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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-09 07:48

Auto parts deal

BeijingWest Industries Group, a Chinese investment company led by State-owned steelmaker Shougang Group, said it bought US auto parts giant Delphi Corp's brake and suspension unit for about $100 million.

Delphi is reorganizing under bankruptcy court protection from creditors. The sale includes brakes and suspension businesses in the United States, Poland, France, Britain, Mexico and China that employ about 3,000 people, BeijingWest said.

"This purchase will allow BeijingWest Industries to enter the premium auto chassis market," Beijing West Chairman Fang Jianyi said in a statement.

Clean car development

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) Group plans to invest 6 billion yuan ($879 million) to research and begin making alternative energy cars for the next two years, the group's chairman, Hu Maoyuan, said.

The investment includes 2 billion yuan to support the research and development of clean energy cars, 2 billion yuan to produce parts for new energy cars and 2 billion yuan to build manufacturing factories, Hu told an industry forum in Beijing last week.

He said SAIC plans to market a series of new energy cars that will use as much as 30 percent less fuel than traditional cars. By 2012, the company plans to manufacture cars that will use at least 50 percent less fuel, as well as electric cars.

China's automobile production reached 10 million units in October, making it the third country in the world to surpass the annual output mark, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Nuclear equipment

China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGN) signed contracts with 30 private enterprises to purchase 1 billion yuan worth of nuclear power equipment, the company reported last week.

This is the first time that CGN, the only nuclear power enterprise in China, with 129.8 billion yuan in gross assets, purchased equipment from the domestic private sector, said Huang Yicai, manager of the CGN Zhejiang province nuclear power project.

All 30 companies that signed contracts with CGN are based in Zhejiang. Most of the nuclear power equipment in China is manufactured by State-owned enterprises, whose capacity has become inadequate with rapid development of the clean energy industry, Huang said.

Digital deal talks

Related readings:  China's biggest overseas auto parts merger sealed  China plans 3 inland nuclear power stations  Digital China eyes stake in Japan's SJI  China Tianyuan to double secondary aluminium capacity

Digital China Holdings and its affiliates are in talks to invest about 5 billion yen ($55 million) in Japanese systems developer SJI Inc, the newspaper Nikkei reported.

Digital China Holdings is an information technology distributor spun off from PC giant Lenovo Group in 2000. Its parent firm is Chinese conglomerate Legend Holdings, Nikkei reported.

Digital China Holdings and its affiliates are considering buying shares in a private placement or stock warrants, and could ultimately become SJI's top shareholder with a roughly 40 percent stake, the newspaper stated.

Doubling capacity

China's Sanmenxia Tianyuan Aluminum Co plans to double its production capacity for secondary aluminum next year to 100,000 tons, a senior executive of the company said.

"Although there is overcapacity for now, aluminum consumption will definitely increase every year," Xiao Chongxin, deputy general manager of the company, said last week.

"We are optimistic about the primary aluminum market next year, but cautious on the price outlook," he added.

Xiao said he expected aluminum prices to hover around 16,500 yuan a ton next year.

Sanmenxia Tianyuan currently has a production capacity of 50,000 tons. Part of the secondary aluminum is used as feedstock for its aluminum products.