IN BRIEF (Page 13)

SOEs report profit increase

Chinese State-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported a year-on-year increase of 13.1 percent in net profit in the first eight months of 2011.

However, growth in the January to August period was 2.6 percentage points lower than that in the first seven months of the year, indicating a slowdown in August, according to a statement on the website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on Tuesday.

Nissan to boost parts purchases

Nissan Motor Co will buy more parts from China and South Korea for use in a Japanese plant as the strength of the yen makes imports of components cheaper.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said on Tuesday that as much as 90 percent of parts for use in production in its Japanese plant will be sourced from nearby Asian countries and locally. The automaker may buy from Japanese suppliers that are producing in China to cut costs, he said.

DBS expanding private banking

DBS Group Holdings Ltd will invest S$250 million ($198 million) to expand private banking over five years, including hiring in China and setting up an international desk focusing on the Middle East and emerging markets.

DBS started a service targeting individuals with more than S$1.5 million in investable assets, it said in Singapore on Tuesday.

Airbus delivery set for October

China's first Airbus A380 is scheduled to be delivered to China Southern Airlines in Toulouse, France, on Oct 15, the Guangzhou-based carrier said on Tuesday.

The jumbo aircraft will fly between Beijing and Guangzhou and Shanghai from Oct 17 to 29 before switching to international routes. The aircraft has 506 seats - eight luxury first-class seats, 70 flat-bed first-class seats and 428 seats in economy class.

BAK Battery to list unit

China BAK Battery Inc, a lithium-ion battery maker, plans to list electric-vehicle battery unit BAK International (Tianjin) Ltd to fund expansion.

"We intend to use the proceeds from the initial public offering to finance research and development and operations," said Mao Huanyu, general manager of the unit.

Google revives advertising push

Google is renewing its efforts to further increase cooperation with Internet and mobile publishers and advertisers in China, company executives said on Thursday.

Google says it is currently working with 100,000 advertising partners in the country through its AdSense and AdMob services.

Google accounted for 7.2 percent of the online advertising market share in the second quarter of 2011, compared with Baidu Inc's 28.7 percent and Alibaba Group's 15.9 percent, data from Analysys International showed.

China Daily - Bloomberg News

(China Daily 09/21/2011 page13)