BEIJING

Power stake sold

German engineering conglomerate Siemens and Hew, a unit of Swedish electricity firm Vattenfall, have sold a combined 40 per cent stake in a Chinese power plant to a firm owned by China's Huaneng Group and CITIC Group for US$168 million.

Huaneng, the parent of Hong Kong listed Huaneng Power International Inc, and CITIC signed the agreement last week to take the stake in the power plant with two 660-megawatt coal-fired units in North China's Hebei Province.

SHANGHAI

Payment grows

Shanghai's international payments topped US$200 billion in 2004, up nearly 50 per cent over the previous year and making up 17 per cent of China's total.

Preliminary statistics provided by the Shanghai branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange show that the current account made up more than 85 per cent of Shanghai's total international payments in 2004, whereas capital and financial accounts together accounted for 15 per cent.

The foreign exchange regulator said both merchandise and service trades maintained rapid growth, and direct investment took a significant share in the city's capital account.

International payments have been rising at approximately 40 per cent annually in China's largest metropolis during the past three years and foreign exchange regulators predict it will continue to grow this year.

Steel maker's statement

Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Group Corp, the parent of Shanghai-listed Baosteel, said its steel output reached 21.38 million tons last year. The group is the first Chinese steel maker to produce an annual steel output of more than 20 million tons.

The group, China's biggest steel maker, said its sales exceeded 160 billion yuan (US$19.3 billion) last year, up from 120.4 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) in 2003.

A-share proposal

Chinese glass maker Zhejiang Glass Co Ltd said yesterday it planned to tap the mainland market by issuing yuan-denominated A shares to fund expansion plans.

Trading in Zhejiang Glass shares in Hong Kong was suspended yesterday morning pending an announcement on the A-share proposal, a company executive said.

But he declined to disclose the planned size of the share issue.

GUANGZHOU

Insurance approval

Allianz Dazhong Life Insurance Company Ltd announced yesterday that its Guangzhou branch office had received final approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and finished all legal application procedures, allowing the company to start insurance business in the Chinese market.

Allianz Dazhong Guangzhou branch has introduced a team of financial planners to the local market. Offering a wider service than insurance agents, financial planners provide professional advice to clients - from finance and insurance to wealth management for all stages of the clients' life.

Ong Pin Hean, general manager of Allianz Dazhong Guangzhou branch said they had imported Allianz's AAA Training system for local personnel in the China market.

XI'AN

Renminbi service

Hong Kong-based Bank of East Asia has received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to conduct renminbi business in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The bank's Xi'an branch becomes the first overseas bank to do renminbi business in the country's western areas. It will provide renminbi services for enterprises, institutions and overseas individuals.

Insurer to repay buyers

VGZ, a Dutch health insurer, said it will this year begin reimbursing customers who buy Becel Pro-Activ cholesterol-lowering products made by Unilever, the world's largest producer of food and soap.

Consumers will be eligible for annual reimbursement of up to 40 euros (US$53.56), according to a statement on Tuesday, forwarded to press agencies by Unilever.

Reliance to explore oil

Reliance Industries Ltd, India's biggest non-state company, won the right to explore for oil and gas in a deepwater area in Oman, Press Trust of India said.

Reliance bid for three deepwater areas in Oman and won one, the report said. The exploration area in Oman is the second Reliance has acquired overseas. It owns 20 per cent of an area, known as Block 9, in Yemen, where it discovered oil last year, the report said.

Customer data leaked

Oriental Land Co, operator of two Disney theme parks near Tokyo, on Tuesday said data on holders of annual passes to the parks may have leaked.

Oriental Land said several present and past owners of passes to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea theme parks complained about suspicious calls after December 23.

On December 29, a person called the company and claimed to have obtained customer data, including names and other information, Oriental Land said.

Cola bottler makes water

Haad Thip Pcl, a Thai bottler for Coca-Cola Co, the world's largest soft-drink maker, said it has switched to producing drinking water for victims of the tsunami that devastated six coastal provinces in the nation.

Haad Thip, which has the franchise to supply Coke products in southern Thailand, has given away 20,000 cases of bottled water so far, Patchara Rattakul, an adviser at Haad Thip said.

Digital-camera sales up

Digital-camera shipments by Japanese manufacturers, which account for at least 80 per cent of the global market, gained more than a quarter in November, led by European demand, an industry group said.

Shipments by companies such as Sony Corp, Canon Inc and Olympus Corp rose to 6.78 million units in the month, up 28 per cent from a year earlier, the Tokyo-based Camera & Imaging Products Association said. European exports surged 43 per cent to 2.45 million units.

Foster's shares stopped

Foster's Group Ltd, Australia's biggest beer and winemaker, plans to stop its shares from being traded on the London Stock Exchange because a lack of interest among investors makes the listing commercially unviable.

UK shareholders will be able to sell their shares through a facility to be set up by the company later this month, Melbourne-based Foster's said yesterday.

MPF returns fall

Hong Kong's main retirement fund posted a second year of gains last year, but returns were down 53 per cent from 2003, the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association said yesterday. The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) posted an average return of 9.27 per cent in 2004, compared with average returns of 19.9 per cent in 2003. Hong Kong equity funds were top performers, registering an average return of 18.58 per cent in 2004. Bond funds performed less impressively, with Hong Kong dollar bond funds delivering average returns of 0.98 per cent and global bond funds 6.14 per cent.

Sale of 19-storey building

Property and securities investment firm Capital Strategic Investment said yesterday it has agreed to sell a 19-storey commercial building to a third party for HK$296 million.

A company statement said about HK$143.4 million of the proceeds would be used to repay a bank loan and the remainder would be used for general working capital. The property, located at Chatham Road South in tourist and shopping district Tsim Sha Tsui, covers a total floor area of 47,793 square feet.

Property deals up 41%

Total Hong Kong property sales and purchase agreements jumped 41.4 per cent to 123,480 in 2004 from the previous year as the city's real estate market recovered from the SARS epidemic, the government said yesterday. The Land Registry said the value of these agreements totalled HK$351.79 billion in 2004, up 85.7 per cent year on year.

Chevalier in Shenzhen JV

Engineering and property investment company Chevalier International Holdings said yesterday it has agreed to set up a property joint venture on the mainland with total investment of up to 125 million yuan (US$15.1 million). Chevalier said in a statement it will own 46 per cent of the venture, with the remaining 54 per cent to be held by a Chinese partner, Shenzhen Golden Peak Investment Development.

Conch to buy out unit

Chinese cement producer Anhui Conch Cement said yesterday it will buy the remaining 49 per cent of cement and clinker unit Shuangfeng Conch Cement from Anhui Province Development & Investment for 131.3 million yuan (US$15.9 million). Hong Kong-listed Anhui Conch said the purchase would be paid out of working capital and it will hold 90 per cent of Shuangfeng Conch on completion of the deal, while its wholly-owned Anhui Huaining Conch Cement will hold 10 per cent.

(China Daily 01/06/2005 page10)