IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Citibank accepts UnionPay cards

Cards from China's bankcard association, China UnionPay, will soon be accepted by Citibank in seven Asian nations.

According to an agreement announced on Thursday, Citibank will accept UnionPay cards in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and India.

Also, Citibank will open its online service to UnionPay card holders.

Guangzhou Auto aims higher

Guangzhou Automobile Group Co, the Chinese partner of Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, is aiming to claim 10 percent of the Chinese market by 2015.

The company wants to boost capacity to 3 million units with total sales of 400 billion yuan ($60.84 billion) by 2015, Zeng Qinghong, vice chairman of the group, said in Beijing on Thursday.

China Life sells GDB stake

China Life Investment Holding Co sold its 0.059 percent stake in Guangdong Development Bank Co for about 39 million yuan ($6 million), according to a statement from the bank.

A total of 7.07 million shares were sold at 5.52 yuan apiece, the statement said.

Corn-processing curbs introduced

China, the second-biggest corn consumer, will curb the amount used in producing industrial chemicals to ease the growing pressure on grain supplies, the Minister of Agriculture said.

The government's policy is to "contain further processing of corn in non-food and non-livestock industrial usage," Minister Han Changfu told reporters at the National People's Congress meeting on Thursday.

New platform for city banks

The Beijing Financial Asset Exchange launched a platform on Thursday for city commercial banks to trade stakes.

As more city commercial banks plan to float shares this year, the platform is aimed at offering institutional investors a more informative and efficient way to gain access to investment opportunities.

According to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, there are 192 city commercial banks in China, with a number of them planning to transfer their stake to potential investors.

Home prices to decline this year

China's home prices will decline later this year, as sales are volumes already dropping following the implementation of purchasing restrictions by local governments, said a central bank adviser, Li Daokui, on Thursday.

It will be a "significant achievement" if home prices fell 5 percent to 10 percent this year, he said. Cities such as Chengdu may remove its purchasing restrictions in 18 months because prices there aren't as high as in Beijing or Shanghai, he said.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 03/11/2011 page13)