IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Sany Brazil investment

Chinese construction machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry said on Friday it plans to invest $200 million in a manufacturing base in Sao Paulo, Brazil, as it expands in the Latin American market.

Sany Heavy Industry said it expected the facility's annual sales volume to reach $500 million in five years and $2 billion in 10 years.

ANZ sub-branch

ANZ opened a new sub-branch on Thursday in Xintiandi, an affluent shopping district in Shanghai.

The sub-branch was part of a growth plan for China that included seeking local incorporation and opening more than 20 outlets in the country by 2012. The Melbourne-based bank currently has three branches in China.

Thai gas deal

Yanchang Petroleum, the fourth-largest oil producer in China, has signed a deal to explore for natural gas in Thailand, the firm's second overseas endeavor after Madagascar, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. Yanchang Petroleum, based in Shaanxi province, will drill for oil and natural gas in block L31/50 of the Khorat Basin, covering an area of 3,960 sq km in northeastern Thailand.

New drilling platform

China's first domestically developed semi-submersible drilling platform with a working depth of 3,000 m undocked on Friday from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co Ltd (SWSCL), marking a great improvement in the nation's mega-sized deep-water offshore engineering equipment sector. Owned by China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), the drilling platform was wholly designed and developed by SWSCL.

Drug approved

Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based drugmaker focusing on diabetes care, announced on Friday that Levemir, its soluble basal insulin analogue for people with diabetes, had won approval from China's drug administration to be used by diabetes patients in the nation.

Huatai debut

Huatai Securities Co made its Shanghai trading debut on Friday after the brokerage sold shares in an initial public offering at the low end of the price range.

Huatai, which raised 15.69 billion yuan, closed 5.3 percent higher to 21.06 yuan from the IPO price of 20 yuan in Shanghai.

Bloomberg-Reuters-China Daily

(China Daily 02/27/2010 page9)