IN BRIEF (Page 18)

New train giant makes market splash

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp Ltd started trading on the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses on June 8, becoming the world's biggest rail conglomerate in terms of market value and sales.

Shares in CRRC, a combination of previous rail giants CNR Corp and CSR Corp, immediately surged 10.02 percent to 32.4 yuan ($5.22) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, giving it a market capitalization of 742.5 billion yuan. The H shares in Hong Kong eventually closed at HK$15.68 ($2.02), up more than 4.5 percent from the last trading day before its suspension. Cui Dianguo, its chairman, said the merger had created a "model that can be replicated" in future marriages between state-owned companies.

Weak inflation fuels fears of deflation

Inflation's main gauge fell to 1.2 percent last month, lower than market expectations and down from 1.5 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on June 9.

Food prices rose 1.7 percent year-on-year in May, down from 2.7 percent in April, contributing 0.54 of a percentage point to the headline figure. Non-food CPI rose 1 percent year-on-year, compared with 0.9 percent in April.

Persistent weakness in Chinese inflation may cause deflation in the country, economists have warned, after May's Consumer Price Index retreated to a four-month low.

New five-year plan will take country forward

Drafting of the Chinese government's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), which will highlight innovative development and ecological civilization, could be completed by October, China Business News reported.

Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, and other prominent business figures are involved in the drafting process, which is believed to be focusing on economic transformation, investment and financing system reform, optimal allocation of technology resources, and modern agricultural development.

Farms will be given e-commerce platform

A national support group for farmers in China has unveiled plans to invest 6 billion yuan ($970 million) to launch an e-commerce platform for agricultural products.

Hou Shunli, an official with the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, said the alliance expects to generate between 50 billion and 600 billion yuan in online transactions involving traditional farm products, such as cotton.

Wanda crowdfunding plan for 'billions'

Dalian Wanda Group has said it plans to raise "at least several billion yuan" from investors through its first crowdsourcing venture.

China's largest commercial property developer was to become the latest major enterprise to launch such an initiative on June 12 as it attempts to finance new shopping malls in a sluggish property market.

Bank in talks with Indonesian lender

China Construction Bank Corp has entered negotiations to buy PT Bank Windu Kentjana International Tbk, sending shares in the Indonesian lender up 18 percent to a record high.

A deal would add the Chinese bank to a string of foreign companies buying into an Indonesian banking sector that is enjoying strong net interest margins compared with elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/12/2015 page18)