Biz scene

Market

Wharf deal

Shenzhen Energy Investment Co Ltd has signed a coal wharf investment agreement with Huizhou Dayawan Economic and Technological Development Area.

Under the agreement, the company will inject funds worth 5 billion yuan to build three coal berths in the Quanwan sector of Huizhou Port, which covers an area of 950,000 sq m and a coastal line of 900 m.

Coking coal purchase

Xishan Coal and Electricity Group Co Ltd, China's largest coking coal manufacturer, has acquired Xishan Risheng Coking Coal Co Ltd (Risheng) to boost its coking coal capacity.

Risheng is a joint venture between Shanxi Jinshan Energy Ltd and Shanxi Coking Coal Group CP Ltd, with registered capital of 30 million yuan. It began operation in 2005 but that was suspended in early 2006 due to a funds shortage.

Profit up 83%

China National Coal Group Corp (ChinaCoal), the nation's second largest coal company, released its 2007 financial report yesterday, which showed robust growth driven by the rising oil price and coal demand.

ChinaCoal had revenue of 36.8 billion yuan last year and profit of 7.15 billion yuan, up 29.9 percent and 83.28 percent on 2006.

Its coal, coke and coal mining equipment sales were 27.3 billion yuan, 4.5 billion yuan and 3.6 billion yuan respectively.

GRAPEVINE

Logistics talks

China National Foreign Trade Transportation (Group) Corp (Sinotrans), China's fourth largest logistics group, and Wuhan-based China Changjiang National Shipping (Group) Corp (CSC), the nation's third largest player, are in talks on a restructure expected to kick off in October, Shanghai Oriental Daily said, citing an unnamed source.

The report also said the restructure proposal will be submitted to the State Council soon, and the two sides cannot start talks on details until it gets approval.

The deal, if approved, will help the new organization formed by Sinotrans and CSC surpass China Shipping (Group) Co to take second place by shipping capacity, after China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co.

Listing kicks off

Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, China's leading energy company, plans to inject funds worth 11 billion yuan into its subsidiary listed company China Shenhua Energy, Guangzhou Daily reported, citing an unnamed source. The move signals the beginning of the group's listing as a whole, the report said.

China Shenhua Energy went public last October in Shanghai and said it will continue to purchase assets including coal and non-coal assets from its parent company through fundraising. A group listing is expected in two to three years.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Toys for grown-ups

Amid the series of restrictions set by the United States and European Union on Chinese-made toys since last year, value-added toys are gaining popularity.

Toys especially made for grown-ups are a case in point. A girl named Li Yanan from Qinhai province opened a shop in Shanghai that only sells toys for grown-ups. There are more than 100 categories presented in the shop and the visitors are usually so fond of them that they can hardly tear themselves away from the little gadgets.

The business can generate a gross profit of 120 to 130 percent, but it seems that few investors have taken advantage of the opportunity.

Marriage bracelets

An entrepreneur in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is cashing in on lonely hearts. Wu Zhiqin has designed bracelets that are handmade from nylon and carry an "M" for marriage.

The bracelets tell those looking for a partner that the wearer is single.

Wu's bracelets are priced at 20 yuan and are selling well on the Internet.

Manure trade

Cattle farmers in Hebei province are doing a roaring trade selling cow manure to mushroom growers.

When mixed with straw and left to ferment in water for 20 days, the manure becomes a nourishing fertilizer for double-headed mushrooms.

"Cow manure is cheap - usually 100 yuan per oxcart - and is selling well to mushroom growers," Niu Hairong, a local cattle farmer, said.

LOCAL

Service outsourcing

Daqing city of Heilongjiang province plans to increase annual revenue from the service outsourcing industry to 8 billion yuan in the next three years by bringing in more industrial companies.

By 2010, companies involved in the city's service outsourcing businesses such as oil engineering, software development and information processing are expected to number 500, with 60,000 staff.

Land projects

This year, the government of the Tibet autonomous region will inject funds worth 100 million in about 21 land improvement projects, according to officials from the local agriculture development office.

The projects cover 586.7 million sq m - 2 percent of the total in Tibet.

The local government hopes to improve land quality in the region and increase agricultural product output by 20 percent a year.

Customs online

Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, launched an online Customs service, the first of its kind nationwide, in April.

About 30,000 exporters and importers in Zhejiang can use the site to check up-to-date information and complete formalities.

BIZ MOVES

Independent director

IT outsourcing service provider iSoftStone Information Service Corp appointed Al-Noor Ramji as an independent board director, effective April 7.

Ramji is also the chief executive officer of BT Design and chief information officer of BT Group Plc. He is mainly responsible for the IT, networks, processes and technical product development and delivery for BT and its customers worldwide.

New CFO

The9 Ltd, a leading online games operator in China, has appointed Tony Tse as its chief financial officer.

Prior to joining The9, Tse was at UOB Asia (Hong Kong) Ltd. From June 2000 to April 2002, he was assistant manager of the GEM-Listing Division at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. From May 2002 to July 2005, he was vice-president of Equity Capital Markets at DBS Asia Capital Ltd.

(China Daily 04/11/2008 page15)