IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Changyu invests in Spanish wine

Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Company Ltd, a leading winery based in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is planning to take a 75 percent stake in the Spanish wine maker Dicot Partners SL, which officials said will help the Chinese firm globalize its brand portfolio.

The company is set to spend a total 26.25 million euros ($29.5 million) on the acquisition.

The stake is being bought from Spanish firms ComercialGatar and Gestion Ganuza, both of which will be left with equal shares of the remaining 25 percent of the business.

Foreign service trade deficit rises

China witnessed a bigger deficit in foreign service trade in July compared with the previous month, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Aug 31.

The service trade deficit was 107.6 billion yuan ($16.8 billion), up from 90.9 billion yuan in June, according to SAFE.

Last month, income from trade in services stood at 116.9 billion yuan, while expenditure in service trade was 224.5 billion yuan, the data showed.

QFII quota increases to $76.7b

The outstanding amount of China's dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program had inched up to $76.7 billion as of Aug 28 from $76.6 billion at the end of July, the country's currency regulator said on Monday. The QFII program was created to allow foreigners to invest in Chinese capital markets.

BOC eyes more single-aisle planes

BOC Aviation Pte, Asia's biggest aircraft lessor, may buy more single-aisle planes as economic growth spurs travel demand.

The company, owned by Bank of China Ltd, is deciding between Airbus Group SE's A320neo and Boeing Co's 737Max, managing director Robert Martin said on Aug 31 in Singapore. The order will not be large, and there is no timeline for the purchase, he said.

Hongqiao sees price rebound in aluminum

China Hongqiao Group Ltd, the nation's biggest aluminum maker, said it expects prices to rebound in the second half of September as government support for the economy bolsters the market for metals.

The forecast follows earnings on Aug 28, which saw Hongqiao's first-half profit rise 33 percent on the year as it expanded output and benefited from falling raw-material costs. The company may post another strong performance in the second half of 2015 if aluminum prices remain around 12,000 yuan ($1,880) a metric ton, CEO Zhang Bo said on Aug 31 in Hong Kong.

Qingdao Port to get new iron ore terminal

The National Development and Reform Commission has given the green light for an ore terminal to be set up at the Qingdao Port in Shandong province, cnstock.com reported on Aug 27. The project envisages the construction of 300,000 metric ton and 200,000 ton berths for iron ore. Other supporting facilities will also be built, which will take the overall project investment to 4.37 billion yuan ($684 million).

Yantai CIMC to export jack-up platform

A Chinese firm will export a domestically developed gas compression jack-up platform to Mexico in early September. With a daily gas compression capacity of 5.66 million cubic meters, the Agosto 12 gas rig will go to the Cantarrel oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico, where it will be operated by a consortium of Mexican enterprises, according to developer Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd on Aug 30.

PBOC injects $23.4b via reverse repos

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, on Aug 30 pumped more money into the market to ease liquidity strains. The PBOC conducted 150 billion yuan ($23.4 billion) of seven-day reverse repurchase agreements, a process in which central banks purchase securities from banks with an agreement to resell them in the future. The reverse repo was priced to yield 2.35 percent, down from the 2.5-percent yield on the Sept 1 net injection of 150 billion yuan using reverse repos, according to a PBOC statement.

Norms for EV charging ports ready soon

China is expected to publish new national standards on charging ports for electric vehicles by the end of this year, Xinhua News Agency's China Securities Journal said on Aug 27. The new standards will identify more clear-cut requirements for various charging devices. The draft rules are expected to be ready by September and could be sent for regulatory review by the end of the year.

Sinopec H1 profit falls on lower crude prices

China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, Asia's biggest oil refiner, posted a 22-percent decline in profits for the first six months of the year, as the slump in crude prices outweighed the benefit of cheaper crude to its refining business.

Net income dropped to 25.4 billion yuan ($4 billion), or 0.21 yuan a share, from 32.5 billion yuan, or 0.28 yuan, a year earlier, the company said on Aug 26.

PetroChina net profit decreases 62.7%

PetroChina, the listed arm of China's biggest oil producer, China National Petroleum Corp, said its net profit for the first half tumbled 62.7 percent year-on-year to 25.4 billion yuan ($4 billion), according to a statement on Aug 27. The energy giant described the market environment as challenging due to "the intensified downward pressure on the domestic economy".

ICBC reports 31% increase in bad loans

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd reported a 31-percent increase in bad loans in the first half.

Nonperforming loans jumped to 163.5 billion yuan ($25.5 billion), the company said on Aug 27. The lender's zero profit growth in the second quarter from a year earlier, shown in an exchange filing, was partly due to a doubling of provisions for soured credit.

Cangjiang nuclear project begins test run

China National Nuclear Power Co Ltd's Hainan Energy I project, the Cangjiang nuclear power No. 1 power unit, has started test runs, according to a source with CNNP.

The nuclear power unit could greatly relieve the power shortage situation in Hainan province, according to the source. The two 650-megawatt nuclear power units of Hainan Energy I project could generate 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually when put into operation.

Experts confident on China growth

China's economy will continue to grow at an above-average rate despite market fears sparked the yuan's dip and economic policy adjustments, a research report by Argentine asset management and consulting firm Delphos Investment said on Aug 28.

The report dismissed the "panic over domestic recession" in China as "exaggerated".

"We understand the engine of the Chinese economy is changing to domestic consumption, with implications for its growth rate," the report said.

(China Daily European Weekly 09/05/2015 page18)