Briefly

Container throughput up at major ports

Container throughput at China's major ports saw upward momentum during the middle of December, data from an industry association showed. From Dec 11 to Dec 20, container throughput at China's eight key ports increased by 9.8 percent on a yearly basis, with the growth rate at Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen ports exceeding 10 percent, according to the China Ports and Harbors Association. Specifically, container throughput for foreign trade rose by 11.9 percent from a year earlier during the same period, up 7 percentage points from that posted in the previous 10 days.

Fixed-asset transport investment surges

China's fixed-asset investment in transport is expected to reach 3.42 trillion yuan ($523.47 billion) this year, according to a national transport work conference. Railway sector investments will likely reach 778 billion yuan, while that on civil aviation will hit 105 billion yuan. Road and waterway construction will take up the largest share of investments, with over 2.54 trillion yuan, said the conference.

Zuoyebang attracts $1.6b in new funding

Zuoyebang, an online education firm, which operates in the K-12, or kindergarten to 12th grade sector, said on Monday that it has raised $1.6 billion in a new financing round, underscoring how the COVID-19 pandemic has turned distance learning into a red-hot business. The new round was led by several investors including Alibaba Group, Tiger Global, Softbank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital China and FountainVest Partners. "With the new fundraising, the company will invest big on education and technology and strengthen its core competitiveness. More efforts will also be made to expand the product portfolio and drive new business engines," said Hou Jianbin, founder and CEO of Zuoyebang.

Xinhua - China Daily