IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Government to sell ballooning corn stocks

About 3.4 million metric tons of corn from the State reserves will be sold this week, up nine-fold from the previous week. An excess of nearly 3 million tons is from the country's four northeastern provinces, according to an official website. China began selling corn from its State reserves in April to reduce stocks that have ballooned. The government has paid farmers for their crops after they struggled due to falling international prices.

China Q2 GDP growth may slow to 6.8%

The nation is expected to see GDP growth of around 6.8 percent in the second quarter, according to a report from the State Information Center of China, the China Securities Journal reported. Consumer Price Index growth will be around 1.4 percent during the same period, as China's economy slows. But the growth rate is expected to increase to around 7 percent in the second half of the year, according to the report, due to proactive government policies. China's first quarter GDP figure was around 7 percent.

Kenya high-speed rail line on target

Construction work on a standard gauge railway line in Kenya is on target, the Chinese contractor for the project said recently, four months after it began.

China Road and Bridge Corp said it has cleared 385 kilometers of the 472 km line.

Julius Li, CRBC's manager for external relations and cooperation of the project, said CRBC has also built 443 km access roads that will facilitate the construction work.

The Chinese company has also built 40.24 km of railway subgrade. Construction work on 266 slab culverts and two frame culverts has also started.

The project that links the port city of Mombasa with the capital Nairobi is expected to finish within 42 months.

The railway line is aimed at providing efficient and cost effective rail transport for freight and passengers, a project that is to build Kenya into a competitive business hub in East Africa and beyond.

Passenger trains will have a speed of 120 km per hour while freight trains will travel at 80 km per hour.

It will take passengers four and a half hours to travel from Mombasa to Nairobi.

China to build tallest building in East Africa

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has signed an agreement with the China State Construction Engineering Corporation for a plan to build a 198-meter building for CBE's headquarters in Ethiopia, which is expected to be the tallest structure in East Africa.

CBE President, Bekalu Zeleke said the bank and the CSCEC would be committed to the success of the project as "it reflects the image of both sides".

"In terms of not only the height, but the overall quality of the building, we believe that this will be one of the best buildings in Africa," he said.

Song Sudong, general manager for the CSCEC in Ethiopia, said the company has successfully carried out such building projects in China.

"We believe this will be a new window for your country, for your city, and also for East Africa," said Song, adding the two sides could be "win-win partners" in the future with the success of this project.

New-energy vehicle review launched

The Ministry of Science and Technology announced on May 5 that it will assess the new-energy vehicle sector in Chinese cities. The review will be carried out alongside three other ministries, including the Ministry of Finance. It will focus on the number of new-energy vehicles on the road and the development of charging stations for electric cars. The review will also take in market access for Chinese and foreign auto companies, business model innovation and local government policies. The review will start on May 15 and last a month.

Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, meanwhile, plans to add 4,005 charging points for electric vehicles this year. The city's local development and reform commission said a charging service fee would be announced by the end of May. The city also hopes to have an additional 10,500 new-energy vehicles on the road this year. According to data from ctjb.cnhubei.com, there are 13 charging stations and 352 charging points in Wuhan.

Factory activity is slowing, says report

Manufacturing in China contracted at the fastest rate in a year last month, a report by banking group HSBC highlighted. The HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers Index for China's manufacturing sector in April stood at 48.9, lower than the market forecast of 49.4. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below that represents contraction. The index for overall new orders for the month slipped to 48.7, the lowest in a year.

Cinda to sell bonds to improve structure

China Cinda Asset Management Co, one of four State-owned managers of soured loans, said it will sell bonds to raise as much as 20 billion yuan ($3.22 billion). China Cinda plans to sell both three-year debt and a fixed-rate bond with a five-year term, according to a statement. The company will use the proceeds to replenish operating funds and improve its financial structure, according to the statement. The total from the planned offering would exceed the 10 billion yuan China Cinda raised last year.

Transactions in futures market soar to 1.11b

Futures market transactions rose to 1.11 billion during January to April, according to statistics from the China Futures Association. This was up 65.97 percent year-on-year, with the transaction value growing 135.09 percent to 183.88 trillion yuan ($29.65 trillion), up 135.09 percent. Rebar contracts, traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, accounted for 14.94 percent of all transactions.

Ministry of Finance to scrap fees on raw ore

The Ministry of Finance will scrap raw ore fees for metallurgical mining companies. Instead, mining companies will decide whether to collect the fees or not, cnstock.com reported on May 5. In 2004, the ministry required metallurgical mining companies to pay between 15 yuan and 18 yuan ($2.45-$2.90) for producing 1 metric ton of raw ore. The new policy will help domestic mines reduce production costs by 3 percent or 16 yuan per ton.135.09 percent. Rebar contracts, traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, accounted for 14.94 percent of all transactions.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/08/2015 page18)