Chinese cities now run trains to Central Asia and Europe.

Chinese firm to deliver Nigeria's metro rail

China Civil Engineering Construction Corp said on Aug 22 that the first phase of a rail transit project in Nigeria's Abuja will be commissioned by December. The rail transit, which costs $823 million, has a length of 45 kilometers with 12 designed passengers' stations, said Project Manager Kong Tao. The railway links Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport to the central business district, he added. He said it will be test-run by November and be commissioned for public use in December. After completion, it is expected to generate employment, boost the commercial activities of the host communities and accelerate the nation's economic growth.

StarTimes launches football broadcast

Chinese TV broadcasting company StarTimes launched a rich football broadcast schedule on Aug 18 for Kenyan subscribers. The comprehensive live offering is composed of major international tournaments and top-tier European league games, and will see Kenyan subscribers enjoy access to more than 1,300 live matches. The company secured the pay television transmission rights last year for use in Kenya and other territories across sub-Saharan Africa. The development will see Kenyan sports lovers enjoy access to a wide range of football offerings from more than eight tournaments and European top flight leagues between now and July 15, 2018.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/25/2017 page24)