IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Auto

Audi aims to expand in smaller cities

Audi AG, the world's second-largest maker of luxury cars, has forecast sales in China will increase by about 11 percent this year, driven by rising incomes and expansion into smaller cities. Deliveries should reach 450,000 units, it says.

Audi sold 405,838 vehicles last year, a 30 percent increase from the year earlier, the company says.

Car imports go into reverse

Vehicle imports slumped 10.7 percent in the first half, to 526,000 units, as slowdown in demand of the past two years drove up inventories of foreign cars.

Customs figures show that the decline was the first half-year contraction since 2006, when China implemented its World Trade Organization commitment to lower import tariffs for vehicles to 25 percent.

The figures "indicate that dealers are making efforts to ease their high inventory pressure, as imported vehicle sales in China are still increasing this year, though growth slowed from years before sharply", said Wang Cun, a senior manager of China Automobile Trading Co Ltd, the country's largest vehicle importer.

GM profits dip on Asia weakness

General Motors Co, the largest foreign vehicle producer in China by sales, posted a 19 percent drop in second-quarter profit as it spent on the launch of redesigned pickup trucks in the United States and faced increased competition and pricing pressure in Asia from strong European and recovering Japanese rivals.

Despite signs of a slowdown in China, the results announced on July 25 again showed GM benefiting from its increasing strength in the world's biggest automobile market.

It was the Detroit-based company's 14th straight quarterly profit since emerging from a government-led bankruptcy restructuring in mid-2009.

Economy

19 industries to shed capacity

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has ordered the closure of many factories in 19 industries where overproduction has led to rampant price-cuts, affirming its determination to push ahead with a painful makeover of the economy.

More than 1,400 companies in 19 industries in China have been asked to cut production capacity. Cement, steelmaking, ferroalloys, electrolytic aluminum, copper smelting, chemical fiber and papermaking are among the industries that have been asked to cut capacity.

Local governments and companies have been ordered to stop production in these industries by the end of next month. The deadline for elimination was set for the end of this year, the ministry's statement said.

Finance

Corporate tax higher than OECD average

Chinese corporate tax, at 40 percent, is higher than the average level in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance. Corporate tax in OECD countries was between 24 percent and 27 percent over the past 30 years. Japan, the United States and South Korea, on average, had a 20 percent corporate tax in the last 20 years. The report suggested that the government regulate or scrap various administrative fees for companies, expand the value-added tax reform and improve export tax rebates.

Entertainment

IMAX and Wanda to add more cinemas

IMAX Corp, the world's leading giant-screen movie theater operator, and China's Wanda Cinema Line Corp have announced they will add 40 to 45 new IMAX theaters in China.

Under a revenue-sharing agreement reached in 2011, the two companies plan to build 75 IMAX cinemas.

Wanda's lease terms for all new IMAX theaters will be extended from 10 years to 12, according to the latest agreement. It brings the total number of IMAX cinemas owned by Wanda to up to 210, making the Chinese theater chain IMAX's largest exhibition partner internationally and biggest IMAX operator.

Leyard unveils world's largest LED television

A Chinese company has released the world's largest LED TV set with one of the highest definition displays in the world. Leyard Opto-Electronic Co Ltd released the 228-inch TV set on July 25. With nearly 8.3 million pixels, it is a world leader in high-definition TV, the company said. It did not reveal the price of the massive TV. Light emitting diode TVs with 108-inch screens are priced at about 740,000 yuan ($120,600). "Sales of HD LED displays started to increase late last year and demand is set to surge in the second half of this year," said Li Jun, chief executive officer of the Shenzhen-listed company.

Retail

Alibaba e-concierge soon at your service

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to boost its presence in China's online market, and is adding services to ease consumers' daily lives, from ordering food to booking movie tickets. The company expects the new business area to become a major revenue source in the future.

Food

Yum won't chicken out from expansion

Yum Brands Inc, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, says it plans to maintain the speed of its expansion in China despite the tainted-chicken scandal.

Yum said it would open 700 eateries this year. "We have no change to this plan," said Sam Su, chairman and chief executive officer of Yum China.

Last month, the fast-food giant based in Louisville, Kentucky, said its second-quarter earnings fell 15 percent as a result of decreasing Chinese sales caused by the country's bird flu outbreak and the effects of the food safety scandal.

Energy

Coal price falls to four-year low

Thermal coal in China fell to a four-year low as industrial demand declined amid evidence the economy is slowing. Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories a kilogram at Qinhuangdao, the country's biggest shipping port for the fuel, slid to a range of 560 yuan ($91.34) to 575 yuan a metric ton on July 28, the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association reported. That was the lowest since July 27, 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prices have fallen in the past six weeks.

Metals

Steel price hurt by oversupply

Steel prices dropped further in China in June, as output continued to grow in an industry already reeling from overcapacity, according to official data issued on July 29. The steel price composite index averaged 99.15 points in June, retreating 4.45 points from a month earlier and down 16.72 points from the corresponding period last year, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/02/2013 page18)