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Top-level service Kenneth Chan, McDonald's China CEO delivers a free Egg McMuffin to a young consumer in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province on Monday. More than 1,300 McDonald's restaurants nationwide took part in the National Breakfast Day, handing out more than 1.3 million free Egg McMuffins. The day is celebrated in more than 30 markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, with almost 5,000 McDonald's restaurants taking part. [Photo provided to China Daily]

EU scraps anti-dumping duties on Chinese coal coke

The European Commission said over the weekend that the anti-dumping measures it imposed on imports of Chinese coal coke will expire on Tuesday because "no duly substantiated request for a review was lodged". The EU in December 2006 launched its anti-dumping probe into Chinese coal coke pieces with a diameter larger than 80 mm, and made the final ruling in March 2008. The product was already subject to anti-dumping measures from June 2000 until 2004. The measures were suspended in March 2004 due to a temporary change in market conditions, but were then resumed.

Siemens launches renminbi VC business

Siemens Financial Services said on Monday that its Siemens Venture Capital Co Ltd unit has launched a fund devoted to renminbi onshore deals. The new renminbi fund is part of Siemens Financial Services' global VC platform. It focuses mainly on four sectors: energy, healthcare, industry, and infrastructure and urban development. Siemens Financial Services is a unit of Germany-based Siemens AG. Combined with the new renminbi fund, Siemens Financial Services' VC business will be able to invest the local currency into purely domestic companies to further enhance Siemens' capabilities in VC investment through renminbi onshore deals, in addition to the existing US dollar investment capacity, the company said.

Nation sets to expand smart-cities project

China may add another 50 pilot cities to the nation's smart-cities project over the next three months, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing Qiu Baoxing, the vice-minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. In January, the ministry announced the first batch of 90 pilot cities for the project. Most were second- and third-tier cities. The project is aimed at advancing the nation's urbanization and industries such as telecommunications and infrastructure. It will drive about 2 trillion yuan ($318 billion) in investment by 2015, according to research from the State Information Center.

No timetable yet for rollout of urbanization program

China's urbanization program does not have a set timetable, a scholar close to national policymaking bodies involved said on Monday. Li Tie, head of the China Center for Urban Development, a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission, said the widely anticipated gathering of opinions from various stakeholders has no timetable yet. The commission, China's top economic planner, is the main driving force behind the country's first comprehensive urbanization outline. Other ministries involved include the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

Guangdong to boost new-energy auto industry

The Guangdong provincial government hopes to boost its total production capacity for new-energy automobiles to more than 200,000 units, and its annual output to 50,000 units by 2015. The province's development and reform commission said that more than 57.34 billion yuan ($9.22 billion) will be invested into 66 key new energy projects in the industry between 2015 and 2020. New-energy automobile production capacity and actual production in the province stood at 20,000 units and 7,000 units, respectively, in 2011, with total output worth 4.72 billion yuan.

Qianhai to set up new financing platform

The Qianhai Equity Exchange, a regional over-the-counter market, will establish a new market-oriented financing platform separate from stock exchanges and commercial banks, said Hu Jizhi, chairman of the exchange, in a recent interview with China Securities Journal. Hu predicted that the cost for small- and medium-sized companies seeking financing in Qianhai will be only one-tenth of that in the floor market. He told the newspaper that he expects to see 3,000 companies listed in Qianhai in three years and 10,000 in six years.

Standard Chartered invests in Guangdong Aiyingdao

Guangdong Aiyingdao Children Department Store Co Ltd, one of the country's leading maternity and infant-product retailers, has signed a strategic partnership with Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd, as it seeks to expand its network of stores across China. The bank has taken an investment in Aiyingdao and will provide the retailer with financing. In a statement, the two sides said they will work together to expand in China's fast-growing maternity, infant, and children's products market. Founded in 1998, Aiyingdao runs more than 230 stores in southern, eastern, and central China, and is aiming to expand that to more than 600 in the next three years.

China Overseas profit rises 21% on property sales

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd, China's biggest developer by market value listed in Hong Kong, said profit climbed 21 percent in 2012 on gains from property revaluations and the sales of stakes in some projects. Net income rose to HK$18.7 billion ($2.4 billion), or HK$2.29 a share, from a restated HK$15.5 billion, or $HK1.89 a share, a year earlier, the company said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Monday. That compares with the HK$16.9 billion average estimate of three analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Sales rose 26 percent to HK$64.6 billion. The State-owned developer benefited from focusing on first-tier cities, which include Beijing and Shanghai, as home prices rebounded in the second half after interest rates eased.

Volkswagen to recall vehicles after TV probe

Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest automaker, plans to recall vehicles in China after drawing scrutiny from the nation's quality inspector and State broadcaster over defective gearbox systems. The company will conduct a voluntary recall related to its direct-shift gearbox system, Volkswagen said in a statement, without providing details. The statement came after China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it told the German automaker to conduct a recall, and after Volkswagen was featured in China Central Television's annual show about anti-consumer practices.

China aids IDB in boosting Latin American loans

China will help the Inter-American Development Bank finance $12 billion in loans for Latin America and the Caribbean this year as the region struggles to recover from the global financial crisis. The region is forecast to grow 3.9 percent through 2017, down from 4.8 percent during the five years before the 2007 global recession, the Washington-based lender said in a March 17 report released during the bank's annual meeting in Panama City. The People's Bank of China will help finance $2 billion in loans, with most of the credit going to Latin American companies, according to the IDB.

Sun Art profit increases 51% on store openings

Profits at Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, China's largest hypermarket operator, rose 51 percent last year as it expanded operations. Net income jumped to 2.41 billion yuan ($384 million) from 1.6 billion yuan in 2011, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, ahead of the estimate of 2.31 billion yuan by five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales rose 14 percent to 77.9 billion yuan. Sun Art is a venture between Taiwan's RT-Mart and France's Groupe Auchan SA.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 03/19/2013 page14)