IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Overseas assets hit $4.62 trillion

China's overseas financial assets were $4.62 trillion as of June 30, according to a statement by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange released on Wednesday.

Overseas financial liabilities were $2.63 trillion as of June 30 and net assets were $1.99 trillion, according to the statement.

Carbon pact with Europe

China and Europe will sign a technical cooperation pact valued at 5 million euros ($6.9 million) within this year to promote the establishment of a carbon market in China, Jos Delbeke, the director-general for climate action at the European Commission, said after discussions with the National Development and Reform Commission.

The arrangement will allow Europe to share with China experience in trading emission permits.

NDRC lists car subsidy models

The National Development and Reform Commission said a reduced 26 car models will be eligible for subsidies for energy-efficient vehicles.

BYD Co's F3, General Motors Co's Excelle and Volkswagen AG's Golf are among the approved models, the agency said in an online statement on Wednesday. A total of 49 varieties of these models qualify for the 3,000 yuan ($470) funding.

China tightened the subsidy criteria for makers of energy-efficient vehicles this month as it cut back stimulus measures implemented during the global recession.

ICBC lease unit orders 45 C919s

ICBC Financial Leasing Co Ltd signed an order for 45 COMAC C919 aircraft on Wednesday, which pushes the C919's total starting orders to 145.

With these orders, ICBC Leasing, which plans to expand its fleet from 68 now to 250 by 2013, becomes the largest initial customer for the C919.

C919, the first domestic passenger plane, will be delivered in 2016. The aircraft drew 100 orders from six airlines and financial leasing companies in 2010.

Zijin to borrow gold from banks

Zijin Mining Group Co, China's biggest gold producer by market value, said it plans to borrow bullion from banks to sell in the market as the company expects prices to rise.

"We're borrowing gold from banks," said Zheng Yuqiang, Zijin's company secretary, on Wednesday. "This is completely new in China and banks will choose companies with a good record of repaying debt. We will be borrowing from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China for a start."

Food exhibit set for Chongqing

The China Chongqing International Food Expo will be hold at the China Chongqing Conference and Exhibition Center from Nov 10 to 13. The event aims to connect Chinese food producers with international enterprises, and more than 2,000 companies are set to attend the event.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 10/20/2011 page13)