IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Vehicle sales drop 11.6% in Sept

Vehicle sales slid 11.6 percent in September in their worst monthly drop in nearly seven years, as slowing economic growth and deepening Sino-US trade frictions took their toll on the world's largest auto market. Vehicle sales fell for the third straight month in September to 2.39 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Friday, citing a sluggish economy, deleveraging and a tough pollution crackdown for the steep fall. Analysts have predicted the market could contract this year for the first time in decades.

H1 overseas M&A activities cool