What's news

Aviation

BAIC to start NZ cooperation

Beijing General Aviation Co Ltd, a subsidiary of BAIC Group, signed on March 18 cooperation agreements with New Zealand's Pacific Aerospace Ltd, an airplane builder. New Zealand's prime minister, John Key, attended the ceremony as his first stop on a visit to China.

It's a significant step for the two countries, Key said, since New Zealand does not export just dairy and lamb to China but also technology.

The China-New Zealand Aviation Industrial Park will be established in the Pinggu District of Beijing.

"The industrial park will cover the whole industry chain, from manufacture to training," Key said.

The two companies will jointly build the P-750 airplane, one of Pacific Aerospace's main models, in Beijing.

Finance ministry to aid aircraft-leasing

China will exempt stamp duty on leasing companies' aircraft purchase contracts from Jan 1 this year to Dec 31, 2018, the Ministry of Finance says. The move is aimed at promoting the healthy development of the domestic aircraft-leasing industry.

Deals

South Africa orders locomotives from Dalian

CNR Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company Ltd signed a contract to supply 232 diesel locomotives to South Africa's Transnet SOC Ltd on March 17 in Johannesburg, making it the largest single export order for China-made diesel locomotives.

It will also be the first time for China's diesel locomotives to enter South Africa, according to sources from CNR Dalian.

The narrow-gauge locomotives specially designed for Transnet have the most advanced technological level and largest power at present, CNR sources said. With power of up to 3,300 kW and a 1,065-mm gauge, they can operate alongside South Africa's existing electronic locomotives, sources said.

To date, locomotives manufactured by CNR Dalian have been exported to many African countries and regions, such as Tanzania, Zambia, Congo, Angola, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Property

Room discovered for growth overseas

Amid continued talk of a bursting domestic real estate bubble, Chinese property developers' overseas expansion has picked up steam this year.

Just during the first quarter this year, leading developers, including China Vanke Co Ltd and Greenland Group Co Ltd, announced plans to invest more than 50 billion yuan ($8.17 billion) overseas.

Greenland Group of Shanghai has been the most aggressive, having announced three large foreign investments this year totaling more than 40 billion yuan.

The company will enter three to five new markets this year, including Canada, France and Singapore, Zhang Yuliang, the chairman, said.

Tourism

UK welcome mat for Chinese tourists

The simplification of the visa process for Chinese visitors to Britain could cause spending by this consumer group in London to rise 141 percent, to 500 million pounds ($833 million) a year by 2020, a report says.

Total overseas spending in London is expected to expand by 47 percent in the same period, Marie Hickey, associate director of research at Savills, an international real estate adviser, said in the report.

"The Chinese are now the biggest-spending travelers globally, and with initiatives in place to make visiting the UK easier, the retail sector should see a positive impact over the forthcoming years, with London set to benefit the most," Hickey said.

The UK plans to make it easier for Chinese nationals to apply for visas to visit the country, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced while visiting China in October.

Culture

Policies made to support cultural trade

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has made public proposals to support cultural trade. The move is intended to boost the trade of cultural products and services, which now accounts for just a small portion of China's total trade. The government will offer incentives and reduce administrative intervention to create a favorable environment for the cultural trade.

Grand vision for the big screen

Le Vision Pictures (Beijing) Co Ltd says it plans to release 15 movies this year, with the goal of taking 3 billion yuan at the box office. Last year it released nine films, generating more than 1 billion yuan in ticket sales, and achieving third place among private movie companies in China, where national box office takings totaled 21.8 billion yuan last year, up 27.5 percent year-on-year. The company also announced its development strategy for the next three years, in which it will transform itself from a traditional movie company into an Internet company.

Finance

China and Ireland launch bilateral fund

China and Ireland have jointly invested in a $100 million fund to facilitate bilateral investment in the technology sector, as capital from Beijing continues to play a constructive role in Dublin's economic rebound.

The fund, which was launched with $50 million injections each from the China Investment Corp and Ireland's National Pension Reserve Fund, expects to attract up to $250 million, said Brendan Howlin, Irish minister of the department of public expenditure and reform.

Under the pact, the two countries' sovereign-wealth funds will finance the purchase of stakes in Irish technology companies. It is expected to be the first in a string of joint initiatives to take place between the two countries.

Giant Interactive to delist from NYSE

Giant Interactive Group will be China's first US-listed online gaming company to go private, due to its low valuation on the New York Stock Exchange in contrast to the sector's popularity in the domestic capital market.

Giant Investment Ltd will acquire Giant Interactive Group for $3 billion and take it private, the US-listed company said.

Giant Investment adjusted its offer to $12 a share, an 18.5 percent premium to Giant Interactive's closing price on Nov 22, just before Giant Investment's bid.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.

Technology

China Unicom launches 4G services in 25 cities

China United Network Communications Co Ltd, known as China Unicom, began the commercial rollout of its fourth-generation mobile network on March 18, becoming the last of the three Chinese telecom giants to offer such a service, Securities Daily reported. The report said China Unicom will offer 4G services in 25 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. It plans to expand the service to about 300 cities by the end of 2014.

Investment

Licenses granted to 50 investment institutions

The first batch of 50 institutions have received licenses to engage in securities, private equity and venture capital investments, the Asset Management Association of China announced on March 10. Of those, 33 are private securities fund managers, including Shanghai Chongyang Investment Management, Greenwoods Asset Management and Shanghai Elegant Investment.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/21/2014 page18)