Biz scene

MARKET

Capital increase

Haitong Securities Co, China's second biggest brokerage by market value, will increase the capital of its Hong Kong unit to HK$2 billion to drive expansion there and overseas.

The company's board has approved the plan, Haitong said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Haitong (Hong Kong) Financial Holdings Ltd had HK$100 million in registered capital before the cash injection.

Company purchase

Hunan Non-ferrous Metals Corp, China's biggest zinc and tungsten producer, will buy Abra Mining Ltd, valuing the Australian minerals explorer at $111 million.

Hunan offered 83 cents a share for seven of every 10 Abra stock it doesn't own, the two companies said in a statement yesterday. That's 17 percent more that its last-traded price. Hong Kong-traded Hunan owns a 17.8 percent stake in Perth-based Abra.

GRAPEVINE

Cement IPO

Asia Cement (China) Holdings Corp, the mainland unit of Taiwan's second biggest cement maker, raised HK$1.86 billion from a Hong Kong initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing two unidentified sources.

Asia Cement (China) priced 375 million new shares - a 25 percent stake - at HK$4.95 each, toward the low end of a HK$4.85 to HK$6.45 range, the report said. It will remain 75 percent owned by Taiwan-based Asia Cement Corp after the public share sale.

BIZ UNUSUAL

In the bag

More than 1 million reusable shopping bags have been sold in less than a month on several major C2C sites, including taobao.com and eachnet.com, as national law will require retailers to charge fees for plastic bags from their establishments from June 1.

A source from taobao.com said turnover of the reusable shopping bags sold on the site had totaled about 1 million yuan in April. An eachnet.com retailer said about 30 bags are sold daily. The canvas bags feature colorful designs and sell for 20-80 yuan each.

Gouda business

Marc de Ruiter, from Holland, runs a cheese farm in Shanxi province. The hand-produced, all-natural gouda is unlike the industrial cheese China imports.

The cheese is popular among expats in cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. De Ruiter's clients order about 200 kg of cheese from his clients monthly.

Although the market among Chinese is currently very small, de Ruiter said he is confident about the future of his business, because the Chinese are increasingly acquiring a taste for cheese.

BIZ MOVES

CEO appointed

China Aviation Oil (Singapore) announced the appointment of Meng Fanqiu as its chief executive officer, filling a position left vacant since 2006 when his predecessor was jailed for a trading scandal.

The 39-year-old Meng was previously a general manager with parent China National Aviation Fuel Group, China Aviation Oil said in a statement.

New CFO

China Runji Cement Inc, a leading cement manufacturer headquartered in Anhui province, announced the appointment of Zeng Xiangfei as its new chief financial officer.

Zeng will be responsible for overseeing the company's overall financial planning, control and reporting activities. Before joining Runji, Zeng had been the financial controller for China World Trade Corporation since November 2004.

LOCAL

Violators fined

The Guangzhou environmental bureau has closed 32 enterprises in the capital of Guangdong province.

All of the enterprises discharged untreated sewage, threatening local drinking water safety, the bureau said.

The biggest fine - 2.6 million yuan - was levied upon Wanlida Paper Industry Co Ltd. The bureau also said a comprehensive plan to protect drinking-water in the western part of the city would soon be published.

Industry upgrade

Shandong province will raise 50-60 billion yuan to invest in the structural adjustment and upgrading of its paper-making industry.

The province will accelerate technical improvements in the industry by attracting foreign investment and using bank loans.

Bridge construction

Construction has begun on the second bridge spanning Hangzhou Bay, which links Zhejiang province's Jiaxing and Shaoxing cities. The 69-km-long bridge will cost an estimated 12.8 billion yuan and is expected to be finished in 2012.

The bridge will feature an eight-lane, two-way highway and is designed for a driving speed of 120 km per hour.

(China Daily 05/14/2008 page15)