Strong Asia sales spark growth in earnings for Treasury Wine Estates

China's thirst for luxury wine gave Australia's Treasury Wine Estates Ltd a surprise earnings boost, lifting profits above expectations and allowing its CEO to predict that the Asia unit will be its biggest by 2017.

IN BRIEF (Page 18)

CITIC unit weighed down by bad loans

Bad loans continued to rise at China CITIC Bank Co Ltd during the first six months of the year, putting more pressure on the lender's profit-making ability and risk controls.

Toyota may divert car shipments

Auto firm eyes Dalian, Shanghai as possible new locations

Wells Fargo banks on 'going global' for growth in China

Financial services provider has seen significant rise in Chinese investment in the US over past five to 10 years

Airbnb planning a deeper push in China

Home-sharing startup Airbnb is gearing up for a deeper push into the booming market of Chinese travelers.

New home prices surge in most cities

Chinese cities where home prices rose exceeded those where they declined for the first time in 16 months in July, as authorities removed some property curbs and interest rates fell.

Policy banks get $90b cash infusion

China's foreign exchange regulator injected more than $90 billion into the country's policy banks during July to strengthen support for both overseas investments and domestic government-led construction projects.

UnionPay spreads wings in Thailand

UnionPay International, the Chinese card payment system, and the Thai Bankers Association signed an agreement on Tuesday to make UnionPay the standard chip card for local banks across the Thai banking industry.

Alibaba to expand personal finance offerings

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is planning to expand the reach of its financial arm Ant Financial Services Group to provide more value-added personal wealth services, officials said.

Realtors jump onto bond bandwagon

Real estate companies are flocking to the domestic bond market to raise funds, as more lenders are offering cheaper rates and previous restrictions on issues have ended.

Price needs to be right in battle against the coffee chains

Liu Yong struggles to find an affordable teahouse when he is out with his friends and colleagues. The 39-year-old English professor at a university in Chongqing is not a big coffee fan and loves a cup of China's traditional beverage.