Biz Scene

MARKET

China Life shares

China Life Insurance Co, the country's largest life insurer, said 600 million additional shares would be available for public trading in Shanghai on January 9.

Investors who bought shares in the company's initial public offering last year could trade them this week after a 12-month "lock-in" period.

China Life sold 1.5 billion shares on the mainland last year at 18.88 yuan each, raising 28.3 billion yuan. The stock has since tripled in value, increasing by 22.1 billion yuan the value of the 600 million shares bought at the IPO price.

Gome listing

China's top appliance retailer Gome is gearing up to get listed on the mainland, and the company is waiting for approval from the authorities, said its spokesperson He Yangqing.

"It is still hard to predict whether we can finally make it, but we have been trying our best," He said.

Gome went public in Hong Kong in June 2004, and the newest financial report shows the company recorded sales of 30.3 billion yuan in the third quarter last year, increasing by 70 percent year-on-year.

The spokesperson said now is the perfect time for Gome to list on the mainland and that the initial public offering could strengthen its branding.

Acquisition approved

Vancouver-listed Tyler Resources Inc said yesterday it had agreed to be acquired by Jinchuan Group Ltd, China's largest nickel producer, for about C$214 million in cash.

Jinchuan offered C$1.60 for each share in Tyler Resources, a copper and zinc exploiter, Tyler Resources said in a statement, adding that it has signed a definitive support agreement.

Grapevine

IPO plan

China Merchants Securities Co plans to raise as much as $2 billion in a domestic initial public offering, the South China Morning Post reported, without citing anyone.

The company filed with regulators for approval last month, the report said. It hired the Chinese venture brokerages of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS AG to arrange the offering.

Merchants Securities, with registered capital of 3.23 billion yuan, has more than 50 branches in China. The company earned 2.41 billion yuan in the first half of last year on sales of 4.41 billion yuan, the report said.

The brokerage paid 6.32 billion yuan for a 48 percent stake in Shenzhen-based Bosera Asset Management at an auction last month, according to the Post.

BIZ MOVES

Changes at Intel

Intel Corp, the world's biggest chipmaker, said Wee Theng Tan resigned as its China president and will leave at the end of March, citing personal reasons.

Intel China Managing Director Ge Jun will be acting president while the California-based company searches for a replacement.

Tan oversaw a surge in Intel's spending in China, including its biggest investment, a $2.5 billion chip production plant in the port city of Dalian.

Tan, who joined Intel in 1990, was joint general manager of the Asia-Pacific region before the company's Chinese operations were separated last January.

Google VP

Google, the world's largest search engine, appointed Liu Yun as its vice-president. Liu will be based in Beijing and will take charge of sales and marketing in Greater China.

Before joining Google, Liu worked in SK Group for six years, being SK China's CEO and president.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Bottled words

Two young men, in their 20s, recently opened a glass bottle store in Gulou, around the northeastern part of Beijing's Second Ring Road.

About 3,000 bottles are on offer, divided into 30 categories, but they are all special. Each bottle, empty, has stuck on it a piece of paper with encouraging words such as "full of courage", "passionate in your job", "enjoy every working day" and "give your parents a hug".

The owners said the bottles are all made in Hangzhou, in East China's Zhejiang Province, and they glue the papers on the bottles themselves.

The bottles are priced from 15 yuan to 35 yuan, and sell well among white-collar workers. The two did particularly well during the last Christmas.

Rent trend

As the Olympics draws near, a large number of international travelers are flocking to China. For most of them, the unreasonably high hotel rates ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 yuan are far from affordable, so finding a comfortable but cheap place has become their top priority.

Cashing in on this demand, some homeowners in Beijing are now joining the renting bandwagon, targeting specific groups. These houses are typically located close to the Olympic venues and are well equipped and furnished. The rent, sometimes as low as 40 to 60 yuan a day, is a good bargain.

Stall start

Selling goods online may well have become outdated. What's gaining popularity among undergraduates and fresh graduates in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou these days is the concept of renting stalls in established stores.

Young people these days rent stalls from a store owner, for anything between 88 yuan and 188 yuan per month, and the latter helps them deal with everything from selling and expense accounts to stock replenishment.

A student from Zhejiang Gongshang University had registered an online shop on taobao before renting a stall in the city. "It (renting a stall) is a good idea and a better way to do business because you don't have to worry about anything," she said.

LOCAL

Wenzhou enterprises

The Wenzhou government has announced that seven local enterprises are planning initial public offerings (IPOs) this year. They are from the healthcare, energy, auto and household electrical appliance industries.

Another 11 companies will get listed in 2009-10, said the local government.

Five companies in the city, in East China's Zhejiang province, have got listed so far. To encourage more IPOs, the local government has issued a draft on fostering local companies through a series of preferential tax and land policies.

Ad rate spurt

Spurred by the coming Olympics, many advertising companies from Qingdao, one of the host cities for the 2008 Games, have said they will soon raise the rate for outdoor ads by 10 to 20 percent.

A square meter of outdoor ad space in the city's "golden area" can bring an advertising company an annual income of as much as 4,000 yuan.

A woman surnamed Hou, from a local advertising company, said a number of companies such as Coca-Cola, Haier and McDonald's have contacted the company, expressing interest in renting more space for outdoor advertising this year.

Jade industrial center

Pingzhou Jade Industrial Center, located in Foshan, South China's Guangdong Province, came into operation recently. The project has registered capital of more than 500 million yuan and covers 200,100 square meters.

The center is divided into six parts, including areas for processing, wholesale, retail, convention center, restaurants and hotels.

Pingzhou is famous for its jade industry and the area is one of the four jade markets in China, ranking first in terms of annual sales revenue of jade products.

(China Daily 01/08/2008 page15)