IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Auto

GM sales growth accelerated in July

General Motors Co, the largest foreign automaker in China, says sales growth in the country accelerated last month as deliveries of Buick vehicles expanded at the fastest pace this year. Total sales rose 11.1 percent to 221,580 units, after expanding 10.6 percent the preceding month, GM of Detroit said on August 5. Buick deliveries jumped 26 percent to 66,208 units on the popularity of the Excelle line, and Cadillac sales surged 83 percent to 3,688, though Chevrolet fell 3.4 percent to 43,343. GM's sales have risen 11 percent this year, keeping it on track to reach its target of selling 3 million vehicles this year in the world's largest auto market.

BYD set to boost US electric bus sales

BYD Co, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese auto-and-battery maker, is seeking to increase overseas sales of its electric bus as the billionaire founder Wang Chuanfu predicts a "second takeoff" for the company this year. BYD of Shenzhen has signed contracts this year to supply a total of 35 K9 electric buses for use in public transport to the Californian cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach. It also won an order in the Netherlands, and began trials in Canada and Poland.

Fleet of LNG vehicles to rise 10-fold by 2020

The number of vehicles fueled by liquefied natural gas in China will rise 10-fold to 800,000 by 2020, according to the business researcher Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The need for LNG to power the vehicles will rise to 18 billion cubic meters, from 1.8 billion cu m last year, Neil Beveridge, an analyst at Bernstein, said on August 5. "While there are some minor government policies to encourage conversion to use LNG, we feel that one important incentive is interest-free loans for the purchase of LNG vehicles, which could be tempting given the cost savings."

Investment

Lottery site 500.com plans IPO in US

500.com, a lottery website in China with more than 15 million users, is preparing an initial public offering in the United States, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The Shenzhen company is selecting investment banks for the share sale, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified. The website may seek at least $150 million, the person said. 500.com will have to overcome diminished enthusiasm among US investors for Chinese IPOs, after accounting scandals tarnished the reputation of companies based in the country. 58.com, a Chinese local classified advertising website, plans to seek at least $100 million in a US IPO this year.

Taobao financial product platform delayed

Investment companies are likely to start selling financial products through the e-commerce platform Taobao.com before October, the China Securities Journal reported. Taobao initially planned to launch the platform this month, but negotiations between the e-commerce platform and investment companies have taken longer than expected. One of the biggest problems is finalizing a pricing system. Many fund companies have been looking to develop more sales channels beyond banks.

Property

Cheung Kong first-half profit falls 13%

Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd, the Hong Kong developer controlled by the billionaire Li Ka-shing, said first-half profit fell 13 percent after booking fewer apartment sales in the city. Net income fell to HK$13.4 billion ($1.73 billion) from HK$15.4 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement to Hong Kong's stock exchange on August 1. Stripping out gains from revaluations, profit fell to HK$11.6 billion from HK$12.6 billion. That compares with the HK$11.9 billion median estimate of five analysts. Cheung Kong, the city's second-biggest developer, and rivals are selling the fewest homes in almost five years after the Hong Kong government imposed extra transaction taxes and tightened mortgage lending to quell concerns of a real estate bubble.

Energy

Pan Pacific tips 5-year high for copper surplus

World copper supply may outstrip demand next year for the second straight year to a five-year high as mine output rises amid slowing demand from China, the world's biggest user, Japan's top producer says. Supply will exceed demand by 643,000 metric tons next year, the highest since 2009, compared with 143,000 tons this year, said Yoshihiro Nishiyama, senior executive officer in the marketing department at Pan Pacific Copper Co of Tokyo. Copper has lost 12 percent this year and inventories almost doubled as demand dropped amid slowing growth in China and Europe's debt crisis.

Electrolytic aluminum industry loses money

The electrolytic aluminum industry, which is burdened by overcapacity, lost 670 million yuan ($109 million) in the first half of the year. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it will introduce specific measures to deal with the excess capacity in the industry in the second half of this year. The industry faces three challenges, a report issued by the ministry said: overcapacity, high production costs and exports still not tailored for the sluggish global demand. The ministry predicted that prices for nonferrous materials will fluctuate at low levels with minimal profits for the next half year.

Finance

Rongsheng shares jump after bond issue news

China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, a shipyard seeking financial assistance from the government, surged the most in more than nine months after it agreed to issue convertible bonds to raise capital. The company aims to raise a net HK$1.38 billion ($178 million) from selling the bonds to Action Phoenix Ltd, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on July 31. The bonds maturing in 2016 have a coupon of 7 percent, and the initial conversion price is HK$1 a share, about 22 percent more than the closing price on Aug 1, the company said.

Technology

China: top market with infected mobile devices

China remains the top market with infected mobile devices, as more than 6.7 million mobile handsets were under malware attacks in the first half of this year, a report issued by NQ Mobile Inc says. The Beijing security software company identified 51,000 new mobile malware threats in the first half, up 189 percent year-on-year. More than 21 million mobile devices worldwide were infected during the period, the report said. The top five most infected markets this year were China (31.7 percent), Russia (17.1 percent), India (10.4 percent), the United States (6.5 percent) and Thailand (6 percent), the report said.

Activities

Forum set to explore green urbanization

The Fourth China (Tianjin Binhai) International Eco-City Forum & Expo will be held from Sept 15 to 19 in Tianjin to explore innovative ways to build ecological cities in China's urbanization drive, according to a news conference held by the organization committee on July 31. The forum, launched in 2010, will be held under the theme "Eco-cities create a harmonious future". This year's forum focuses on the topic "Eco-city construction and system innovation". The event will welcome more than 70,000 participants and visitors, including political leaders, business people and scholars.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/09/2013 page18)