Biz Scene

MARKET

HK offer

Chinese high-precision copper plate and strip maker Xingye Copper International Group Ltd plans to raise up to $49 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing a term sheet.

The Ningbo-based company, which aimed to list on the main board on December 27, is offering 150 million shares, or 25 percent of its enlarged share capital, at an indicative per share price range of HK$1.70-HK$2.55, along with an over-allotment option of a further 22.5 million shares.

Proceeds will be used to expand production and to fund research and development, with the remainder for working capital, the term sheet showed.

Energy venture

Timken Co, the world's third largest bearings maker, and Chinese heavy equipment maker Xiangtan Electric Manufacturing Co signed a deal yesterday to jointly build ultra-large bore bearings for wind turbines for the Chinese market.

The $38 million joint venture in Xiangtan in China's Hunan Province will be 80 percent owned by Timken. Construction is scheduled to begin next year.

The venture's output will contribute to China's goal of producing 30 million kilowatts of electricity from wind energy by 2020.

GRAPEVINE

Bond sale

Grand China Airlines, the parent of Hainan Airlines Co, plans to sell $1.3 billion of convertible bonds next month ahead of an initial public offering, the South China Morning Post reported, citing people it didn't identify.

The company plans to sell $1 billion of the debt to funds including Global Infrastructure Partners, Och-Ziff Management and Stark Investments, the report said yesterday.

The rest will be sold to Chinese investors in yuan-denominated bonds, it said.

Oil refinery

China National Petroleum Corp plans to build an oil refinery in eastern China with an annual processing capacity of 10 million metric tons, the China Business News reported yesterday, citing people it didn't identify.

The company may start building the plant at Weihai in the eastern province of Shandong before 2010, the newspaper said.

The city of Weihai plans to build oil stockpiles of 1 million tons, construct plants to process 10 million tons of crude and produce 1 million tons of ethylene annually, it said, citing the city's five-year plan for 2006-10.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Family bonus

A privately owned company in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, is paying employees' families an additional 300 yuan a month in a bid to win their loyalty.

Han, manager of the firm's logistics department, gets a salary of 2,000 yuan per month. But this year his wife is also getting a monthly salary from the company of 200 yuan and his father 100 yuan.

The company said the cash incentive has been well-received and it has not lost any staff this year.

Pricey pooch

A man is attracting crowds with his rare pedigreed dog at Yantan market in Lanzhou, Gansu Province. The man paid 580,000 yuan for his 1-year-old dog "Wangzai", which is 40 cms and weighs 40 kgs.

The dog's owner said its diet of beef, chicken and eggs costs him 50 yuan per day.

Golden seat

A new jewelry traders' market in Yunnan Province is turning heads not with an exquisite ring or a necklace - but a stool made of solid gold.

The stool is worth millions of yuan and has not gone unnoticed by gold collectors. It weighs 50 kgs and is stealing the show at the jewelry market.

Wedding sale

Second-hand gowns and other wedding items are being traded online now that autumn, the peak period for getting married, is over.

On Taobao.com, many newlyweds have placed ads selling used items like wedding dresses, suits, coupons for wedding organizers, wine, white liquor, blank invitations and decorations.

One qipao, a traditional Chinese dress, which was bought for 1,000 yuan is being advertised at 80 yuan. A 16-m red carpet is advertised for 110 yuan.

LOCAL

Credit records

The Beijing municipal government and the People's Bank of China will create an information network for individual business and personal credit records from 2008, Xinhua reported.

The information collection and construction of the credit record system in Beijing will be completed by 2010, the Beijing News reported on Sunday.

The government also said it is considering establishing policy incentives including preferential loan terms or taxation discounts for businesses or people with good credit history, the newspaper reported.

Green investment

The local government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region plans to invest 200 million yuan next year in energy-saving and emissions-control projects, Xinhua reported.

The provincial government wants all governments at city and county levels in the region to allocate funds to green projects.

According to the report, Guangxi has made progress on energy saving this year, but the province's goal is to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 3.2 percent.

(China Daily 12/11/2007 page15)