IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Finance

Gold shines more brightly still

Gold consumption in China, the world's largest user after India, jumped 26 percent in the first three months of 2013 from a year ago amid strong bullion sales and rising jewelry demand, the China Gold Association says. Total consumption reached 320.54 metric tons in the first quarter, the association said. Purchases of gold bars surged 49 percent to 120.39 tons, while jewelry gained 16 percent to 178.59 tons, it said. Gold output in China, the world's largest producer, gained 11 percent in the same period to 89.91 tons, the association said.

With $2.5b investment, M&A deals halved

Sixty-five deals were completed in the Chinese mergers and acquisitions market last month, with investment of $2.5 billion, down 50.8 percent year-on-year, a report by Zero2IPO Group says. The report said the fall came because fewer overseas M&A deals were made last month compared with April last year. The property sector continued to be popular for M&A deals, with nine completed over the month. In the first quarter, 25 deals were made in this sector, making it the most active.

Investment

Elevator firm Kone on the up and up

The Finnish elevator company Kone has opened its largest manufacturing plant to date in Kunshan, Jiangsu province. China is by far the single biggest market for new elevators and escalators. With such demand, the world's top eight elevator and escalator makers are following Kone's entrance into China, and the industry is forecast to supply 4 million units to meet market demand in 2015.

McDonald's to open 200 more cafes

McDonald's Corp, the world's biggest restaurant chain, says it will open at least 200 McCafes in China this year.

The value of coffee sales in China reached 6.25 billion yuan ($1 billion) in 2011, up 20 percent from a year earlier, the market research firm Euromonitor International says.

Yum says it is clean in mutton scandal

Yum Brands Inc said its roughly 450 Little Sheep hot pot restaurants in China are not involved in a fake mutton scandal that is the latest tainted food saga to rock the country that is the fast-food chain's largest market.

Earlier, authorities in Shanghai said they were testing mislabeled mutton from a wholesaler a government website said supplied Little Sheep and other restaurants.

Little Sheep said it gets mutton from only two approved suppliers, which it regularly audits. Its company and franchised stores are only allowed to buy from those suppliers, it said, adding that the wholesaler at issue is not a Yum supplier.

Hilton opens doors to business travelers

Hilton Group, the US-based hospitality chain, is launching a mid-scale brand called Hilton Garden Inn in China to cater to the needs of the fast-growing number of business travelers.

Francis Lee Wee-Hau, senior vice-president of Development, Greater China and Mongolia for Hilton Worldwide, said the brand will be launched in five Chinese cities of Lijiang, Chengdu, Harbin, Dandong and Huzhou and will be expanded later to more second- and third-tier cities.

The group plans to open the doors of its contemporary luxury hotel in downtown Beijing this year. It will be the company's fifth Conrad hotel in China under the Hilton Hotel & Resorts brand.

Energy

CNOOC buys LNG from BG Group

China National Offshore Oil Corporation, the country's largest offshore oil producer, says it has signed an agreement worth $1.93 billion to buy liquefied natural gas from BG Group and increased its stake in BG's LNG project in Australia.

Under the contract, CNOOC will buy 5 million metric tons of LNG annually from BG Group, starting from 2015 for 20 years.

The Chinese company will own mid and long-term LNG contracted volumes of about 21.6 million tons annually through the deal, the company says.

It will buy a 40 percent equity interest in the Queensland Curtis LNG project, increasing its equity stake from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Auto

BYD builds electric buses in California

The Chinese carmaker says it plans to open its first manufacturing plant in the Americas, in the city of Lancaster, southern California.

Stella Li, senior vice-president of BYD, said electric buses would be built there. BYD, which stands for "Build your dreams", says it aims to produce more than 50 electric buses by next year. The first 10 zero-pollution vehicles, which have already been ordered by the city of Long Beach, will roll off the assembly line next May.

Chrysler safety alert prompts car recall

US automaker Chrysler will recall nearly 4,800 vehicles exported to China to fix defective fuel tanks that could pose safety risks, China's top quality watchdog said on May 3.

The recall affects Compass and Patriot models made between Oct 18, 2011 and May 7, 2012, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said. Because of a manufacturing defect, the siphon in the cars' fuel tanks may fail to deliver fuel, causing the engine to stop in the event of high temperatures, altitude or fuel vapor pressure, said the company, which will replace the siphon free of charge, with the recall starting from July 8.

GM Cadillac plant in Shanghai approved

General Motors Co, the largest foreign car maker in China, has gained approval from the National Development and Reform Commission to build a Cadillac factory in the Jinqiao zone of Shanghai, and construction will begin next month. Dayna Hart, a GM spokeswoman, said total investment in the project will be at least 8 billion yuan and the plant will be able to produce 150,000 vehicles a year. Opening the plant will allow GM to avoid paying China's 25 percent import tariff as it seeks to bolster Cadillac sales in the country.

Armored car builder plans Chinese factory

Carat Security Group, a Belgian company that specializes in armored limousines, plans to open its first factory in China.

The company, which produces vehicles under the Carat Duchatelet and Centigon brands, has a 40-year history in the business. It has supplied vehicles to royal families in the Middle East, to African leaders, and top Western government officials, said Benoit Ceulemans, its vice-president.

In 2011 the Monaco royal family ordered its remodeled Lexus cars for the wedding of Prince Albert.

China is becoming Carat Security's most promising market, Ceulemans said.

Technology

Disagreement 'puts IBM and Lenovo talks on hold'

IBM and Lenovo have called off negotiations over a multibillion-dollar deal in which the Chinese company would have bought IBM's low-end server business, Fortune magazine cited unidentified sources as saying on May 1. Talks between the two companies were halted after disagreement over the valuation of a business that sells servers used to power corporate data centers, the business magazine cited a person familiar with the discussions as saying. The negotiations could still resume, it said.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 05/10/2013 page14)