IN BRIEF (Page 20)

Coal shortages

Coal shortages in China have caused 32 power stations to halt production, and several parts of the country, including Beijing, do not have adequate coal reserves to guarantee even a week's worth of power generation, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) said yesterday.

The shutdowns have affected generators with 4.8 GW of installed capacity, about 0.7 percent of the total national installed capacity, according to the watchdog's website.

Sinopec drops deal

China's top refiner Sinopec Corp has dropped a one-year deal to import Russian Urals crude from European trader Mercuria, after boosting imports of cheaper Middle East oil to stem refining losses, Bloomberg said.

Under the existing contract, which ends in June, Sinopec agreed to buy about 120,000 barrels of the Russian crude from Mercuria daily for a year, and the parties were expected to renew the agreement for 2008.

Aluminum steady

China's aluminum production this year will remain steady, even in the wake of China's most powerful earthquake in more than half a century, according to information provider Beijing Antaike Information Development Co.

Antaike maintained its projection for output at 15.1 million tons and for consumption at 14.64 million tons, chief analyst Wang Feihong said yesterday.

Production was 12.3 million tons last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Carbon credits crimp

The earthquake will impact the supply of greenhouse gas credits, an analyst at French bank Societe Generale said.

The market for certified emission reduction credits created under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol had been shaken this week by the earthquake in China, which could hamper an undefined segment of clean development mechanism issuances, analyst Emmanuel Fages said.

More branches

United Commercial Bank (UCB), a leading US bank serving Chinese communities and American companies doing business in Greater China, will set up more branches in Northeast China over the next three years, the company's top management said.

"Following our customers' business, we are particularly interested in Shenyang, Liaoning province," Simon Pang, senior vice-president of UCB, said at a seminar sponsored by LVC International Investment Inc. The bank has branches in Shanghai and Shantou.

New resorts

Banyan Tree, a Singapore listed hotels and resorts company, plans to open 13 resorts in China in the next three years, making China the fastest growing section of the company's global business.

Arthur Kiong, senior vice-president of Banyan Tree, said the firm will not postpone or cancel plans to set up a resort in Jiuzhaigou, a famous tourist site in Sichuan province, because of the earthquake. The company currently has had three resorts in China.

Imports exhibition

An international exhibition on imported products and technology will be staged by the China-European Association for Technical & Economic Cooperation and the Shanghai International Sourcing Promotion Center in Shanghai.

The three-day exhibition will focus on helping IT, energy-saving, biological pharmaceutical, printing and packaging, mechanical, and electrical industries in China.

Circular economy forum

A forum on economizing resources and developing a circular economy will open at the 11th China Beijing International High-tech Expo in Beijing on Friday.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 05/21/2008 page20)