BEIJING

Project contract signed

China Huanqiu Contracting & Engineering Corp (HQCEC), a global leader in the field, announced on Tuesday that it had won a project management contract (PMC) with the Viet Nam National Chemical Corporation (Vinachem) for the Viet Nam DAP (duplicated ammonium phosphate) project after beating several global giant contractors.

It is the first PMC contract a Chinese company has won in Viet Nam.

Under the three-year-plus deal, HQCEC will help Vinachem complete basic design, prepare tender documents, choose EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractors and control construction quality, progress and cost.

The investment on the DAP project totals US$150 million.

The deal will further increase HQCEC's international competitiveness and aid its expansion in the world market, the company said.

Yahoo updates messenger services

International portal giant Yahoo! updated its messenger services to online surfers allowing them to have better online communications on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"We hope the free service will not only enhance communications between our users, but also bring them updated and rapid information services," said Allan Kwan, managing director of Yahoo! North Asia.

Launched in late 1999, Yahoo! China has already become one of the most popular websites in the country.

Internet airline check-in

US Northwest Airlines said it has launched a comprehensive self-service programme by extending its nwa.com check-in service to Beijing and Shanghai.

The service allows customers to obtain their boarding pass and check-in over the Internet.

"No airline has leveraged technology to serve and empower travellers like Northwest," said Phil Haan, executive vice-president of international sales and information services.

Northwest is the first airline to offer this innovative service across nearly all of its global network.

SHANGHAI

Best Employers named

The Best Employers in China 2003 have been identified through a recent study conducted by global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm, Hewitt Associates, in partnership with Harvard Business Review China.

According to the study, the top 10 best employers in China are The Portman Ritz-Carlton (Shanghai), UTStarcom (China) Co Ltd, Microsoft (China) Co Ltd, Yue-Sai Kan Cosmetics Ltd, Novozymes (China) Investment Co Ltd, Novo Nordisk (China) Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd, PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co Ltd, Intel Products (Shanghai) Ltd/Intel (China) Ltd, Agilent Technologies (China) and Johnson & Johnson Medical (China) Ltd.

GENEVA

WTO Doha deadline demanded

The heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday urged the 146 members in the World Trade Organization (WTO) to stick to an end of 2004 deadline for the conclusion of the Doha round of trade liberalization talks.

"We do think that trade and the successful outcome of the Doha round is a key, possibly the key to build confidence in the global economy," IMF managing director Horst Koehler said here.

The top IMF official warned that UN poverty reduction targets set for 2015 would not be met without an opening of agricultural markets, a key element on the Doha round.

PARIS

Air France ready for sell-off

The French state air carrier Air France will be ready for privatization in early September, group executive director Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said here on Tuesday.

"We are ready for an operation that could get underway in early September," he told reporters.

He said a decision on privatization would be made by the state, which he noted "has indicated several times that it would take account of market conditions."

BEIJING

Gas supply

China's largest refiner, Sinopec, has kept May gasoline exports largely steady from April despite falling domestic demand due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), as plants cut production rates, Chinese oil officials said on Tuesday.

They said refiners were also holding stocks for wholesale distributors, who have brimming tanks due to the sharp drop in retail sales as people avoid travel because of SARS.

"The Beijing headquarters asked plants with extra space to store the oil to ease swelling stocks in the distribution sector," said a Sinopec regional sales official.

Profits up

Kingdee International Software Group Ltd said yesterday its net profits in the first quarter to March rose to 4.721 million yuan (US$568,790) from 3.403 million yuan (US$410,000) compared to the same period last year.

Sales rose to 78.528 million yuan (US$9.46 million) from 51.611 million yuan (US$6.22 million), while pre-tax profits increased to 4.995 million yuan (US$601,800) from 4.103 million yuan (US$494,330).

Refinery deal

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) beat US-British Petrofac to win a contract to build a refinery and drill for oil in Adrar, Algeria, which has significant oil and gas reserves, according to the Algerian state-owned gas and oil company Sonatrach.

CNPC will build the refinery in the central part of the OPEC-member country along with Sonatrach, but it will be responsible for 70 per cent of the project's US$350 million financing required.

The Adrar reserve has 600 million barrels of oil and 100 billion cubic metres of gas and covers 40,000 square kilometres, Sonatrach said in a statement.

Sales grow

China's Sina.com sales are continuing to grow at double and even triple-digit rates, despite the threat to advertising and game revenue if the SARS epidemic is not curbed, its chief financial officer said on Tuesday.

Charles Chao saidthat Sina, China's biggest Internet media company, was standing by sales and profit growth targets despite slowing overall growth in China's economy.

"Our advertising will probably grow year-on-year by 40 per cent. Non-advertising will probably be up 100 per cent year-on-year," Chao said. "Currently, we will stick to that guidance."

SHANGHAI

Shares bought

The World Bank's International Finance Corp (IFC) said yesterday it will buy 1.22 per cent of Minsheng Bank for US$23.5 million and may buy more shares in China's lone private bank, although it had no firm plan to do so.

Minsheng is set to win its first influx of foreign capital, with shareholder Orient Group Inc, run by Chinese tycoon Zhang Hongwei, planning to sell 40.99 million shares to the World Bank's private sector financing arm, pending approval.

Local banks are seeking capital to improve services and compete in a freer market since the country joined the World Trade Organization, while overseas institutions have shown interest in tapping China's US$1.2 trillion in personal savings