What's news

Economy

World Bank pares 2014 outlook

The World Bank has lowered its forecast for China's economic growth this year to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent, taking into account soft data on industrial output and exports in the first two months of the year, the multilateral organization said in a report on April 7.

It has maintained its 2015 forecast at 7.5 percent.

The bank said: "While the growth rate of industrial production has slowed, and exports contracted in the first two months of 2014, the trend is nevertheless strengthening, and we expect quarterly growth to rise at midyear as external demand from the high-income countries solidifies."

Some analysts have said that the Chinese economy probably began to rebound in March, although first-quarter growth may fall though the government's "bottom line" of about 7.5 percent. These analysts estimated first-quarter GDP growth at 7.2 to 7.4 percent.

Retail

Marks & Spencer adjusts China operations

British leading retailer Marks & Spencer Group Plc is revamping its China operations to boost flat sales, a plan that means closing two to five stores in Shanghai while opening new stores in Beijing and Guangzhou and enhancing e-commerce operations on leading retail website Tmall.

"We continue to review the shape of our existing store portfolio and may relocate a couple of our existing supporting stores in the Shanghai and surrounding area to open our new flagship stores in cities like Beijing and Guangzhou," the company said on April 8 in response to queries from China Daily.

"We expect this to be around two to five store relocations, but our ambition is to still have 15 owned stores complemented by stores with our local partner and an online presence."

Auto

China auto sales rise 9% in March

China's passenger vehicle sales rose 9 percent year-on-year in March, driven by delayed new model launches ahead of the Beijing auto show and a rush to buy before curbs were introduced by the Hangzhou government.

There were 1,588,792 cars, sport-utility or multi-purpose vehicles and minivans sold in March, figures from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Tuesday. Sales in the first three months of 2014 increased 9.5 percent to 4.6 million vehicles, despite a weak February owing to the weeklong Spring Festival holiday.

"Passenger vehicle sales dropped a bit in the first week of March," said Rao Da, the association's secretary-general. They "gradually picked up until the boom in the final week when the Hangzhou government announced the purchase restrictions for new vehicles in the city".

Bolt defect prompts BMW to recall sedans

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, which counts China as its biggest market, said it would recall 232,098 vehicles in the country for a defective bolt design. BMW will recall 138,534 imported sedans, while its Chinese joint venture will call back 93,564 vehicles, according to a statement posted on the China General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine website.

Technology

Nokia sale of unit to Microsoft approved

The Ministry of Commerce on April 8 agreed to conclude an antitrust investigation into the sale of Nokia Corp's devices and services division to Microsoft Corp, paving the way to boosting the two companies' business and sounding the alarm for Chinese smartphone makers.

The deal, announced in September, received approval from the European Commission, the United States Department of Justice and other jurisdictions, and is expected to close later this month.

Regulatory approval from China for the merger has been regarded as a critical final step.

ZTE hopes to ring up sales in Europe

Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp, the world's fifth-largest maker of telecom equipment by sales, is looking for double-digit growth in terms of revenue in Europe over the next five years, according to Xiong Hui, senior vice-president of ZTE.

After entering the European market in 2002, ZTE experienced a rough start, gaining few contracts in the first few years. But the company sped up its expansion in 2008 after securing mobile phone orders from such leading carriers as Vodafone Group.

Xiong said ZTE has achieved fast annual growth in Europe, where its annual revenue rose to a record 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) in 2013, with telecom equipment sales contributing about 60 percent and the mobile phone business accounting for the rest. The company expects a 50 percent rise in revenue this year, Xiong said.

Shipping

Maersk charts new course in China

Maersk Line, the container shipping unit of Denmark's Maersk shipping and oil conglomerate, is speeding up plans to offer a wider range of services in China because more Chinese companies are keen to move to emerging markets to benefit from booming bilateral trade, preferential trade tariffs and investment opportunities.

Jens Eskelund, managing director of Maersk China, said China will continue to grow and with it also the composition of its foreign trade. Growth in trade with mature markets in the United States and European Union is modest, while trade with new markets in Africa and South America is surging.

Company

Imax sells 20% of its China business

Imax Corp, the world's leading giant-screen theater operator, plans to sell a 20 percent stake in its Chinese business to two China-focused investment companies in an $80 million deal to pave the way for expansion and an anticipated initial public offering in the China market, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on April 8.

Richard Gelfond, chief executive officer of Imax Corp, said in an interview that China Media Capital, an investment fund launched in 2009, and private-equity firm FountainVest Partners would pay $40 million each to purchase 10 percent of the stake by early 2015, said the report.

The investors will help to pave the way for a public offering of shares of the China operation - Imax China Holding Inc - in the next five years, said Gelfond.

Aviation

Boeing 787-9 to make first China flight

Boeing's newest medium-sized 787-9 Dreamliner is to make its first flight to China in November. It will fly on Air New Zealand's Shanghai-Auckland route and join the fleet in mid-2014, the airline's China office said in a statement.

Trade

China starts importing corn from Brazil

China has allowed imports of corn from Brazil from the start of this month, Chinese quarantine authorities said on Tuesday. The government of Brazil flagged the move late last year, but the start date was not revealed at that time. "China is adding more supply origins to meet growing demand in the long term," said an industry analyst with an official think tank. "Brazilian supplies can be very competitive with those from the United States."

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 04/11/2014 page18)