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Auto

Car maker may head to Saudi Arabia

Chinese battery and car maker BYD Co Ltd plans to set up a vehicle manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia to further accelerate its international expansion.

Ibrahim Qahtan, BYD's director in charge of the Middle East market, said the Warren Buffett-backed company is exploring the possibility of having an assembly plant in the country to provide vehicles and spare parts for the local market.

Once the local charging infrastructure is ready, BYD also plans to export its electric vehicles to Saudi Arabia. However, further details and the timetable are yet to be finalized, he said.

Non-auto may get approval to build cars

The state-run research center in charge of helping the government draft its automotive policy has recommended that electric-vehicle manufacturing be opened to companies other than carmakers.

The China Automotive Technology and Research Center has drafted the policy changes and proposed issuing of two to three special licenses for electric-vehicle manufacturing, said Wang Cheng, who oversees the project at the center.

Toyota's sales fall 7.6 percent

Toyota Motor Corp and its two Chinese joint ventures sold about 71,000 vehicles in China last month, down 7.6 percent from a year earlier, the Japanese automaker said on July 2. That followed a 2.7 percent year-on-year rise in May and a 12.4 percent increase in April. In the first six months of the year, Japan's biggest automaker sold about 465,900 vehicles, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier.

Trade

South African corn growers ready imports

South Africa, the continent's second-largest corn producer, is close to launching its first exports of the yellow variety of the grain to China, according to the biggest organization representing local farmers of the crop. Talks between the two countries' governments are in the final stages, Grain SA Chief Executive Officer Jannie de Villiers said. His association is liaising with South Africa's Agriculture Department. The government "is in full support of it", he said.

Gold imports fall as yuan weakens

Mainland gold imports from Hong Kong dropped in May to their lowest level since January last year as a weaker yuan curbed demand for gold in the world's largest consumer.

Hong Kong has been the main conduit for gold into the Chinese mainland, but imports are increasingly being shipped directly to Shanghai and Beijing, helping conceal the actual amount of yellow metal that enters the country. The central government does not report gold trade data.

Companies

Sugar firm to alter sales channel

The Australian unit of Chinese agribusiness Cofco Corp will stop selling sugar through an industry-owned marketing body from 2017.

The move by Tully Sugar Ltd comes after Wilmar International Ltd and MSF Sugar Ltd announced they would terminate agreements with industry-owned marketing body Queensland Sugar Ltd.

Resources

Sinopec to raise energy efficiency

China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec), Asia's largest refiner, is to invest 4 billion yuan ($640 million) this year and another 10 billion yuan next year in more than 1,000 projects to double its energy efficiency by 2025.

Chairman Fu Chengyu said that Chinese companies including Sinopec have made increasing efforts to protect the environment for sustainable development.

"Our biggest resource is conservation, which means raising efficiency is key to saving energy and cutting emissions. China's GDP will double if the country can raise its energy efficiency by 30 percent."

CNPC to open pipeline facilities

China National Petroleum Corp, the country's largest oil and natural gas producer, has approved the opening of its oil and gas pipeline facilities to third-party use, a move it said was in accordance with the nation's energy reform.

Chairman Zhou Jiping said allowing third parties to use facilities will increase efficiency in the industry, as specified under the central government's guidance on energy reform, said a CNPC statement.

The company's natural gas and pipeline subsidiaries are now preparing for the move.

Transport

Railway projects on fast track

China will spend 327 billion yuan ($52.71 billion) on 14 railway projects, the China Securities Journal reported on July 1, as the country pushes ahead in transforming its transport sector. The projects will total over 3,700 kilometers of track and will include the Ejin-Hami, Hangzhou-Huangshan and Beijing-Shenyang passenger lines, the report said, citing unidentified government officials. It did not give a timeframe for completion.

Technology

China Mobile to face 4G challenge

Competition in China's fourth-generation telecommunications market is set to heat up after the regulator awarded trial permits to local carriers on June 27.

The long-awaited permits will help the nation's two smaller carriers to challenge China Mobile Corp, the world's biggest telecom operator by subscriber numbers.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it will allow China Telecom Corp Ltd and China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd, also known as China Unicom, to test a joint 4G network in 16 cities. The cities were not identified.

Tencent expands e-finance capability

Tencent Holdings Ltd has launched securities and wealth management services on its giant live chat tool QQ, as its dips further into Internet finance.

The Shenzhen-based company has teamed up with five securities firms to offer one-stop financial services online, including setting up securities accounts, customer services and stock trading.

The five - Zhongshan Securities Co Ltd, Tongxin Securities Co Ltd, China Dragon Securities Co Ltd, Chinalion Securities Co Ltd and Guangzhou Securities Co Ltd - are the first group of securities firms to set up online finance businesses on QQ, and Tencent said more agreements with others are expected.

Satellite navigation agreement signed

China and Russia have agreed to increase collaboration over each other's satellite navigation systems to compete with Galileo of the Europe and Global Positioning System the United States.

A memorandum of understanding between the two has agreed to find synergies in space by making their respective national systems, Beidou and Glonass, more compatible and practical.

Vice-Premier Wang Yang said technology cooperation has become the main engine driving trade and investment growth between China and Russia, as well as improving their economic development.

Finance

Banks given freer rein on setting yuan-dollar rate

China decided to allow banks to set their own exchange rates for dollar/yuan deals, effective on July 2, in a bid to make the currency more market-driven. Banks can set the exchange rate for over-the-counter deals based on market demand, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 07/04/2014 page18)