IN BRIEF (Page 18)

What's news

Watchdogs plan inspection of real estate sector

Inner Mongolia has plans to become a big data center

The government of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region is encouraging the development of a big data industry and is introducing a series of policies to attract investment and skill, with an aim to make the region a big data center in northern China by 2020.

CIRC cracks down on speculation by insurers

China's insurance regulator said on Tuesday that it does not support short-term speculative stock trading by insurance funds.

Rosneft sells 20% of huge field to Beijing Gas

Rosneft PJSC agreed to sell 20 percent of its Verkhnechonsk oil and gas field in Siberia for about $1.1 billion to Beijing Gas Group Co in a deal that may give the Russian producer access to China's natural-gas market.

Hong Kong stocks up second day on US poll hopes

Hong Kong stocks eked out a gain for a second day as investor optimism that Hillary Clinton will clinch the US presidential election offset a larger-than-expected drop in Chinese exports.

Retail agents tap into huge potential

Laden with shopping from Harrods and clutching her fashionable Chanel bag, Julie Li is glued to her smartphone WeChat-ing clients back home in China.

Singles Day sales to hit $20b this year

Retail market analysts predicted that November's big shopping frenzy - the China-inspired Singles Day - will see a year-on-year sales increase of 40 percent, as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and major international brands use virtual and augmented reality to woo online shoppers.

Minmetals unit offers sponge city solutions for rainfall usage

WISDRI Engineering and Research Incorporation Ltd, a subsidiary of China Minmetals Corp, the country's biggest metals trader by revenue, said it will provide so-called sponge city solutions - the technology being rolled out in China to counter flooding - to more than 10 major cities including Nanning, Chongqing and Jinan in 2017.

New link to Shenzhen is almost ready

Connectivity testing and market rehearsals to verify the technical readiness for the soon-to-be-launched stock trading link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong were completed over the weekend, marking almost the final step in a prolonged process expected to pave the way for the second cross-border stock "through train".

Baidu 'to raise up to $500m' for Waimai

Baidu Inc is seeking to raise as much as $500 million for its Waimai food delivery unit amid a costly battle with other Chinese internet giants for customers, according to people familiar with the matter.

HK home sales predicted to fall after stamp duty change

The Hong Kong government's surprise move to cool the world's least affordable home market is set to spur an immediate plunge in prices and transactions as buyers and sellers hit the pause button. A new stamp duty is expected to trigger a new round of price falls that will continue until late 2017 at earliest. Share prices of developers slumped in Monday trading.