IN BRIEF (Page 9)

Chevron signs shale gas deal

Chevron Corp said on Thursday that it had signed a joint study agreement to explore for shale gas in the Qiannan Basin in Guizhou province in April, and started seismic evaluation operations in July. The company didn't disclose its partners in the project.

The statement echoed an announcement from China Petrochemical Group in July, when the energy company said that it had cooperated with Chevron to start a seismic survey of a shale gas in a block in Longli County in Guizhou province.

January crude output falls

Crude oil production in China fell by 2.3 percent year-on-year to 17.08 million metric tons in January, while crude imports remained flat at 22.85 million metric tons, according to figures from the National Development and Reform Commission.

In January, apparent consumption for natural gas grew by 20.1 percent from the previous year to 13.7 billion cubic meters. Natural gas imports, including piped gas and liquefied natural gas, surged by 66.7 percent from 2011 to 3.6 billion cu m, pushing the dependency ratio for foreign gas to a new high.

Sixth week of gains for stocks

Stocks on the Chinese mainland rose on Friday, capping a sixth week of gains for the benchmark index. The rise came on speculation that local governments are relaxing restrictions on the property market and an improving global economy will spur Chinese exports.

Poly Real Estate Group Co. jumped 3.5 percent, leading a gauge of developers to the biggest advance by an industry group this week, after Shanghai said it will implement differentiated tax and mortgage policies. Anhui Conch Cement Co. climbed to a three-month high on prospects low-income housing construction will boost cement demand.

Ford opens new assembly plant

Ford Motor Co has opened its third passenger-car plant in China, increasing the automaker's manufacturing capacity in the country by one-third to more than 600,000 vehicles annually.

The $490 million assembly plant, set up by the Dearborn, Michigan-based company's venture with Chang'an Automobile Group Co, spans 1 million square meters in the southwestern city of Chongqing and will produce the new-generation Focus sedans, according to a company statement.

Sinofert seeks mine purchases

Sinofert Holdings Ltd is seeking to buy potash and phosphate mines to meet fertilizer demand for improving crop yields in the world's most populous nation.

"We are looking at assets both inside and outside China," Senior Vice-President Harry Yang said in an interview in Beijing.

Global potash demand will rise 3 percent this year, leaving a shortage, because of delays in commissioning new capacity, according to the International Fertilizer Industry Association.

SAP to invest $2b in China

SAP AG, the world's leading supplier of enterprise management software and collaborative business solutions, has decided to invest nearly $2 billion in China by 2015 to develop the country's IT ecological system.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 02/25/2012 page9)