IN BRIEF (Page 10)

Overseas expansion

Haier Group Corp, China's largest maker of refrigerators and air conditioners, is looking at the appliance arm of General Electric Co and other opportunities as it seeks acquisitions to expand overseas.

Haier will make an assessment on the possibility of acquiring the GE division, Zhang Tieyan, CEO for Asia outside of China, said. GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt in May named Haier and South Korea's LG Electronics Inc as potential suitors for its appliances unit.

Price reduction

Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco), the country's biggest maker of the metal, reduced alumina prices for the second time in two months as lower output reduced demand for the raw material.

Chalco, cut the price of alumina 8.6 percent to 3,200 yuan a ton, effective from Friday, said Zhang Qing, the company's investor relations manager. China's 20 biggest aluminum producers, including Chalco, agreed on July 10 to curb output by as much as 10 percent to ease a power shortage.

Stake raised

Carlyle Group, the world's second largest private-equity firm, raised its stake in Xtep International Holdings Ltd to 9.2 percent from 7.2 percent, according to a statement from the Chinese sportswear company. Carlyle Investment Fund bought 6.675 million shares at an average price of HK$2.9 each, increasing its total holding to 202.4 million shares, Hong Kong-listed Xtep said in a statement.

Baiyin buyout

The Gansu provincial government has sold a 49 percent stake in the province-owned metals smelter Baiyin Nonferrous Metals (Group) to State-owned CITIC Group, a senior executive at Baiyin said. The Gansu government picked CITIC as a buyer after rejecting a few large State-owned companies, including China Minmetals Corp and the parent of Aluminum Corp of China Ltd. The remaining 51 percent shares of Baiyin are owned by the Gansu government and 6 or 7 other Chinese firms, the executive said.

Agencies-China Daily

(China Daily 08/02/2008 page10)