 Biz scene
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-24 07:48 BIZ MOVES SGMW appoints GM Wu Pengnian has been appointed as general manager of the sales company of SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) Automobile Co Ltd. Wu is currently deputy general manager of SGMW appointed by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) Group. SGMW contributes to more than half of the sales of General Motors in China, which is key for GM to complete with Volkswagen China. Chief Representative
Taiwan-based MediaTek Inc has appointed Liao Qingfeng as chief representative of MediaTek on the mainland, responsible for market strategy and management. Liao and his colleagues are expected to further develop cooperation between MediaTek and telecom operators, IT electronics manufacturers and integrated circuit designers. This appointment is a step towards MediaTek's advancement into the 3G market in the mainland. MediaTek is a leading fabless semiconductor company for wireless communications and digital media solutions. Before the appointment, Liao was vice-president of Microsoft Great China. BIZ UNUSUAL Testing times A shop which offers only free samples has opened at Hengshan Street of Shanghai city. The shop, named "Taolefang", has cosmetics, magazines and decorative items displayed on its shelves that customers can take as free samples once they have registered their yearly membership and pay 100 yuan per annum. Registered customers can take five samples for free on each visit. So far 8,000 people have registered. Companies who provide the products are also charged for placing their goods on the shelves. The shop requires its customers to complete questionnaires about the products. The store uses the information to make market decisions which also helps to boost income in the shop. LOCAL Economic phones
A contract has been signed by He'nan Electronics Research Co Ltd, US Mxb Inc and Hong Kong Xinwei Electronics Industry Co in Zhengzhou, capital city of He'nan province to produce economical mobile phones. The three companies will invest a total of 60 million yuan to achieve a yearly production of 1.5 to 2 million mobile phones, each of which will sell at around 200 yuan. Regardless of the price, the mobile phones are designed to be multifunctional and will include radios, MP3 players and cameras. The companies will target potential customers in rural areas and some college students. The first He'nan-made mobile phones are expected to appear on the market in two to three months. Green loan Enterprises failing to meet environmental standards are unable to get loans from banks in Hainan province. To restrict mass expansion of high energy-consuming and heavy polluting companies, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the People's Bank of China and China Banking Regulatory Commission jointly put forward new credit policies which made environmental protection an important factor in offering loans. The Bank of Communications' Hainan branch is labeling clients red, yellow and green relating to their level of commitment to the environment. Clients with green labels can get loans with priority, while clients with red labels have little chance of qualifying for a loan. Other major banks such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Hainan have also adopted similar policies. MARKET Zinc profit drops
Yunnan Chihong Zinc & Germanium Co, China's fifth-biggest zinc producer, said first-half profit fell 69 percent after prices declined and snowstorms cut output and sales. Net income declined to 205 million yuan, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday. Sales in the six months were 2.6 billion yuan, 11 percent lower than a year earlier. Zinc has lost 21 percent this year in London as the industry faces an oversupply. Output from China, the world's largest producer, rose in the first half, reaching a five year high. Winter snowstorms and spring maintenance caused the output to fall, it said. Lucky Film falls Lucky Film Co, China's biggest maker of photographic film, said first-half profit may plunge by about 99 percent because of a one-time gain recorded a year earlier and declining sales. The company posted profits of 55.9 million yuan in the first half of 2007, helped by a 42.4 million yuan gain from selling its stake in two companies, Lucky Film said in a statement to Shanghai's stock exchange yesterday. No figures were given for this year's first half. Eastman Kodak Co sold its 20 percent stake in Baoding, northern China-based Lucky Film last year at a $63 million loss in a bid to reorganize its business as more consumers opted to buy digital cameras instead of film ones. GRAPEVINE Bank stake China Construction Bank Corp, the nation's second largest financial services company, has expressed an interest in buying as much as a 20 percent stake of PT Bank Negara Indonesia, an Indonesian newspaper reported, citing a person it didn't identify. The stake sale is valued at around 6.23 trillion rupiah, according to the report. Officials of China Construction Bank met Indonesian officials, including State Enterprise Minister Sofyan Djalil and Felia Salim, vice president director of Bank Negara Indonesia, in Hong Kong recently, the report said. Huawei buyout Huawei Technologies Co short-listed two bidding groups to vie for a stake of about 50 percent in the Chinese company's mobile-phone unit, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Silver Lake Partners and Providence Equity Partners Ltd will compete against a group consisting of AEA Investors Inc and General Atlantic LLC, the paper said yesterday. The buyout firms in the bidding groups may change, the newspaper reported, citing one of the people. Huawei, China's biggest maker of phone-network equipment, is considering selling a majority stake in its handset unit. (China Daily 07/24/2008 page15) |
