IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Alibaba buys 20% stake in Suning

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Aug 10 that it will spend 28.3 billion yuan ($4.56 billion) for a 20-percent stake in Suning Commerce Group Co Ltd in a deal that allies the e-commerce giant with the leading electronics retailer.

Consequent to the deal, Alibaba will be Suning's second-largest shareholder with a 19.99-percent stake. As a further sign of the two firms integrating their online and store-based shopping businesses, Suning said it would invest 14 billion yuan to acquire a 1.1-percent stake in Alibaba.

In a joint statement released by the two companies, they said the alliance will allow them to combine Alibaba's online strength with Suning's offline resources and enable consumers to have better shopping experiences.

Act against negative perceptions, bank advises

The African Export-Import Bank said negative perceptions about the economic environment in Africa are a key factor hurting the flow of external investment, according to a statement released on Aug 8.

African governments as well as other stakeholders need to fight to correct such perceptions to attract capital to the continent, according to Denys Denya, the bank's executive vice-president in charge of finance, administration and banking services.

Perceptions often do not reflect the true situation and should be challenged with positive information, he said.

Kenyan lender starts telemedicine service

Kenya's Commercial Bank of Africa has joined with local mobile firm Safaricom to offer more than 30 million Kenyans medical consultation services on their phones.

Under the partnership launched on Aug 11 in Nairobi by Kenya's First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, service provider Hello Doctor will act as an assistant to local general practitioners when consumers want a quick healthcare reference.

Given the Swahili name Sema-Doc (Hello Doctor), the new service enables patients to consult directly with doctors and other health providers, possibly get a quick diagnosis, and receive prescriptions without necessarily visiting the hospital in all cases. The Hello Doctor app works on both smartphones and selected basic phones.

Morocco hosts business aviation fair

Morocco will host what it is billing as the first business aviation fair in North Africa in September, the Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics said on Aug 10.

This two-day international event is scheduled for Sept 1 and 2 at the Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca.

It will bring together more than 50 companies and encourage more foreign investment in the aviation sector.

Morocco's National Airports Authority will provide the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association with exhibition space of 93,600 square meters to display more than 25 aircraft.

Kenya to grow as trade hub, report says

Massive infrastructure projects in Kenya and the surrounding area should make the country a hub for intraregional trade in Africa, a new study by a research firm said on Aug 8.

The study by Frost & Sullivan said projects being built and planned for East Africa are set to create unique opportunities and open new markets in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

"Transport infrastructure has undergone major upgrades over the past five years in order to support the high trade demand in the East African region," said Frost & Sullivan senior economic consultant Craig Parker in the study.

The projects are expected to result in both shorter freight delivery times and lower transportation costs, boosting regional trade.

Wanda to continue shift focus from property

Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest commercial property developer, is continuing to shift its business focus to e-commerce, finance, tourism and movies, founder and chairman Wang Jianlin said on Aug 10.

"In 10 years, there will be no pure Internet companies or pure offline business entities," Wang said.

Wanda has plans to create its own tourism unit - Wanda Cultural Industry Group - to overtake Disney and become the world's largest tourism enterprise by scale of visitors in five years, he said.

A report last year by World Leisure Organization had Disney with nearly 130 million visitors in 2014, but it expected Wanda to achieve 200 million visitors, bringing in more than 100 billion yuan ($16.13 billion) in annual tourism revenue by 2020.

Vehicle sales fall to a 17-month low

Chinese consumers bought the fewest passenger vehicles in 17 months in July, extending a slump in the world's largest auto market as deeper discounts failed to revive demand.

Retail deliveries declined 2.5 percent to 1.3 million units, the lowest level since February 2014, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Sedan sales tumbled 14 percent, while sport utility vehicle deliveries climbed 39 percent.

Dealerships are offering incentives at an unprecedented scale to move cars off their lots, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

Yellow metal loses shine with investors

Yellow metal producers in China may see further profit erosions as gold prices are set to decline in the coming years, amid expectations of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and a strong dollar, industry experts said.

Song Xin, president of the China Gold Association, said on Aug 10 that international gold prices are seeing a down trend after the sharp drop in 2013, and it is likely to become a "new normal" for the next couple of years.

Profits of the country's 10 listed major gold miners such as Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd and Shandong Gold Group Co Ltd dropped by 12.9 percent to 6.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) in 2014, according to the association.

Consumer spending remains bullish

Consumer confidence rose by 1 percentage point during the second quarter of 2015, fueled by surging demand in rural areas, an industry measure said.

The Nielsen consumer confidence index, released by private sector information and measurement company Nielsen NV, climbed to 107, up from 106 in the first quarter, but remained at the same level compared with the last quarter of 2014.

Oliver Rust, managing director of Nielsen China, said the growth was driven by a willingness to spend by 47 percent of the respondents, a 10-percentage-point rise from the first quarter, particularly in rural parts of the country.

Youku invests $1.6bin streaming technology

Youku Tudou Inc, the Chinese online streaming site, is investing 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) into being able to stream more and better user-generated content over the next three years.

As technological advancements empower more users to produce videos, the Beijing-based company's CEO, Gu Yongqiang, said the future of the entertainment industry will center on what he called "we media", meaning that most content will come from users rather than established organizations.

To tap into this growing trend, Gu said the company will roll out plans to help grow 100 "we media" brands, each valued at more than 100 million yuan, and 10,000 others whose monthly revenues will exceed 10,000 yuan.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/14/2015 page18)