Biz scene
BIZ MOVES
Kingsoft CEO
Qiu Bojun has formally been named as CEO of Kingsoft Co Ltd.
Qiu has been working as deputy CEO of the group since Kingsoft's former CEO and president Lei Jun resigned due to health problem last December.
He graduated from the National Defense University of Science and Technology with a bachelor's degree in information management systems. He has been working for Kingsoft since 1988.
Alibaba appointment
Alibaba Group has appointed Shen Jianming as vice-president of the communications and operations department of its Yahoo China-Koubei company.
Shen previously worked as operating vice-president of Yahoo China Mail.
China-Koubei came into operation following a merger between Alibaba's two subsidiaries, Yahoo China and Koubei.com.
IBM man joins SAP
SAP, the world's leading business software provider, has announced the appointment of Timothy Cheung as the general manager of its Chinese operation.
The former IBM vice-president of Greater China worked in IBM's sales, marketing and technology departments in senior management roles.
He replaces SAP's Northern China president, Ji Bingmeng, who had been acting as deputy general manager in China over the last four months.
MARKET
Share buyback
Livzon Pharmaceutical Group Inc, a Chinese drugmaker, announced plans to buy back Hong Kong-dollar-denominated shares, possibly establishing a method for Chinese companies to merge their hard-currency and yuan stock.
The company, based in Zhuhai, Guangdong, will spend as much as HK$160 million to buy back about 10 million B shares, according to a Shenzhen Stock Exchange filing yesterday.
Livzon's board approved the plan, and is now subject to a shareholders' vote scheduled for June 20.
Crane stake
CITIC Capital Holdings Ltd, partly owned by China's biggest State investment company, said it has bought a significant interest in crane maker Fushun Excavator Corp.
Fushun Excavator exports 60 percent of its products overseas to India, the Middle East and the US, CITIC Capital said in a press release.
Fushun Excavator, based in Liaoning province, is the nation's biggest maker of crawler cranes, a type of lifting machinery that uses track belts to move around on building sites.
Truckmaker takes debt
Beiqi Foton Motor Co plans to buy an affiliate's factory for 9.3 million yuan to ensure supplies of minibuses and minivans.
The truckmaker will also take on 498 million yuan of debt from Beijing Foton Environmental Protection Dynamics Co as part of the deal, it said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange statement.
The plant, which currently makes View minibuses and MP-X minivans for Beiqi Foton, has a capacity of 100,000 vehicles a year.
BIZ UNUSUAL
Baby food restaurant
Every baby has to be weaned at some point, after which mothers face the difficult challenge of ensuring the babies are supplied with sufficient nutrients to stay healthy.
An ablactation restaurant, providing alternative food for babies, that has opened in Nanning, Guangxi, goes a long way in helping the mothers in that.
The restaurant's owner, Xiao Dong, said the menu is designed to meet the needs of growing children and worked out by nutritionists.
Animal heaven
Li Jianzhong, an animal lover, has opened a burial service company for pets.
The company looks for graveyards, lays the pet out after cleaning its body, and during the funeral sprays petals and releases fireworks in memory of the pet.
The company also films the funeral, providing the mourners with a copy.
It sets up a gravestone and decorates the deceased tomb with flowers, and plants trees to help the environment.
The price of the service ranges from 500 to 1,500 yuan. The owner has made 300,000 yuan within six months.
Pet designs
Zhang Lin, a tailor for pets in Shenyang, Liaoning province, is offering a wide range of products for pet owners that wish to keep up with the latest fashion trends.
According to Zhang, owners buy clothes for pets that match their own interests and personalities.
Young men interested in war and weapons choose camouflage coats, while some girls are interested in Chinese traditional Qipao, evening dresses or wedding gowns, for their pets.
Pets need a raincoat for the summer and a down jacket in winter, said one customer who has spent 150 yuan for the two garments. Prices of the garments range from 30 to 200 yuan.
GRAPEVINE
Plane order
China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) has taken firm orders for 30 of its MA60 turboprop planes this year as airlines seek more efficient aircraft to help cope with rising fuel prices, the South China Morning Post reported.
The MA60 order backlog will rise to 158 units from 128 this year, with an additional 40 purchase options, it said.
HK listing
Jinduicheng Molybdenum Co, Wise King Mining and about eight other metals and mining groups want to list shares in Hong Kong in the coming year, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified industry sources.
Most companies have assets in China and about half are in talks with Hong Kong's stock exchange for a waiver from listing rules that require a three-year earnings and management track record, the report said.
Jinduicheng Molybdenum has approached investment banks about adding a Hong Kong listing, the report said.
Bangladesh mobile deal
Huawei Technologies Co won an order to supply about $500 million worth of mobile-phone network equipment to Bangladesh's Grameenphone Ltd, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unidentified sources.
The equipment will help upgrade Grameenphone's networks to enable the Bangladeshi mobile phone carrier to offer third-generation services, the report said.
LOCAL
TV for Tibetans
Qinghai province has allocated a total of 130 million yuan to a special fund that started in 2003, in an effort to develop TV and broadcasting industries in the Tibetan-inhabited areas of the province.
The fund has been used to support movie-playing project for Tibetans, translation of Mandarin TV series and movies, and purchase and maintaining TV and radio facilities in the areas. Radio coverage has reached 88 percent of the province, while television covererage 93.5 percent.
(China Daily 06/06/2008 page15)
