IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Property prices at 'turning point'

Chinese housing prices are at a turning point and banks are concerned about a possible "chain reaction" if prices fall by 20 percent, the central bank said on Friday.

"Real estate investment growth eased, developers' cash flows tightened, land transactions and prices fell, property loan growth moderated and there are early signs that property prices are at a turning point," the People's Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

HP to focus on China

Hewlett-Packard Co (HP), the largest PC maker globally by sales, said it will focus on public service solutions and the PC business in China, the world's largest PC market next year.

A proposed spinoff of the company's PC business was halted by its new CEO Meg Whitman in October.

Eco park construction

Construction will begin on a Sino-German Ecological Park in Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone on Saturday, local sources said.

Qingdao municipal government said that in 10 years the park will be a pilot project for Europe-Asian Cooperation and an international zone for sustainable development. The park will highlight eco-city renovation and eco-park planning.

Patents to outstrip US

The number of patent applications in China is expected to overtake those in the US by 2014, said Mao Jinsheng, director-general of the intellectual property development and research center at the State Intellectual Property Office, in Hong Kong on Friday.

China has the world's second-largest number of patent applications, Mao said at a conference.

Stocks fall on concerns

Stocks on the Chinese mainland fell, capping a fourth week of losses for the benchmark index, as sliding property prices and the slump in manufacturing added to concern the economic slowdown is deepening. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's stock exchanges, slid 26.20 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2360.66 at the close. It fell 0.8 percent this week. The CSI 300 lost 1 percent to 2557.31 on Friday.

Ma'anshan ends train wheel tests

Ma'anshan Iron & Steel Co completed trials of train wheels that can run at 250 kilometers an hour, paving the way for mass orders of the product, said China International Capital Corp (CICC).

Sales of the product are expected to contribute profit of 0.08 yuan (1.3 US cent) a share next year for Ma'anshan, China's biggest producer of train wheels, CICC analysts Luo Wei and Ding Yue said on Thursday.

Trials by the Ministry of Railways started early this year and ended in October, they said.

PetroChina's ratings affirmed

Fitch Ratings has affirmed PetroChina Co Ltd's Long-Term Foreign Default Rating as A+ and the Local Currency Issuer Default Rating as AA-.

The outlook on the Foreign Currency IDR is "stable" while that for the Local Currency IDR is "negative".

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 12/03/2011 page9)