Companies at a glance

Coal production

China's Shenhua Group is expected to invest 36 billion yuan over the next five years to expand coal production capacity in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Xinhua reported, citing a company executive.

Shenhua Group President Zhang Yuzhuo said the company plans to increase its coal production capacity in the region to more than 60 million tons by 2014.

The region's coal output capacity was 16.8 million tons last year, up from 10.47 million tons in 2005. The money will also be used to facilitate coal conversion projects such as coal-to-oil projects, Zhang said.

Property sales surge

China Vanke Co Ltd, the country's largest property developer by market value, said its property sales climbed 27.5 percent from a year ago to 30.76 billion yuan in the first six months of 2009. Vanke sold about 3.49 million sq m in property in the first six months, up 31.2 percent year-on-year, according to a statement the company filed with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company didn't provide data on its profits for those six months.

Canadian mining deal

China Investment Corp (CIC) is purchasing a 17 percent stake in Canadian mining company Teck Resources Ltd for C$1.74 billion in a bid to reduce its debt.

The Vancouver-based company said CIC, the world's largest commodity buyer, would buy 101.3 million class B voting shares for C$17.21 each.

CIC will hold onto the stock for at least a year, according to the mining company. The proceeds from the private placement will go toward paying down nearly $10 billion in bank debt and will also give the company a chance to join a partnership with a major foreign investor, said Don Lindsay, Teck's chief executive.

Exploring Brazil

China's BYD Co and Chery Automobile Co Ltd are considering setting up vehicle plants in Brazil as part of their effort to explore overseas markets, Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro State, said during an official visit to China, the Wall Street Journal reported. Cabral said he hopes that his state will become home to an electric vehicle plant.

Last April, Chery Auto, the largest private automaker in China, said it planned to build a $700-million plant in Brazil, but that it had not decided the location.

New stores planned

Suning Appliance Co Ltd, one of the larger privately-owned electrical appliance retailers in China, plans to raise as much as 3 billion yuan by issuing up to 200-million-yuan shares to some investors.

Suning's shareholders have approved the share issuance plan. Chairman Zhang Jindong will buy from 250 million yuan to 350 million yuan worth of shares.

The company plans to invest 1.4 billion yuan to finance 250 new stores, and to spend 1 billion yuan on logistics projects in Chengdu, Wuxi, Chongqing, Tianjin, Xuzhou and Beijing.

IT investment

China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd, the country's second largest telecom operator, signed a framework agreement with the Shanghai municipal government to invest 20 billion yuan in the IT sector during the next three years.

Under the agreement, China Unicom will increase its fixed-asset investment in Shanghai, upgrade the 3G network and develop mobile applications to boost the IT industry.

In addition, the telecom operator will spend 800 million yuan on preparations for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

(China Daily 07/13/2009 page7)