IN BRIEF

Energy

PetroChina in talks to buy Valero's refinery

Oil and gas producer PetroChina Co is in talks to buy Valero Energy's shuttered refinery in Aruba, sources said, the latest move by China's oil giants to take advantage of a global refining downturn to beef up supply.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Valero said it had received a non-binding indication of interest for the 235,000 barrel-per-day Aruba plant for $350 million plus working capital, but did not identify the interested party.

Sources familiar with the negotiations said the approach had been made by PetroChina. It was the second time in two years the Chinese company had discussed the purchase of the plant, which is located near Venezuela, China's fourth largest crude supplier, sources said.

Deals

GE to buy 15% stake in XD Electric Group

General Electric Co said it will buy a 15 percent equity stake in China XD Electric Group, the country's leading electricity transmission and distribution equipment maker, for about $535 million and will partner with XD to provide technology to build and upgrade electrical systems.

GE, which is expanding in China as the growing middle class requires more electricity, said the companies will deliver electric transmission and distribution and grid automation solutions to customers globally.

The joint venture gives GE access to "primary" equipment such as large transformers and breakers that modify and switch power within the grid, Bob Gilligan, president and chief executive officer of GE's digital energy business, said.

Bright to buy 60% of Weetabix

Bright Food Group Co, China's second-largest food maker, has agreed to buy a controlling stake in British cereals maker Weetabix Ltd, the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company in the food and beverage sector.

The deal, which gives Weetabix an enterprise value (including the company's shares and debts) of 1.2 billion pounds ($1.94 billion, 1.49 billion euros), will help boost Bright Food's overseas sales to as much as 30 percent of its total within five years

The Shanghai-headquartered company will acquire 60 percent of the shares from private equity firm Lion Capital LLP, owner of Weetabix, according to a joint statement from the companies.

Auto

Toyota April sales up 68% in China

Vehicle sales by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp and its two local joint-venture partners in China rose 68 percent in April from a year earlier to about 81,700 vehicles, according to a company spokesman.

During the first four months of the year, the Japanese automaker sold a total of about 293,200 vehicles, a 14.3 percent increase from the same period last year, said spokesman Takanori Yokoi.

Yokoi said the large year-on-year jump in April sales was due chiefly to the fact that sales during April last year were comparatively low because of the massive earthquake on March 11. The earthquake and tsunami paralyzed production of key components and affected Toyota's vehicle production around the world, including China.

Car sales stay on road to recovery

China's passenger vehicle sales in April maintained the recovery pattern of the previous two months, easing industry worries about this year's outlook.

A total of 1,150,850 cars, sport utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and minivans were sold in April. That figure was down 9.3 percent from March but up 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the China Passenger Car Association said.

Sales gains in three consecutive months "proved that China's vehicle market has already recovered from a recession at the end of last year", said Rao Da, secretary-general of the association.

Finance

London Metal Exchange to expand

The London Metal Exchange, the biggest marketplace for industrial metals that's set to consider takeover offers, wants to expand its warehouse network into China, the largest user of base metals including copper.

The exchange licenses a network of more than 600 storage sites around the world where users can deposit metals, within Asian locations in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Metals demand in Asia will continue to expand, Martin Abbott, chief executive officer, said.

Engineering

GEA linking up with China Triumph

Engineering firm China Triumph International Engineering Co will team up with German chemical giant GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft in Yancheng, Jiangsu province on a long-term basis.

The move is expected to make both companies more competitive in the cement industry and pave the way for joint exploration of Chinese and global markets. GEA reported revenues of 5.4 billion euros ($7 billion) in 2011.

Appliances

Lenovo takes on Apple with smart TV

Lenovo Group Ltd, the largest PC maker in China by sales, launched its first smart TV on May 8 in Beijing, hoping to take market share away from traditional heavyweights in the sector such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.

Lenovo, a name generally not associated with TVs, launched the ideaTV K91, the company's first smart TV, which uses Google Inc's Android 4.0 operation system, an even newer operating system than Google's TV.

Lenovo CEO and President Yang Yuanqing said that in the future, PC companies would be unable to survive by just producing computers.

China Daily-Agencies