Biz Scene

MARKET

Profit forecast

Fuyao Group Glass Industries Co, China's biggest automotive glass maker, forecast a rise in net profit of over 50 percent this year.

The company cited rising sales, the full coming onto line of new production facilities, and its development of technology making production more efficient.

Last year, the company made a net profit of 607.22 million yuan. In the first nine months of 2007, profit climbed 45 percent from a year earlier to 657.18 million yuan.

Coal output up

China Shenhua Energy, the country's top coal producer, said yesterday its November coal output was 13.2 million tons, up 15.8 percent from its 2006 monthly average.

The company said in a statement its coal sales totaled 19.2 million tons in November, up 34.3 percent from its monthly average in 2006.

Of the total sales, 2.2 million tons were exported, up 10 percent from its monthly average last year.

GRAPEVINE

Stake sale

Taiwan-based Far Eastern Air Transport Corp plans to sell its stake in an air cargo terminal and payload warehouse at Xiamen airport, the Economic Daily News reported, citing unidentified people at the company.

Far Eastern Air has a 12 percent stake in each venture and aims to sell the investments for NT$300 million ($9.3 million) to improve its finances, the report said. China Airlines and EVA Airways Corp are likely buyers, the report said.

IPO rule change

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd is considering making more shares available to individual investors in initial public offerings, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing an unnamed sourced.

The bourse operator is looking to change a rule to make strategic investors buy shares in a company before an IPO. The company would then have to make the full allotment, usually 25 percent of its enlarged share capital, available to institutions and retail investors, the paper said, citing the person.

The rule change would trim the excessive demand for new shares that usually fuels sharp price gains on the first trading day.

Start-up market

China may introduce a market for start-up companies in the first half of 2008, the China Securities Journal said, citing an unidentified person connected to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Companies intending to list on the new market will have to have at least 30 million yuan in equity, the Beijing-based newspaper said.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Web decor

With the development of e-business, the look of websites has become more important. How do you make them more attractive? A website decorator may be helpful.

Website decor is generally divided into three areas: plain, intricate and luxury, with prices ranging from 200 yuan to 1,000 yuan. The salary of a skilled decorator can reach up to 8,000 yuan.

B-2-team boom

Do you want more discounts while buying goods via the Internet? Business to team ("B-2-team"), a modern e-business model, is growing in popularity in Beijing, Shanghai and other metropolises.

Based on what kind and the number of goods the team orders, discounts can range from 5 percent to 40 percent. The after-hours team organizer, a burgeoning vocation, plays an important role in B-2-team. They summon the buyers and earn service fees.

"B-2-team is a new direction for business retail. The game discipline should be in place gradually, for example valid name and ID number, network safety and after service," said Gao Guodong, the marketing director of a network company.

Noble cabbages

Excellent quality and high prices have made Jiaozhou cabbages the world's "noble" cabbage. Each one has a unique number and brand attached. What makes them so special? In Qingdao, the Jiaozhou cabbages' base, the answer lies in the unique planting method.

Here, the cabbages listen to music, eat nutritious food and sleep in a tent. The "music" is a kind of resonance, which can stimulate photosynthesis and help cabbages absorb nutrition. The "food" is sweet groundwater and different kinds of fertilizers. The "tent" is a vermin-proof net, which protects the vegetable naturally to avoid using pesticide.

LOCAL

Tibet tourism gains

Tibet is expected to receive a record-high 4.02 million tourists in 2007, a year-on-year increase of 64 percent, an official said on Sunday.

The region's tourism revenue is estimated to hit 4.8 billion yuan this year, up 73.3 percent from last year, said Zhang Qingli, party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, at an economic work conference.

The official attributed the rapid tourism growth to overseas promotional drives and the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and the third civilian airport in Nyingchi, which is helping to bring more tourists, from both home and abroad, to the plateau.

(China Daily 12/18/2007 page15)