IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Aviation

General aviation 'set for takeoff'

The general aviation industry in China is poised for a boom, with the authorities encouraging its development, but the money pouring into the sector may lead to a bubble, industry experts said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the General Staff Headquarters of the People's Liberation Army jointly released regulations on Nov 18 concerning general aviation, a move that's giving a lift to these flights.

General aviation consists of non-scheduled civilian flights. Under the regulations, general aviation flights that don't affect national security will be subject to approval by the CAAC, not the military. In some cases, operators will only need to file a flight plan rather than seek specific approval.

"The regulation will improve the development of general aviation, but we are still waiting for the real opening of low-altitude airspace, which means more space for general aviation aircraft based only on filing flight plans, no approvals," said Gao Yuanyang, director of the general aviation industry research center at the Beihang University.

Tianjin to build zone for aerospace sector

Tianjin will establish an aerospace industry zone that's forecast to generate 100 billion yuan ($16.4 billion) in revenue by 2015, the municipality's economic and information commission said. The aerospace industry in Tianjin is expected to grow 38 percent annually by 2015. Companies that build passenger aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, rockets and satellites have already established facilities in the city. In the first three quarters of 2013, the output of the aerospace industry reached 24.5 billion yuan, up 41.4 percent year-on-year.

Environment

Beijing opens carbon trading market

Beijing has become China's third market for compulsory carbon trading after emissions trading debuted on Nov 28. An initial 490 companies, whose carbon emissions account for 40 percent of the city's total emissions, are included in the program, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. Companies that produce excessive emissions will be able to buy unused quotas on the market from companies that cause less pollution.

Finance

Sinopec launches 5-year syndicated loan facility

Tiptop Energy Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinopec, and Sinopec Century Bright Capital Investment have announced a five-year, $2.5 billion deal to create a syndicated term loan facility guaranteed by China Petrochemical Corp. Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, continues to see steady growth in 2013 - and higher profits - in both overseas and domestic markets, the company said. It expressed confidence that the Century Bright deal will become a landmark transaction in the syndicated loan market, and that it will serve as a model for future deals in the capital market.

Auto

Continental pushes tire production in China

Locally manufactured self-supporting run-flat tires will be available for Chinese consumers from the end of this year, according to the leading global tire manufacturer Continental Tire. The tires are manufactured by the Continental Hefei plant, located in Anhui province, with a total investment of 319 million euros ($433 million), says Jay Dhillon, general manager of the Shanghai-based branch of Continental Tires Trading Co Ltd. The plant is the company's fourth to produce SSR tires independently for the world market.

Shipping

Maritime shipping sails into agenda

Developing maritime shipping may become a national strategy in 2014, a senior government official said at a forum in Shanghai.

Song Dexing, director of the water transport department of the Ministry of Transport, said the ministry has submitted a proposal for developing maritime shipping as a national strategy for review and approval to the State Council, China's cabinet.

The Ministry of Transport has been researching the development of port hubs, improving shipping systems for commodities and cooperation between railway transport and water transport, said Song.

China's shipping industry has been suffering amid the global gloom for shipping companies since 2008.

Experts and market insiders are calling for innovative management and investment in the shipping sector to strengthen support for the real economy.

Retail

China to be world's leader in Web retail

Chinese online shoppers are placing orders that will allow the country to get a new title by the end of this year: the world's largest Internet retail market.

The value of the nation's online retail market will increase from $294 billion this year to $672 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate of 18 percent, said Forrester Research Inc, a United States-based consultancy.

The US - currently the largest Web retail market - is expected to spend $262 billion on online shopping in 2013, said Forrester. The world's largest economy will see demand for online retail jump at an annual growth rate of about 10 percent until 2017, boosted by a strong economic rebound, it added.

Although the turnover of the consumer-to-consumer market in the US, which is not significant, was not included, it's clear that the size of China's online retail market is shooting past that of the US, said Zia Wigder, co-author of the report.

By the end of 2014, the number of online buyers in China is set to surpass the total population of the US, said Forrester.

Single men pay the most for online videos

A report by Xunlei Ltd's kankan.com, a leading online video platform in China, showed that about 90 percent of the platform's paying subscribers are male. Men are more willing to pay to watch movies and other video content online than women, the report said. Of these male subscribers, single men who spend most of their free time at home are the largest group of subscribers to kankan.com. More than half of its paying subscribers spend more than 30 yuan ($4.90) every month watching online videos, said the report released on Nov 29.

Economy

Urbanization drive could be expensive

The urbanization process in China will cost at least 80 trillion yuan ($13.1 trillion; 9.7 trillion euros), according to a researcher from the Ministry of Finance. Jia Kang, chief of the research institute of the Ministry of Finance, suggested that the government and private sector should work more closely together through a public-private partnership model to facilitate efficiency and professionalism in urbanization. The population of city residents in China has surpassed 50 percent of the total population. However, those registered as permanent urban dwellers (holders of hukou) make up just 35 percent of the population.

China Daily Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/06/2013 page18)