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Multinational corporation convention on Thursday

More than 550 officials from the world's top 500 companies ranked by revenue and China's top 500 companies, as well as government officials, will attend the 2012 Multinational Corporation China Summit in Shenzhen on Thursday.

The summit is organized by the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, Guangdong Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment and Shenzhen Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment. It has attracted top managers of the top 500 companies, which include Ford Motor Co, Cisco Systems Inc, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and ZTE Corp.

Tourism office: Share drop not linked to visa regulations

A day after shares in Hong Kong-traded casinos dropped on speculation that new restrictions would be placed on tourists from the mainland, Macao's tourism office said it hasn't received word that there has been a tightening of visa rules.

Shares in Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, Sands China Ltd and other casino operators fell on Monday following a Macau Daily Times report that speculated about why the number of mainland visitors coming to the island is increasing at a slower pace, saying that development may be the result of a tightening of visa rules.

Visitors from the mainland drove casino revenue up by 42 percent last year in Macao, the only place in China where casinos are legal. About 16 million mainland Chinese visited the world's largest gambling center in 2011.

Jewelry firm strikes gold in most recent fiscal year

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, a Hong Kong-based chain that has more revenue than Tiffany & Co, reported its profit increased by 79 percent this past fiscal year as China's growing middle class spent more on luxury goods.

The company's net income rose by 79 percent to HK$6.34 billion ($817 million) in the fiscal year, which ended on March 31.

The listed jewelry retailer raised about HK$15.8 billion in a public offering last December.

In 2011, the average annual urban disposable income rose by 14 percent in China to about 21,810 yuan ($3,427).

Sotheby's to enter China's luxury property market

Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC, the real estate unit of the auction house, plans to start doing business in China's luxury property market by the first half of next year.

The company will concentrate on large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, Michael Good, CEO of the New Jersey-based firm, said. Sotheby's real estate unit has affiliates in 45 countries and regions.

"We've had a lot of global growth, but we've been very careful with China, because China is such an important emerging economy," Good said in an interview in Shanghai on Monday.

Exports of pharmaceutical ingredients increase

China's exports of active pharmaceutical ingredients increased 4.9 percent year-on-year to $9.86 billion during the first five months of this year, said China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products on Monday at the China-World Medical Summit.

The export volume dropped 1.58 percent year-on-year, while the unit price jumped 6.58 percent on average, which indicated quality improvement of the sector, said the chamber. Major export destinations of China's active pharmaceutical ingredients are Asia, Europe and North America, making up 88.81 percent of the exports as a whole from January to May. China and India are currently the world's two largest active pharmaceutical ingredients exporters by volume.

Chinese wind farm industry on path to enter doldrums

The Chinese wind farm industry, the most productive of its type in the world, is likely to slow down this year for the first time in a decade as its plans to expand offshore founder.

Developers plan to install 18.6 gigawatts of windmills this year, 7 percent less than in 2011, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The state is slowing the construction of such projects on land. At the same time, the government has not started various sea-based projects on time because officials are in disagreement over where they should be built.

EU seeks establishment of dispute-settlement panel

The European Union requested the establishment of a dispute-settlement panel at the World Trade Organization on China's export restrictions on rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum.

"China's restrictions on rare earths and other products are violating its WTO commitments and continue to significantly distort global markets to the disadvantage of our companies," EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said on Wednesday in an e-mailed statement. "Despite the very clear WTO ruling earlier this year in the first raw materials case, Beijing has not taken steps to remove these export restrictions. We regret that we are left with no other choice but to solve this through litigation."

Power, engineering firms to build solar projects in Chile

China's Suntech Power Holdings Co, the world's largest producer of solar power modules, and the Chilean engineering firm Sigdo Koppers SA will sign an agreement to build 300 megawatts of solar projects in the South American country, the Chilean government said in a statement on Tuesday.

Suntech and Sigdo Koppers will announce the $900 million deal on Thursday in the presence of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who will visit Santiago as part of a South American tour.

Basic Element to ship tons of pork to Asian countries

The agricultural division of the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's company Basic Element plans to export pork, wheat and soybeans to China to take advantage of the "explosive" growth seen in the Asian country.

Basic Element, a diversified group with stakes in everything from energy to aviation, plans to start producing 10,000 to 15,000 metric tons of pork in Siberia and ship it to China and other Asian countries, said Andrey Oleynik, managing director of the company's agribusiness management directorate.

"China is one of the fastest growing consumption markets," Oleynik said in Moscow on June 15. "The growth is explosive both in terms of food consumption and other products consumption. That is why it would be silly not to focus on China."

Sinopec lowers target for processing crude oil

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp plans to process 54.5 million metric tons of crude oil in the third quarter of the year, down 0.2 percent from the second quarter and 1.6 percent from a year ago, Oilchem.net, which offers information about the petrochemical business, said on its website on Wednesday, citing unidentified people with the company. Sinopec, as the refiner is known, had once planned to refine 56.5 million tons of crude in the third quarter of the year. It revised its target in response to an expected decline in the demand for crude and a possible reduction in retail fuel prices in July, Oilchem said. The company may miss its oil-processing target for the year, Oilchem said.

Drug company to acquire controlling stake

China Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, which derives almost half of its sales from antibiotics, will buy a maker of finished drugs from its controlling shareholder for HK$8.98 billion ($1.2 billion) worth of new stock and convertible bonds.

The purchase of Robust Sun Holdings Ltd will reduce the company's reliance on drug intermediaries, bulk antibiotics and vitamin C, which now account for 66 percent of its sales. There is now an oversupply of those products, which tend to be selling at relatively low prices, according to a filing to Hong Kong's stock exchange on Tuesday.

Agencies - China Daily

(China Daily 06/28/2012 page14)