What's news

Corn retains appeal despite high price

Corn consumption in China, the world's second-largest market, remains resilient even after prices rallied to a record in Chicago.

"We still have strong demand from countries like China," said Bill Barbour, an investment specialist for the DWS Global Agribusiness fund, in a Bloomberg Television interview on Wednesday. "There's not been much demand destruction."

Corn, used in feeds and ethanol production, rallied 24 percent this year, reaching a record last month, as the driest summer since 1936 in the US Midwest damaged crops.

$294m China rubber plant announced

Lanxess AG, a German chemical manufacturer, will spend $294 million to build a synthetic rubber plant in China, its biggest investment in the country.

The plant, which will make ethylene propylene diene monomer, or EPDM, will have capacity to produce 160,000 metric tons per year and will be ready in 2015, the company said. EPDM is used in windscreen wipers and door sealants.

Samsung attacked over work conditions by labor group

Samsung Electronics Co plants and suppliers in China employed underage workers, forced them to work overtime and exposed them to unsafe conditions, a New York- based labor group said as it increased scrutiny on the world's largest seller of mobile phones and TVs.

China Labor Watch discovered "severe labor abuses" at six factories owned and operated by Samsung, and two facilities of its suppliers, the group said in a report on Tuesday. The alleged violations include forced overtime work amounting to more than 100 hours a month, unpaid work and 11 to 12 hours of standing, it said.

GM August China sales rise on Chevrolet demand

General Motors Co, the biggest foreign automaker in China, said sales in the country rose 7.3 percent last month, led by demand for Chevrolet vehicles.

Deliveries of cars and minivans climbed to 220,996 units in August, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement on Wednesday. Chevrolet deliveries, which fell in July, climbed 15 percent to 53,207 in August. Buick sales gained 2.8 percent to 57,603.

Key Amway health food plant for Guangdong

Direct-selling giant Amway China announced it will build its largest overseas production base in South China, aiming to serve the country's fast-growing health food market.

The new base will be located in the Economic and Technology Development District in Luogang, Guangzhou, which will be completed in 2016. The 78,000-square meters facility will produce the company's top selling Nutrilite products.

"Amway China will invest 600 million yuan ($94.5 million) to build the Guangzhou production base and a botanical research center in Wuxi," said Audie Wong, president of Amway China.

CDB to launch product for asset securitization pilot

A financial product for a credit asset securitization pilot program is on schedule to be issued on Friday, China Development Bank said.

The bank plans to issue the credit asset-backed securities in the national interbank bond market. The total issued value will be 10.17 billion yuan ($1.60 billion).

This will be the biggest issue by capital value since the credit asset securitization pilot program began in 2005, analysts said.

The move is a good way to relieve the pressure on commercial banks due to capital adequacy ratios, said analysts. It can also help improve the credit structure and reduce potential risks, they added.

Owens Corning's China center opens

Owens Corning's China Composites Center started its operations in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The company is a leading global producer of glass fiber reinforcements for composite systems.

The center is the sixth of its kind after the establishment of similar centers in the United States, France, Japan, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The 6,000-square-meter center - different from the one in Japan, which targets only the domestic market - will serve other Asian markets as well as the Chinese market, China Composites Center leader Frederic Rossi said.

The center, which has state-of-the-art research-and-development facilities, will provide a full array of technical capabilities to enable scientists and engineers to offer advanced composite material expertise and solutions for the China market, Rossi said.

Chinese airlines raise fuel surcharges

Chinese airlines have raised fuel surcharges on domestic routes due to rising fuel costs.

Fuel surcharges for routes shorter than 800 kilometers were increased from 50 yuan ($7.87) to 70 yuan, while surcharges for routes of more than 800 km were increased from 100 yuan to 130 yuan.

Airlines lifted the fuel surcharges for international routes on Saturday, the first increase since June.

Analysts said the fuel-surcharge hike will increase the price of tourist products by at least 20 percent for the upcoming National Day holiday in the first week of October.

High-end housing sales rebound in first 8 months

The sales of high-end property saw a strong rebound in the first eight months this year, data from Centaline Group' showed on Wednesday.

According to Centaline, a total of 3,277 units of high-end apartments - which refer to apartments with a unit price higher than 40,000 yuan ($6,300) per square meter - were sold during the first eight months, compared with 2,301 units in 2011.

In addition to the increase in transaction volumes, prices also picked up. The average price of the units, according to Centaline, stood at 50,400 yuan per sq m, up 4.3 percent compared with the same period of last year.

Dalian Wanda, AMC acquisition deal finalized

Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it has successfully completed the acquisition of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, becoming the world's largest cinema owner.

AMC is the world's second-largest theater chain, while Dalian Wanda is the operator of China's largest movie theater chain by ticket sales.

The deal is valued at $2.6 billion. Wanda will operate AMC as a wholly owned subsidiary under its existing brand. AMC will continue to control film programming and remain headquartered in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

AMC generated about $2.5 billion in revenue last year with about 200 million moviegoers. After suffering losses for three consecutive years, AMC posted a profit in the first half of the year with Wanda's investment.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 09/06/2012 page14)