What's news

Company

DHL to double its investment in China

DHL Supply Chain, the world's largest contract logistics service provider, is investing another 113 million euros in China to further develop its business, after enjoying steady double-digit growth.

The new investment, added to an injection of 105 million euros in 2013, brings its total commitment in the country to 218 million euros, making the market one of its most important globally.

Oscar de Bok, chief executive officer of DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific, said that by 2020 DHL expects to have set up another six logistics centers in China.

Sinopec launches in Cameroon

Chinese conglomerate petroleum Sinopec has set up shop in Cameroon after earlier undertaking oil and gas exploration in the country through a subsidiary, Addax Petroleum.

Sinopec, the largest oil and gas group in China, will now trade under the name Sinopec International Petroleum Service Corporation Cameroon Ltd, and is based in the country's economic capital, Douala.

Addax Petroleum has been drilling in the country's Mokoko Abana field in recent years and says it now produces 18,500 barrels of oil a day. The company says the oilfield, which has been tapped for about 30 years, has about 130 wells, 90 still in production.

Addax Petroleum says that among the reasons that drilling in the field has been successful is that the company has increased production and reduced operating costs.

China to empower Kenyan communities

Chinese telecommunications giants, ZTE and Huawei, on Nov 20 announced a new partnership with Kenyan grassroots organizations to promote girl child education, female entrepreneurship and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Kenyan First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, witnessed the signing of the agreement between Kenyan civil society organizations and Chinese firms to advance sustainable development in the east African nation.

"For the past 50 years, relations between Kenya and China have spectacularly blossomed and the benefits are visible across all human endeavors," Margaret said.

Chinese firms have rolled out robust corporate social responsibility projects to tackle poverty, illiteracy, disease and environmental depletion in Kenya.

Research

Bio-safety laboratory opens in Sierra Leone

The President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, has broken ground on a bio-safety laboratory donated by China aimed at testing bacterial and other fungal diseases.

Speaking before turning the sod on Nov 25, Koroma said: "We are witnessing today the nucleus for our own center for disease control." He said he hopes it will "serve not only Sierra Leone but the entire sub-region".

China has committed not only to providing medical personnel for the laboratory but also to train local staff to eventually take over, he said.

Sierra Leone has been hard hit by the outbreak of Ebola this year.

Infrastructure

China signs contract to build railway line

China and Nigeria have agreed to build a railway along Nigeria's coast that will cost $12 billion, China's largest overseas project.

China Railway Construction Corporation signed the contract with Nigeria's Ministry of Transport.

The coastal 22-stop railway, which will stretch for 1,400 kilometers, will link Nigeria's economic capital, Lagos, in the west with Calabar in the east.

Trains will travel at 120 kilometers an hour, China Railway Construction Corporation says.

Telecom

Voices are silenced, and revenue falls

Business revenues in China's telecommunications sector fell 4 percent to 89 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in October.

Revenue growth in the period January to October also slowed. Total revenue was 975.5 billion yuan, 4.7 higher year on year, but the growth rate fell 0.9 percentage points compared with that of the first three quarters, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

The slowdown was mainly due to falling revenue from voice services, which dropped 4.5 percent year on year, the ministry said. The fall in short messaging services business, as a result of competition from messaging services provided by Internet firms such as Tencent's WeChat, had affected revenue, it said.

Imports

Steel stocks head up in sluggish market

Stockpiles of imported iron ore at 33 major Chinese ports rose 0.78 percent over the week ending Nov 24 following a week of low demand.

Iron ore inventories at the 33 ports rose 0.82 million tons to 106 million tons, according to the Xinhua-China Iron Ore Price Index.

The price index for iron ore imports of 62 percent purity fell from the previous week to 71, and the index for iron ore imports of 58 percent purity fell 63.

The imported iron ore price is likely to continue falling, the report said. It attributed the fall to steel firms' wariness about buying in a sluggish steel market.

Energy

Hydro station relievespower deficit

Tibet's largest hydropower station has become partly operational, harnessing the rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo River to develop the electricity-strapped region.

The first generating unit of the 9.6 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) Zangmu Hydropower Station, which is positioned over 3,300 meters above sea level, went into operation with five other generating units due to be completed no later than next year.

The huge project, which straddles the middle reaches of the roaring Yarlung Zangbo River, will have total installed capacity of 510,000 kilowatts when it is completed. It is designed to generate 2.5 billion kW hours of electricity a year.

Tibet's per capita electricity consumption last year was slightly more than 1,000 kWh, less than one third the national average.

Procurement

Military contractsopen to private firms

The People's Liberation Army is inviting private enterprises to bid on its training-related contracts, an unprecedented move to optimize the military budget and boost participation of the private sector. PLA General Staff Headquarters recently published 108 military items for "advanced training technologies and equipment", encouraging private companies to take part in their research, development and manufacturing. The move indicates that the military is moving away from a monopoly of state-owned defense contractors in training logistics and lowering the eligibility threshold for military procurement, PLA Daily reported.

Real Estate

Wanda set to expandluxury hotel business

Dalian Wanda Group is expanding its luxury hotel business, planning to open more than 150 premium hotels worldwide by the end of 2018.

The markets targeted include Australia, Europe and the United States, the group said.

Wanda Hotels & Resorts Co Ltd was founded in 2012 with the goal of becoming China's preeminent global luxury hotel brand. It owns and manages hotels under three names, Wanda Realm, Wanda Vista, and Wanda Reign. The company said that by the end of this year it will own 71 luxury hotels in China.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/28/2014 page18)