IN BRIEF (Page 9)

China Daily | Updated: 2012-06-02 07:55

Direct currency trading begins

China and Japan started direct currency trading on Friday as Beijing marked another stage on its journey to foster the yuan's use internationally in line with its growing economic clout.

Market participants can now swap Japanese yen for Chinese yuan without having to use the US dollar as an intermediary currency, making foreign trade settlement more convenient and cutting transaction costs.

Lead battery crackdown

China issued a new regulation that will cut the output capacity of lead-acid battery makers by as much as 30 percent as the country continues its crackdown on lead poisoning, an industry group said.

The rule could reduce exports of batteries and further cut the number of manufacturers from about 300 now, Cao Guoqing, deputy secretary-general of the China Battery Industry Association, said on Thursday.

Carrefour to hire store managers

France's Carrefour SA China plans to recruit more than 20 store managers from among Chinese MBA students to support its rapid expansion plans in the country. It will recruit high-caliber MBA students at the "Carrefour China Day", which will be sponsored by the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 06/02/2012 page9)