Biz Scene: MARKET

Share sale

CapitaRetail China Trust, which owns seven malls in China and a shopping mall trust managed by Singapore developer Capitaland, said it plans to sell new shares to raise as much as S$280 million ($194 million) to buy a shopping center in Beijing.

The trust plans to sell 112 million shares at about S$2.50 apiece, CapitaRetail China's manager said in a statement to the Singapore Stock Exchange yesterday.

The trust, which plans to buy a shopping center in Beijing for S$336 million, said the payout to shareholders in 2008 is forecast to rise 10 percent to 7.2 Singapore cents from an initial estimate of 6.53 cents.

CNPC investment

China National Petroleum Corp, the parent of publicly traded PetroChina, the nation's biggest oil company, will invest 10 billion yuan in new energy and renewable resources projects by 2010 to meet rising domestic demand.

The company plans to build up its production capacity of new energy, including coalbed methane, oil sands and oil shale, to the equivalent of 3 million metric tons (about 22 million barrels) of oil by the end of the decade, CNPC said on its website yesterday.

(China Daily 11/15/2007 page15)