Biz scene
MARKET
Coal equities
Zhengzhou Coal Industry & Electric Power Co Ltd said it is planning to raise 3.5 billion yuan by issuing equities to buy coal-related assets from its parent company Zhengzhou Coal Industrial (Group) Co Ltd in a bid to help the latter realize a group listing.
The listed company in Central China said it will issue less than 400 million shares, each priced at 15.46 yuan, to its parent company that holds a 52.62 percent stake in Zhengzhou Coal & Electric.
Financial leasing nod
China Merchants Bank announced yesterday it has won the official approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to set up a financial leasing subsidiary company.
The leasing company is named CMB Financial Leasing Co Ltd, based in Shanghai, with an initial registered investment of 2 billion yuan.
It is mainly involved in financial leasing, financial bonds issuance and consulting services.
GRAPEVINE
Telecom reshuffle
Citing a source, Shanghai Securities has reported that the detailed plan on the reshuffling of China's telecommunications industry, along with the high-level management job transition in the industry, is expected to occur in the first half of this year.
The report said the CDMA network acquisition deal of China Unicom from China Telecom is under way. It also said China Telecom has recruited the necessary technicians and has prepared the equipment purchase plan.
BIZ MOVES
Auto appointment
Beijing Beiqi Holding Group appointed Cai Suping, former general manager of Jiangxi-based Changhe Automobile Co Ltd, as its deputy general manager and senior executive vice-president of its subsidiary Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co Ltd.
Cai, 44, was the general manager of Jiangxi Changhe-Suzuki in 1998 and has also worked in Changhe Aircraft Industries Group and Changhe Automobile.
BIZ UNUSUAL
Funny business
Chen Jing, a girl in northern China, is laughing all the way to the bank. Fond of jokes herself, she has opened a "laugh bar", where any guest who can make other customers laugh by cracking jokes is provided with free food and beverage.
In the first month of operation, Chen made 8,000 yuan with this innovative business idea. She also makes a neat pile by collecting and editing the jokes she hears in the bar and making them into short stories, and sending them to magazines and newspapers.
Firm goes southpaw
Realizing the market potential of goods tailored for the huge population of left-handed people in China - 80 million - a woman from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region has opened a store near Beijing's Wangfujing Avenue selling such wares, with an initial investment of 80,000 yuan.
She came up with the idea when she heard complaints from her lefty colleagues on how difficult it is to find goods suited for them.
The 20-sq-m store that opened in October 2002 sells various products, such as computer mouses, scissors and golf clubs. Priced higher than the regular items, the products still sell very well.
In August 2003, her business expanded to 200,000 yuan, and she opened another store, this time an 80-sq-m one, in the western part of Beijing. She has made more than 1 million yuan from the business so far.
LOCAL
Investment deals
The governments of Chong-qing municipality and Guangdong province have signed a package of investment deals worth 9.5 billion yuan.
The package includes 14 projects invested by companies from the southern province in the southwestern region, in real estate, hospitality and hi-tech sectors.
Guangdong has been the largest source of investment in Chong-qing. In 2007, investment from the province in Chongqing was more than 8 billion yuan. More than 1,000 Guangdong-based companies have set up branches in the municipality.
Henan target
Henan province recently set a target for this year's economic growth in the region. Sales from outbound contracted projects are projected to reach $1.2 billion, rising 12 percent; realized foreign investment to reach $4 billion, growing by 25 percent; and the trade volume is expected to reach $16 billion.
(China Daily 04/17/2008 page15)
