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.

Gezhouba-led venture wins Angola contract

A venture formed by partners including China Gezhouba Group Corp and Boreal Investment Ltd has signed a contract worth $4.5 billion for a new hydro power project in Luanda, the capital of Angola, according to a CGGC statement. CGGC holds a 60 percent share of the venture with Boreal Investment the second largest shareholder. The project is expected to take 80 months to build and will have generating capacity of 2,171 megawatts, the statement said.

Chinese firm completes light rail power project

China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co has completed a project providing electricity to the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit in the capital of Ethiopia. The commissioning ceremony of the Gas Insulated Substation project took place on June 7 in the presence of senior government officials of Ethiopia as well as heads and staff of the Chinese company. AA-LRT is a project implemented within Ethiopia's first five-year growth and transformation plan, which ends this year.

Huawei to expand training to boost ICT

Chinese information and communication technology firm Huawei announced an expansion of its technical training program for Africa, aiming to build ICT capabilities in the continent.

The program dubbed "Seeds for the Future" will enable more than 1,000 students of ICT-related major across Africa to have access to high-level technical training in China in the next 5 years, it was announced during the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.

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.

HTC shares hit decade low

Shares in HTC Corp fell to the lowest in a decade in Taipei after the smartphone maker cut its sales forecast by as much as 35 percent and announced plans to write off NT$2.9 billion ($93 million) of impaired assets. Its shares fell 9.9 percent, the daily limit, to NT$83.60, the lowest since May 2005.

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 purchase 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.

Bank scores a first in Saudi Arabia

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, the world's biggest bank by assets, said it had opened a branch in Riyadh, becoming the first Chinese bank with a retail presence in Saudi Arabia.

The branch, opened on June 3, is ICBC's fifth branch in the Middle East, after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Kuwait, making it the biggest Chinese lender in the region, according to the bank.

Wine buffs head for Ningxia

Wine growers and industry equipment suppliers from more than 50 countries are gathering in Yinchuan, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, which is China's wine-producing region, for the three-day International Trade Show for Wine Production and Fruit and Vegetable Farming, which opens on June 10.

Agency preparing micro-grid policy

The National Energy Administration may issue a policy this year that offers subsidies for micro-grids and sets out rates for the electricity they provide, Shanghai Securities News reported on June 4.

Micro-grids are local sources of energy generation, also known as distributed generation, that are connected to the larger grid system. They usually produce energy by renewable sources such as solar.

Transport projects to be unveiled

The National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, will soon announce a new group of investment projects, China Times reported on June 4.

These projects will mainly involve transportation corridors for the Belt and Road Initiatives; transportation integration for the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province; and multi-modal transportation systems for the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

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