What's news

Aviation

Ambitious air park taking off in Hubei

Aviation Industry Co of China is poised for a boom in general aviation. In fact, it has been tapped to build China's first general aviation complex.

The AVIC Airpark will cost about 10 billion yuan ($1.62 billion) and is set to be completed by 2019 in Jingmen of Hubei province, according to a statement from the Beijing-based aviation conglomerate.

Work on the 2,800-hectare complex will start this year, the company said, adding that a 1,800-meter runway will be constructed, and an existing one will be extended to 800 m.

The complex will include aircraft hangars, pilot training schools, aeronautical service facilities, fliers' clubs as well as aviation museums.

Himalayan Airlines to start operations

Himalayan Airlines, a company set up by China's Tibet Airlines and two Nepali companies, is scheduled to launch its maiden flight on Oct 28, its Chinese shareholder said on Aug 20. The joint venture will launch direct flights from Katmandu to Lhasa and Katmandu to Chengdu using aircraft including Airbus-319 and Airbus-320.

Resources

Zijin Mining seeks metals in Africa

Zijin Mining Group Co, China's biggest gold miner by value, is looking for acquisitions in Africa, Chief Executive Officer Wang Jianhua said. Zijin has allocated 4 billion yuan ($650 million) to 8 billion yuan for acquisitions this year, Chief Financial Officer Hongying Lin told reporters in Hong Kong on Aug 18 while discussing the company's first-half earnings. Zijin will seek overseas financing for purchases, she said.

The mining company is looking to buy gold projects with more than 100 metric tons of reserves and copper projects with more than 1 million tons of reserves, Chairman Chen Jinghe said in March.

Company

Nuclear firm to set up acid plant in Namibia

China General Nuclear Power Holding Corp, the country's biggest producer of nuclear energy, will start building a sulfuric-acid plant next month at its Husab uranium mine in Namibia. The facility will have capacity to produce 1,500 metric tons of acid daily, or about 500,000 tons annually.

ZTE's overseas business gains momentum

Telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp on Aug 20 posted a record first-half net profit thanks to improving margins in its global business and revenue from new contracts to build China's next-generation telecom network. The Shenzhen-based company said its first-half net profit rose 263 percent year-on-year to 1.13 billion yuan ($184 million), up from 310 million yuan a year earlier.

Auto

Private cars can't use apps for services

Transport authorities in Beijing issued new rules on Aug 13 that ban private car owners from using car-booking apps to offer pickup services for passengers. The regulation issued by the transportation management bureau of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport stipulates that only licensed companies, owning the vehicles they use, can use the car-booking apps to offer chauffeur services. The regulation is expected to change the business model of companies that use owner-drivers rather than using their own fleet of cars or team up with car rental companies.

Lower domestic sales hit Geely growth in first half

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd on Aug 20 posted a 20 percent fall in first half net profit, hit by slowing sales at home as local brands fall out of favor and a drop in exports to major markets in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Geely, whose parent company owns Swedish carmaker Volvo, said net profit fell to 1.11 billion yuan ($180.6 million) for the January-June period from 1.398 billion yuan the same period a year ago.

Healthcare

Incentives may boost local medical devices

The government may offer incentives to encourage hospitals to use domestic medical devices as it looks to stimulate the local market and reduce soaring healthcare costs, a potential threat to the global companies that currently dominate the sector. China will work to "effectively control unreasonable increases in the cost of medical care and reduce the burden on patients," the Ministry of Health said in a statement posted on its website on Aug 18.

The backing for domestic devices is likely to raise protectionism concerns. It also may pose a challenge for global companies attracted to China by annual growth rates for the industry that McKinsey & Co has forecast at about 20 percent during the next few years.

Trade

Cotton imports decline in July

China imported 280,300 metric tons of cotton in July, down 17 percent from the same period of last year, the China Cotton Association said on its website on Aug 19, citing customs data. However, the imports jumped 28.4 percent from the previous month. Last month, average import prices of cotton gained 2.4 percent from the previous month to reach $2,183 per metric ton. In the first seven months of the year, the country's cotton imports slumped 39.1 percent year-on-year to 1.68 million tons.

Retail

Sun Art Retail store sales dampened

Sun Art Retail Group Ltd, China's largest hypermarket operator, said same-store sales growth for 2014 will not increase for the first time in six years due to a slower economy and the government's anti-corruption measures. The expiration of Chinese subsidies for energy-saving electrical devices also affected sales, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Patrick Paufichet said on Aug 14.

Retailers in the world's second-biggest economy have been grappling with a slowdown as the property sector has weakened. Spending by government officials and businessmen on luxury items and liquor has also plunged as the country has been pursuing an anti-corruption campaign.

Finance

Stimulus predicted after credit plunge

China's plunge in credit expansion last month and an unexpected slowdown in investment spending have flashed warning lights on growth that investors and economists bet will spur policymakers to expand stimulus measures.

Barclays Plc is forecasting two second-half interest-rate cuts, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd said a reduction in banks' reserve requirements is imminent. China will keep "reasonable and appropriate" growth in money supply and credit while maintaining a "prudent" monetary policy stance, the State Council said in a statement published on Aug 14. "The top concern right now is to make sure the economy can be reasonably smooth in its growth, rather than controlling the risks," said Li Daokui, a former central bank academic adviser.

Energy

Retail gasoline, diesel prices drop

The National Development and Reform Commission announced on Aug 18 that the retail price of gasoline would be cut by 190 yuan ($31) a metric ton and that of diesel by 185 yuan a ton as of Aug 19. It was the sixth oil product price cut this year, and it works out to 0.14 yuan a liter for gasoline and 0.16 yuan a liter for diesel.

China Daily-Agencies

( China Daily Africa Weekly 08/22/2014 page18)