What's news

Trade

Exports lift gloom over growth

China's trade surplus climbed to a record level in August, as exports rose nearly 10 percent on the back of increased shipments to the United States and Europe, and imports fell for a second month as a slump in property sales hurt domestic demand.

Exports increased 9.4 percent from a year earlier, the Beijing-based customs administration said, compared with a 9 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. Imports dropped unexpectedly by 2.4 percent, leaving a trade surplus of $49.8 billion.

Aluminum exports reach new high

Aluminum shipments from China climbed to their highest levels in three years last month, while steel product exports rose 26 percent year-on-year, amid domestic oversupply and improving world demand. The country exported 390,000 metric tons of aluminum and 7.76 million tons of steel in August, the General Administration of Customs revealed.

Aluminum shipments, up 22 percent from the same period last year, were the highest since July 2011. Exports have been rising as domestic prices remain below world levels.

Garment exports drop as demand weakens

Exports of garments from China have slowed significantly this year as weak demand and rising costs hit the industry.

The value of China's garment exports gained 5.79 percent year-on-year to $100.23 billion during the January-July period, retreating 7.71 percentage points from the rate seen in the same period last year, according to figures released at a leading industry forum in Xinjiang.

Chen Dapeng, deputy head of the China National Garment Association, said competition from neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia had pushed down demand for Chinese products, while rising costs and insufficient re-sale value had also made them less attractive.

Finance

Argentina, China discuss currency swap

Argentina's central bank chief Juan Carlos Fabrega met his Chinese counterpart on Sept 7 to discuss a currency swap between the nations believed to be worth billions of dollars.

The Argentine monetary authority said the swap will allow the Latin American country to bolster its foreign reserves or pay for Chinese imports with the yuan at a time that weak export revenues and an ailing currency have put its foreign reserves under intense pressure.

The Argentine La Nacion newspaper reported its government would receive a first tranche of yuan worth $1 billion before the end of the year.

Security fund for trust industry

China plans to establish a security fund for its trust industry, which has about $2 trillion under management, as repayment risks accumulate, the China Business News reported. The fund, to be established by the China Trustee Association and its members, will monitor industry risks and participate in the disposal of assets and restructuring of trust companies that are closed or suspended, the newspaper said, citing people it did not identify. Premier Li Keqiang is trying to sustain economic growth while containing financial stress after the nation's loosely regulated shadow-banking system started growing in 2010.

Retail

Beijing luxury apartment sales surge

Price cuts helped sales of Beijing luxury apartments soar 62 percent month-on-month during August, according to Yahao Real Estate Service Corp.

Vice-general manager Ren Qixin said that monthly sales of luxury apartments in the first seven months averaged 100 units, compared with 200 to 300 units for the whole year previously, suggesting pent-up demand. That demand "is about to be released as prices continue to fall. Some projects with low prices and good quality are becoming popular," Ren said.

Companies

Tencent moves into healthcare

Tencent Holdings Ltd has invested $70 million in an undisclosed minority equity stake in DXY.cn, China's largest online healthcare service community, in a deal expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Tencent's president Martin Lau said the company has been closely following the healthcare sector and identified DXY as an industry leader.

"Tencent is capable of connecting DXY's talented pool of healthcare professionals and their medical knowledge database with tens of millions of users," Lau said. "This improves the ease with which our users can access healthcare information and professional medical help."

Technology

Samsung, UnionPay launch new services

China UnionPay and Samsung Electronics have launched security chip-based mobile payment services for customers.

Starting later this month, users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note3 cellphones series will be able to download an instant payment product from UnionPay to link their phone with banks.

UnionPay cardholders can also pay for ticket bookings, cellphone recharging and other daily consumption items by waving their Samsung cellphones in front of a China UnionPay "flash payment" point-of-sale terminal.

Juice-maker targets Chinese forces

China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd expects sales to rise at least 10 percent in the second half as it expands at home and abroad, and seeks to supply China's 1.5 million-strong military.

Executive Vice-President Yu Hongli, who takes over as chief executive officer next month, confirmed the company's sales force is currently targeting the army.

Deals

Rostec, Shenhua sign coal contract

Rostec, the Russian state-owned industrial conglomerate, has signed a $10 billion contract with China's Shenhua Group Corp Ltd to explore coal deposits in Siberia and the far east of Russia.

CEO Sergey Chemezov said the project will include the exploration of the Ogodzhinsky coal mine and construction of a coal terminal at Port Vera near Cape Otkytiy in the Primorsky region.

Other construction projects, such as railways and highways, a power plant and high-voltage transmission lines to China, also were part of the agreement, he added.

"The project will solve the problem of power shortages and meet the electricity demand of both Russia's Amur region and China's northern region," Chemezov said.

BP, CNPC raise stakes in Iraq's Rumaila oilfield

British oil major BP Plc and China National Petroleum Corp have increased their stakes in Iraq's Rumaila oilfield, in a move viewed as strengthening their commitment to the venture, a senior Iraqi oil official said on Sept 7.

Under the revised plan, BP has also cut the planned output target for the field to 2.1 million barrels per day from 2.85 million bpd, and extended the life of the deal, BP and Iraqi officials said.

The original contract had BP holding a 38 percent stake in the venture, while CNPC had a 37 percent share and Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization controlled the rest. According to the revised deal, BP's share rose to 47.6 percent and CNPC's to 46.4 percent.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/12/2014 page18)