Biz Scene

Market

IT deal

IT distribution service provider Digital China said it has reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Suzhou Ventures Group (SVG) and they will together open two joint venture companies including an investment management company.

According to the MOU, one of the joint venture companies will be engaged in IT value-added services and IT solutions, and Digital China will take the company's stakes by injecting part of its IT services and SVG by investing in cash. However, the two sides have not disclosed how much SVG will invest in the new companies.

The MOU also suggests the parties will set up an investment management company to invest in IT-related fields.

New model

Suning Appliance Co, China's second largest appliance retail chain, has ended its franchise business model and has spent 300 million yuan refitting its 120 chain stores for direct-owned operations.

Suning said that due to limited funds and management capacity, it had to allow some regions to develop through franchises in the early stages of development. The 120 chain stores have brought the total number of Suning's stores to over 700.

Grapevine

New property policies

Shanghai may introduce new policies to restrict people without local permanent residence permits from buying homes in the city, seeking to curb property speculation, the Shanghai Daily reported, without saying where it got the information.

The Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administration Bureau will work jointly with local development and reform and public security departments to draft such policies, the report said. No timetable was released, it said.

Biz Unusual

Potted watermelon

While ripe watermelons are delicious and bring good money, so do the small green ones, as beautiful potted plants. Dip melon seeds in nutritious liquid for a whole night, plant it in a flowerpot the next day and then leave it in the sun. After a week or two, the green watermelons appear, like lovely small balls. The going rate for these beauties is around 30 yuan per pot.

Rabbit hair

A rabbit breeder has found a new way of increasing his returns from selling the animal's hair, used to make warm clothing. This breeder in Shanxi Province draws the hair of Angora rabbits with his hands instead of using scissors. "It's a good way to speed up hair growth, and the quality of hair also improves. I pull out half the hair first and allow it to grow for 40 days before drawing again," said Li Gang, the breeder.

He can sell the rabbit hair at 160 yuan per kg, while other breeders using scissors can sell at only 100 yuan per kg.

Sheep on beer

Getting drunk pays, for sheep at least. Sheep in Shunyi district of Beijing are fed with beer. "It's easier to put sheep to sleep when fed with beer, they also put on weight more quickly," said Shi Guibin, a local breeder. The protein, aminophenol and sugar in beer also make the mutton taste and smell good. This particular variety of sheep goes for 6 yuan higher per kg than regular sheep, according to Shi.

Cartoon meals

Servings of elephant, rabbit, fish, Doraemon and Ikkyu? Li Juan, a former kindergarten teacher in Hunan Province, has created unique meals with funnily shaped food that is also very nutritious. Priced at 8 to 20 yuan, cartoon meals are catching on among children, students and office workers. Even children picky with food seem hooked.

Milk-drinking celery

"Our celeries drink milk", claimed a local farmer at Pingdu City of Shandong Province. A closer inspection revealed that putrescent milk and water are mixed in equal proportions and sprayed on celery leaves. "Putrescent milk contains aminophenol, which can improve celery quality and enhance its antivirotic ability," said Qu Xiangyuan, a director of the local agricultural center.

Local

Pudong shines

The all-year throughput at Shanghai Pudong International Airport broke through its record with 50 million travelers last year, a year-on-year increase of 11.8 percent. Besides, cargo throughput in the first three quarters last year was ranked the fifth in the world. Two international freight majors, United Parcel Service (UPS) and DHL-Sinotrans International Air Courier Ltd (DHL), developed their business at Pudong airport last year and made it the first airport in the world with two international transfer centers.

Gas reserves

The current gas reserves in Akesu of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been proven to reach 974.11 billion cubic meters and can ensure the gas supply to the West-East gas project, which benefits more than 200 million residents of the central and western areas, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

The proven gas output was 2.5 billion cubic meters last year. The total designed output is 20.5 billion cubic meters while actual output is 15.4 billion cubic meters, according to the local administrative office of the gas unit.

Law in effect

The first local bylaw to encourage informatization came into effect from January 1 in Shandong Province, with which informatization construction in the province moves into a legal and standard system, Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

According to the bylaw, local governments have to support special funds to encourage informatization construction. With approval, some companies engaged in software development and information services can get preferential tax treatment.

(China Daily 01/03/2008 page15)