IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Suppliers hitting the gas

China's battle against air pollution has had an unintended consequence: a shortage of heating fuel supply is affecting many northern cities this winter, boosting domestic prices for natural gas to a three-year high.

Fuel shortage triggers jump in coal prices

China's thermal coal prices jumped recently as natural gas shortages across the north spurred an unexpected resurgence in demand for coal-fired power.

LNG imports expected to surge

China, already the third-largest LNG buyer worldwide after South Korea and Japan, is about to become an even bigger player in the market as the country's demand for natural gas continues rising sharply.

Bailian builds e-commerce platform

An online e-commerce platform for commodity trading that aspires to become an internet-based information and transaction hub with a trillion-yuan ($151 billion) in target was established in Shanghai on Tuesday, making it one of the first to offer customized real time information services for the trade.

PetroChina plans major international expansion

BEIJING - PetroChina's oil and gas trading arm aims to buy petrol stations and fuel storage facilities, setting up business in West Africa, Brazil and Pakistan in a major global expansion aimed at taking on international rivals, according to three senior oil industry executives briefed on the plans.

CSRC takes more steps to curb fraud

China's top securities watchdog on Tuesday vowed a tougher crackdown on fraudulent initial public offerings following the opening of a trial involving the first Chinese company forced to be delisted from the stock market over IPO fraud.

'Coins of the realm' losing their luster

When was the last time you saw a yifen or a 1 cent coin? Probably years ago, as today they are rarer than giant pandas.

Designing the past, present for the future

For coin designers, bringing innovative ideas to life takes talent and years of training.

Cashless society almost a reality across the globe

The slow death of the humble coin has become a global phenomenon.

Fintech opens new vistas for buyers

Financial technology, or fintech, is offering automobile buyers new purchasing experiences in the form of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, face recognition, intelligent risk control etc, and the technology is expected to reshape the whole industry in the coming decade, a new report said.

China emerges at high-tech frontier

BEIJING - China's transition - from a country that follows the world's technological trends to one that sets them - is no longer a blueprint. It's a reality. After years focusing on innovation, China caught up fast. From artificial intelligence and genetic engineering to mobile payments and bike-sharing, Chinese firms are pulling ahead of their rivals.