What's news

Companies

Fonterra brings expertise to formula firm

New Zealand's Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd, the world's largest dairy exporter, will form a partnership with Hangzhou-based Beingmate Baby & Child Food Co Ltd to tap the lucrative formula retail market in China.

Fonterra said it will invest $514 million in the arrangement to create "a fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate to China's consumers", using Fonterra's milk pools and production sites in New Zealand, Australia and Europe.

Fonterra will soon issue a partial tender for up to 20 percent of its partner's Shenzhen-listed shares.

Lenovo arm lines upcandidates for shares

The Lenovo Group Ltd startup fund that backed iDreamsky Technology Ltd through its United States initial public offering in August said it has three more candidates that are almost ready for share sales. LeFund, a $100 million (76 million euros) investment fund Lenovo set up in 2010, has so far invested in 30 companies, of which iDreamsky was the first.

Economy

Over 100 Chinese firms take part in S. Africa fair

More than 100 Chinese companies attended the four-day Interbuild Africa 2014 fair that ended in Johannesburg on Aug 23, with many returning home with useful business leads, the fair's organizer and exhibitors said.

"The show was a success and we are getting positive feedback from exhibitors and visitors. Many exhibitors confirmed that they got many trade leads from serious people," said Andrea Muller, the public relations manager of the show's organizer Write Scene.

Michalel Liu, a manager with Zhejiang Mingshi Piping Systems, a gas and pipe supplier, told Xinhua that he got some leads and would be making a follow up on them.

Liu said he wishes that the bond between Chinese and South African companies can grow even stronger, with the Chambers of Trade and Industry in both countries playing a bigger role.

Trade

Export growth outstrips national average

Exports from Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, reached 28.34 billion yuan ($4.61 billion) in the first seven months of 2014, up 35.7 percent year-on-year, customs officials in the city said. The growth rate was 34.6 percentage points above the national average. Exports of private companies reached 15.08 billion yuan, up 78 percent. Exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations totaled 4.82 billion yuan, up 1.2 times from a year earlier.

China's pork productsheading to Russia

Chinese pork products will replace banned pork exports from the West, which are unlikely to win back their place in the Russian market even if the present ban is lifted, according to Russia's meat products watchdog.

Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance said "the Russian government now is actively cooperating with China's veterinary authorities on pork supplies from certain highly integrated Chinese enterprises".

Aviation

AVIC takes flightin Cambodia

Cambodia made its biggest international order of the Chinese MA60 Modern Ark twin turboprop aircraft on Aug 21 after the newly launched Cambodia Bayon Airlines signed a contract to buy 20 MA60s with Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group, part of China Aviation Industry Corp.

The contract provides for all 20 aircraft to be delivered within five years and to be operated by Bayon Airlines for domestic business.

Starting in December, Bayon Airlines plans to open routes from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, then gradually open express routes between other major Cambodian cities, to become the second company with the right to fly domestic routes in Cambodia after Angkor Air.

Technology

Beijing, Hebei team upfor cloud computing

The information technology authority of Beijing municipal government has signed a partnership agreement with its counterpart in Hebei province to build a cloud computing industrial park in Zhangbei county, where the largest data center in the region is expected to be set up and offer services to the capital's high-tech firms.

The industrial park in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, will offer cloud computing services to high-tech companies in Beijing, notably those in the city's high-tech Zhongguancun Science Park.

HP recalls laptop power cords over burn risks

Hewlett-Packard Co is recalling more than 6 million personal-computer power cords in the US and Canada, citing reports of overheating and melting units. The cords, distributed with Hewlett-Packard and Compaq notebooks and related products, were sold from September 2010 to June 2012, the Palo Alto, California-based company and US Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.

Industry

City moves give fillipto construction firm

China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd said first-half net profit rose 34.4 percent to 11.8 billion yuan ($1.92 billion; 1.46 billion euros) even though real estate sales plunged from a year earlier. The company said urbanization would continue to underpin earnings, although risks included local authority debt, which could cut land finance, the tightening of national credit policy and an uncertain regulatory environment.

Investment

Shanghai FTZ eases approval process

Foreign-funded enterprises will no longer have to get government approval for some investment proposals in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. Wang Shouwen, assistant commerce minister, said the move, a part of the government efforts to encourage foreign investment, will be extended to other regions in China gradually.

Auto

BYD posts lower profit on business weakness

Electric car producer BYD Co, listed in Hong Kong, said that net profit decreased 15.5 percent year-on-year to 361 million yuan ($58.7 million) in the first half of this year. The profit decline was "mainly because of the decrease in the traditional automobile business", the Shenzhen-based carmaker said in a statement. Turnover increased 4 percent to 25.2 billion yuan.

Pair form allianceto trade used cars

China Grand Auto Service Co Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Hangzhou to develop a used car online to offline trading platform. This is another step for Alibaba in the vehicle business after it moved into new car sales and vehicle financing, the Shanghai-based National Business Daily said. The platform is similar to the new car e-commerce sales model. Consumers can bid online and pay a deposit.

More funds set asidefor charging stations

The government is considering providing as much as 100 billion yuan ($16.3 billion; 12.3 billion euros) in funding to build more charging stations and spur demand for electric vehicles, two people familiar with the matter say. Increased state funding would help carmakers struggling with consumer resistance over the price, reliability and convenience of electric vehicles.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/29/2014 page18)