Companies at a glance

Coal-steel cooperation

The Shanxi Coal-Steel Energy Development Co has begun operation in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, its parent company Shanxi Coking Coal Group confirmed. The move is believed to be a significant measure for the province, located on China's major coal belt, as it copes with the global economic downturn by deepening cooperation between the coal and steel industries. According to Bai Peizhong, chairman of the Shanxi Coking Coal Group, the new company has a registered capital of 500 million yuan, with the coking coal supplier taking a 60 percent stake and Taigang Group holding the remaining 40 percent. The new energy company will engage in coal mining, dressing and marketing.

Oil processing venture

The first Sino-foreign joint venture integrated oil processing project has gone into trial operation in Quanzhou, a coastal city in Fujian province, sources with the Fujian Refining and Petrochemical Co Ltd confirmed on May 30. The project will ramp up Fujian's annual oil refining capacity from 4 million tons to 12 million tons. When it begins full operation in the second half of this year, the project will have an annual output value of 50 billion yuan. The project, a partnership of China, the US and Saudi Arabia, is designed to integrate oil processing and petrochemical production with marketing of refined oil. The project will include an 800,000-ton-a-year ethylene cracking plant, an 800,000-ton-a-year polyethylene facility, a 400,000-ton-a-year polypropylene plant and a 700,000-ton-a-year paraxylene-arene refinery.

Luxury property

Fu Wah International Group (Hong Kong) recently inaugurated its luxury commercial property Jinbao Place as one of its big moves to build the location into a luxury lifestyle icon in Beijing. Jinbao Place plans to gather top-tier international brands and provide a mix of luxurious shopping in designer fashions, apparel and accessories, watches and jewelry brands, as well as gourmet restaurants, cafes, spas and state-of-the-art cinemas. Located at the center of Jinbao Street in downtown Beijing, Jinbao Place has a total gross floor area of 40,000 sq m. "Jinbao Place was built to satisfy the desire for luxury in the capital - that from business leaders, celebrities, movie stars, entrepreneurs, top executives, high-spending tourists and officials of the local government and embassies," said Zhao Yong, president of Jinbao Place.

Production shift

Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry Co Ltd, a major Chinese bus maker based in Fujian province, will use its existing light bus production line to make sedans, Xinhua reported last week. The enterprise will produce small 1.3-liter to 1.6-liter sedans that are independently designed and produced by the bus maker for export to developing countries. According to the report, Xiamen King Long United Auto has invested 416 million yuan in the light bus production line, which has an annual output capacity of 30,000 units. The company will invest 134 million yuan for R&D and production line improvement for the sedan project. The line making buses and sedans will reach an annual output of 50,000 units.

(China Daily 06/08/2009 page7)