What's news

Retail

WAOW Plaza finds it tough to turn a profit

China's version of London's Harrods or Paris' Galeries Lafayette, WAOW Plaza in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is said to be ending contracts with developers after suffering from extended losses, according to China Real Estate website.

Wahaha spokesman Ren Weifeng said on June 9 that he could not comment on the latest moves at the mall as the person in charge was on a business trip.

WAOW was created to sell European luxury brands well-designed but largely unknown by Chinese customers.

Group buys gadget retailer Brookstone

Brookstone Inc, the bankrupt luxury-gadget retailer, has agreed to sell its assets to a group of Chinese buyers for more than $173 million at an auction.

A company, backed by Chinese retail conglomerate Sanpower Group and Hong Kong-based private-equity firm Sailing Capital, won the auction on June 4 after Brookstone decided it had submitted the highest and best bid, said Cathy Hershcopf, a lawyer for unsecured creditors.

Starbucks to top 1,500 outlets in China

Starbucks Coffee Co is expected to open more than 300 new stores in China by the end of next year, its top executive said in Beijing. Howard Schultz, its chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the expansion will bring the company's total outlets in China to more than 1,500 stores by 2015.

Auto

Volkswagen plans 800m yuan securities issue

Volkswagen AG plans to issue about 800 million yuan ($128 million) of asset-backed securities in China as soon as this month, following similar sales by Ford Motor Co and Toyota Motor Corp, according to Fitch Ratings Ltd.

The securitized notes, due in August 2020, are backed by automotive loan receivables originated by Volkswagen Financial (China) Co, a unit of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, Fitch said.

Telecoms

China Mobile stake in Thai telecoms firm

China Mobile Ltd is set to buy an 18 percent stake in Thailand-based telecoms group True Corp in a private placement valued at around $581 million, based on the current market price, as part of the Thai group's plan to secure a foreign partner, according to sources familiar with the matter. True Corp is also expected to offer new shares via a rights issue on the basis of seven new shares for 10 existing shares, one of the sources said.

Energy

Asia-bound shiftseen in solar market

The world's photovoltaic market is shifting from Europe to Asia, with China becoming the largest market, according to the second annual Global New Energy Development Report released in Beijing.

The report is compiled by the China New Energy Chamber of Commerce and Hanergy Holdings Group Co Ltd.

Govt to shutter small coal mines

More than 2,000 small coal mines in China will be closed by the end of 2015, according to a document jointly issued by 12 departments. The country will focus on mines in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and cities, and gradually eliminate coal mines with a capacity at or below 90,000 metric tons per year.

Finance

Bank issues details of reserve ratio

The People's Bank of China has issued details for a reserve requirement ratio cut announced by the cabinet at the end of May to support smaller companies and the agricultural sector. Some reserve ratios will fall by 0.5 of a percentage point, effective June 16, the PBOC said on its website. The reduction will apply to about two-thirds of city commercial banks, 80 percent of non-county level rural commercial banks and 90 percent of non-county level rural cooperative banks.

IPO listing dates in the pipeline

Ten companies have finished all IPO procedures and are negotiating with stock exchanges about listing dates, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on June 9. The commission suspended the IPO examination and approval processes in January to improve measures for new listings. The commission said five companies will go public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with the other five listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Easing measures seen in low 7-year debt yield

The Finance Ministry has sold seven-year bonds at their lowest yield since August, after policymakers hinted at further easing measures to support the economy. The Ministry of Finance auctioned 28.03 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) of the debt at a yield of 3.87 percent on June 4, according to a statement on its website. Seven-year yields dropped 3 basis points to 3.98 percent in the secondary market, the least since September, according to ChinaBond data.

CITIC: metal reserves hit by Qingdao probe

CITIC Resources Holdings Ltd said on June 10 that metal it owns at Qingdao port may be affected by a probe into suspected fraud. "Until the status of the investigation is clarified, the company is not able to accurately assess its impact on the group's alumina and copper stored at Qingdao port or on the group itself," Chairman Kwok Peter Viem said in a filing to the stock exchange in Hong Kong.

Agriculture

Corn prices slide on talk of permit decision

The price of corn fell in Chicago on speculation that demand for United States exports of the crop will decline after China put curbs on purchases of a feed ingredient made from corn.

China suspended issuing permits to import US dried distillers' grains, an ethanol by-product, according to three trading executives whose applications were denied.

Permits were halted because the government deems the product to be at high risk of containing MIR 162, a genetically modified strain of the crop, according to the sources who asked not to be identified.

Aviation

China Southern ranksNo 3 for passengers

China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, the nation's largest airline by fleet size, carried 91.5 million passengers in 2013, ranking it third in the world, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The company ranked fifth and eighth among global airlines in terms of fleet size and freight, respectively. In 2013, it had 558 aircraft and carried 1.17 million metric tons of freight.

Technology

Shanda launches Wi-Fi router

Shanda Networking Co Ltd's smart devices arm has launched its first Wi-Fi router product in a bid to tap into China's growing smart home market.

The router, named Modou, will act as a control platform for all electronic devices in Chinese households, said Huang Dong, who is leadng the project. More than 1 million orders have been placed online, the company said.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/13/2014 page18)