BMW car sales up 30%

BMW, the world's largest premium car maker, said yesterday it sold 30.4 percent more cars on the mainland in the first three quarters of 2008 compared with a year earlier.

Sales for January to September came to 47,342 cars, up from 36,300 a year earlier.

Sales of BMW cars rose 29 percent to 44,980, including 25,026 BMW 3 Series and 5 Series cars made in China. Sales of Minis jumped 65.9 percent to 2,362 cars.

BMW sold a total of 54,465 vehicles on the mainland, in Macao, Taiwan and Hong Kong, during the period, up 26 percent from a year earlier.

ZTE tenders suspended

Norwegian telecoms group Telenor said it has suspended Chinese telecoms equipment maker ZTE from tenders for new business for six months after it breached its code of conduct.

"We have suspended ZTE from participating in tenders and new business opportunities for a period of six months ending March 3 next year," Telenor spokesman Dag Melgaard said yesterday.

"The move is based on a breach of Telenor's code of conduct in relations to a procurement process," he said, declining to give further details about the incident.

Melgaard said the move covered "all of the Telenor group and all its operating companies worldwide".

ZTE's spokesman said he was unaware of the situation but would make checks and respond if needed.

Dongfeng Motor sales fall

Dongfeng Motor Group Co, China's third-largest automaker, posted a rare monthly sales decline in September, as stricter emission standards continued to hurt truck sales.

It moved 85,729 vehicles in September, down 1.66 percent from a year earlier, it said in a statement on Monday.

Sales of commercial vehicles fell 33.06 percent year-on-year to 18,461 units last month, but passenger car sales rose 12.88 percent to 67,268 units, outperforming a 1.44 percent slip in China's overall car market. A Dongfeng executive blamed the weak truck sales last month on the introduction of Euro III emission standards on July 1, which spurred customers to make purchases before then.

HK dollar rangebound

The Hong Kong dollar edged higher against the US dollar yesterday, while most local interbank interest rates remained high as nervousness in lending persisted.

The local currency was up 0.03 percent compared with late Friday trade in Asia, after shuffling between 7.7950 and 7.7597/00 on the day.

A dealer said banks were still cautious about lending amid the global financial turmoil.

Reuters

(HK Edition 10/14/2008 page2)