IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Authorities OK currency trades

China will allow two banks to enter the interbank foreign exchange market, according to two separate statements on Chinamoney.com.cn, a website of the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The banks include Cathay United Bank Co's Shanghai unit, and Shandong Boxing Rural Cooperative Bank, according to the statements.

Citic to offload stake in CAMC

China's Citic Securities, the country's biggest listed brokerage, will sell a 51 percent stake in China Asset Management Co Ltd for at least 7.6 billion yuan ($1.2 billion), it said on Wednesday.

Regulatory requirements limit a single shareholder's maximum stake in a Chinese fund management firm to 49 percent.

Citic will sell its holding down to that level, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Ctrip to sell rail tickets online

China's leading travel agency Ctrip.com plans to sell railway tickets online in the near future, its chief executive said on Wednesday, opening up a potentially huge revenue stream.

"We are preparing this kind of service in the near future," said Fan Min, Ctrip's chief executive, adding that negotiations with the government have not been finalized.

Shiseido to make up China

Shiseido, Japan's top cosmetics firm, is aiming to grow its Chinese cosmetics business faster than the market and is considering boosting the use of local raw materials to lower production costs.

Banks' $44.7b forex surplus

Chinese banks bought $129.8 billion of foreign currency for their clients in April, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on its website.

The banks sold $85.2 billion of foreign currency for clients that month, resulting in a forex surplus of $44.7 billion in the banks for April, according to the statement.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/26/2011 page13)