What's news

Aviation

China Southern Airlines to expand fleet

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest airline by fleet size, has signed contracts with aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase of 80 A320 planes, Airbus China said here on May 17.

The order includes 30 of the existing models of the A320 planes, with price between $85.8 million and $110.1 million each, and 50 of the more energy-efficient A320Neo model, with price between $94.4 million and $120 million, Airbus China said.

The planes will be delivered to China Southern Airlines from 2016 to 2020.

According to China Southern Airlines, the deal is expected to increase the airlines' transportation capacity by 12.1 percent and help optimize its fleet structures, thus maximizing its operation efficiency and enhancing competitiveness.

Trade

Dumping charges against 2 container firms

Container makers Singamas Container Holdings Ltd and China International Marine Containers (Group) Co Ltd said United States authorities are investigating them for alleged dumping of 53-foot domestic dry containers. The alleged dumping margin is 84.07 percent, they said, while Singamas added that the US authorities had estimated it was given a subsidy rate of at least 2 percent. The US International Trade Commission is scheduled to make preliminary determinations on June 9, according to filings from the companies.

Food

Poland plans more dairy product exports

More than 60 Polish dairy products have been accredited as exporters to China and Polish food will also be allowed into the Shanghai customs-free zone, Polish Agriculture Minister Marek Sawicki said on May 19.

Sawicki said the Chinese offer could help the Polish dairy sector, after sales to Russia and Ukraine declined due to the ongoing conflict between both countries.

The minister said that within the next couple of months Polish food products would be allowed into the Shanghai customs-free zone. According to Sawicki, this will help food producers offset losses due to the Ukraine crisis.

Economy

APEC roadmap to set up free trade area

A ministerial meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has reiterated the resolution to draft a roadmap concerning the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

The annual APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which wrapped up on May 18 in China's eastern city of Qingdao, released a statement saying the move formed part of "concrete steps towards eventual realization of an FTAAP."

Gao Hucheng, commerce minister, said China will spearhead the process and a "Committee on Trade and Investment Friends of the Chair Group" will be set up to advance the process.

The roadmap is expected to be finalized within this year, the statement said.

Auto

Wanxiang to make electric cars in US

The Chinese billionaire who bought Fisker Automotive Holdings Inc plans to build a new series of electric cars in the United States. Lu Guanqiu, the chairman and founder of Wanxiang Group Corp, plans to manufacture electric cars in the US and ultimately in China. "I'll put every cent that Wanxiang earns into making electric vehicles," he said. "I'll burn as much cash as it takes to succeed, or until Wanxiang goes bust."

Finance

Weaker yuan may boost exports

The yuan declined for a third day on May 19 on concerns that the People's Bank of China, the central bank, prefers a weak currency to stimulate growth in exports and the economy. Exports rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier in April, compared with a 6.6 percent drop in March. The yuan has fallen 2.9 percent this year, the worst performance in Asia, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The currency declined 0.06 percent to close at 6.2374 per dollar in Shanghai on May 19.

Retail

Vipshop enjoys robust first quarter

New York Stock Exchange-listed Vipshop Holdings Ltd, China's leading online discount retailer for brands, saw its first-quarter net revenues rise by 125.9 percent year-on-year to reach $701.9 million, according to the company's first quarter filing. The number of Vipshop's active customers increased by 165.1 percent to 7.4 million. It had totaled only 2.8 million during the same period last year.

Property

Sunac outlines acquisition plans

Sunac China Holdings Ltd says it plans to buy as much as 30 percent of developer Greentown China Holdings Ltd. Sunac, a Tianjin-based luxury-homebuilder partly owned by buyout firm Bain Capital LLC, is in discussion with Greentown's three shareholders, including Chairman Song Weiping and Chief Executive Officer Shou Bainian, according to two statements from the companies to the Hong Kong stock exchange on May 22. No agreement has been signed, they said.

Energy

Coal output slides in April

Coal output in China fell to 301 million metric tons in April, down 1.3 percent over the corresponding period last year, industry portal coalstudy.com said, citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Output during the first four months of the year reached 1.18 billion tons, down 1 percent from the corresponding period in 2013, it said.

Resources

Iron ore prices seek lower levels

Prices of iron ore slipped below $100 a metric ton for the first time in almost two years on speculation that weaker housing conditions in China will dampen demand and worsen the global seaborne glut. Ore with 62 percent content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin fell 2.2 percent to $98.50 on May 19, according to The Steel Index Ltd. The commodity has declined 27 percent so far this year, after falling 7.4 percent last year.

Metals

Aluminum glut worries trade

Aluminum factories in China are rolling more metal into shapes for beer cans and cigarette packaging, maintaining an eighth year of surplus even as producers from Alcoa Inc to United Co Rusal curb output. China, which accounts for half of the world's aluminum, will produce 2.5 million metric tons more than it uses in 2014, exceeding the 2 million tons of capacity cuts elsewhere since 2013, investment bank global financial services firm Morgan Stanley said in a recent report.

Minerals

Hongqiao eyes bauxite mine in Africa

China Hongqiao Group Ltd, the nation's largest non-state aluminum producer, is in talks to buy a bauxite mine in Africa to secure raw materials. "We are looking to lock up resources in Africa and may make some concrete progress over the next six months," said Christine Wong, head of corporate finance at Hongqiao. The Chinese company is seeking bauxite supplies after Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, banned exports of unprocessed ore in January.

Agriculture

Record grain harvest likely this year

China will post another bumper grain harvest this year, after subsidies and other incentives encouraged farmers to expand acreage for the crops, according to forecasts by an official think tank. The expected strong harvest has led to a lower estimate for imports amid a record level of stock and moderate growth in consumption, said the China National Grain and Oils Information Center.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/23/2014 page18)