IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Express sector to expand 20%

Sales for China's express industry are expected to rise 20 percent to 90 billion yuan ($14.3 billion) in 2012, Ma Junsheng, director-general of the State Post Bureau, said at the bureau's annual working conference on Thursday.

Transactions for the industry rose 31 percent last year.

"China is likely to catch up with Japan soon and become the world's second-biggest express market" by delivered package numbers, Minister of Transport Li Shenglin said during the same conference.

The number of delivered parcels in 2011 exceeded 3.65 billion and is expected to reach 4.7 billion this year.

CDB in race for RBS plane unit

China Development Bank (CDB) Corp and Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group are the two bidders left in the race to buy Royal Bank of Scotland PLC's aircraft leasing business, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday. A decision on the final winner of the auction is expected by early next week, the source said, with a sale price in the range of $7.3 billion to $7.5 billion.

Boao to focus on Asian change

Government and business leaders from Asia and around the world will take part in the annual Boao Forum for Asia, which opens on April 1, in Boao, Hainan province.

The three-day forum will focus on key issues such as the transformation of growth models, economic restructuring, reform of the international monetary system and rise of the middle class in Asia.

Shanghai-HK forum meets

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference held its second meeting in Shanghai on Thursday. Leaders from both cities discussed further cooperation based on the framework of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

The first meeting was held in October 2003 in Hong Kong.

Short-selling report denied

The China Securities Regulatory Commission on Thursday dismissed media reports that China plans to establish a securities-lending body to facilitate short selling.

The Financial Times on Thursday reported that China plans to set up a Centralized Securities Lending Exchange to facilitate short selling in a step meant to further develop China's capital markets and the fund industry. The regulatory commission and Shanghai Stock Exchange officials said the report is untrue.

Audi's China sales speed off

Audi AG, the Luxury German carmaker, said on Thursday that its 2011 sales in China had outstripped those in its home market for the first time.

The company also said it expects to see further sales acceleration in the coming years.

Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest carmaker, said it sold 313,036 vehicles in China in the past year, breaking the 300,000 mark for the first time.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 01/06/2012 page13)