IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Drone maker plans large retail outlet

Chinese drone maker DJI Technology Co is opening its largest retail store in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, next month.

The 800-square-meter store will give DJI, which claims to control about 70 percent of the global drone market, a boost in the retail sector and help ward off competition from overseas players.

DJI said the store has floor space larger than the passenger cabin of an A380 aircraft.

Yantai harbor seeks African connections

Red bauxite from Guinea was unloaded at Yantai harbor in Shandong province on Nov 16, signifying a complete chain established between Yantai and Guinea. The harbor is expected to process more than 20 million tons of bauxite each year. It also aims at strengthening its ties with New Silk Road countries by receiving containers, mining products and fertilizer.

Being at a pivotal region that can radiate toward inland China, Yantai is seeking more partners and quality routes within the Belt and Road Initiative and it believes Africa is a good place to further its business.

Countries reach deal on medical research

China and New Zealand have agreed to build a biomedicine center in Auckland that will seek new treatments for diseases including cancer.

The Maurice Wilkins Center for Molecular Biodiscovery at the University of Auckland and the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health will collaborate to set up the center, which is expected to generate significant medical and economic benefits.

Insurance ties with Russia receive boost

Russia and China have signed an agreement on insurance regulations, says the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The commission and Russia's central bank will facilitate information exchange and coordination on insurance regulation, it said.

Reform body official sets out growth target

The key to doubling China's GDP by 2020 from the 2010 figure is achieving at least 6.52 percent average annual growth for the next five years, says Xu Lin, director-general of the National Development and Reform Commission's Development and Construction Office.

Speaking at a seminar hosted by Peking University's National School of Development on Nov 14, he said innovation in structural reform with a focus on property rights, state-owned enterprises and science and technology is also important.

More financial market reforms on the way

The country will modernize its financial market system in the next five years, says Pan Gongsheng, deputy head of the People's Bank of China.

At a forum on Nov 14, Pan said more financial business will be carried out to make the market more elastic. Internet financing, venture investment funds, industrial investment funds, private equity investment funds and asset management will be guided for healthy development.

Russian firm in talks on Arctic drilling

Rosneft of Russia is in talks with Chinese companies to allow them to take part in its offshore Arctic projects, the RIA news agency quoted Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky as saying. Rosneft suspended drilling in the Arctic Kara Sea last year after ExxonMobil withdrew from the project because of Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

Fiscal spending rises to support growth

China's spending surged four times the pace of revenue growth last month, by 36.1 percent from a year earlier to 1.35 trillion yuan ($210 billion; 198 billion euros), highlighting policymakers' determination to meet this year's growth target as a manufacturing and property investment slowdown weighs on the economy. Fiscal revenue rose 8.7 percent to 1.44 trillion yuan. In the first 10 months of the year, spending rose 18.1 percent and revenue rose 7.7 percent.

Offshore yuan up on help for economy

The offshore yuan advanced the most in almost two weeks as data showing fiscal spending outpaced revenue growth spurred optimism that China's leaders are stepping up efforts to achieve this year's economic expansion target. Song Yu, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, said in Shanghai that China would not let the yuan weaken after the International Monetary Fund decides on whether to include it in its Special Drawing Rights reserve currencies.

Baidu to use province's real-time traffic data

Baidu Inc, China's biggest online search company, received permission from Jiangsu province to use all of its transport data to provide real-time services. Public transport systems, traffic conditions, taxi services and road maintenance information will be covered. Baidu said it will draw on its strength in big data, cloud computing technology and mobile map services to provide useful information to Jiangsu residents.

237 projects approved in first 10 months

The National Development and Reform Commission approved 237 fixed-asset investment projects with total investment reaching 1.89 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of the year. The amount represented 4.25 percent of the country's total fixed asset investment during the period. Last month the commission approved 19 projects worth 86.4 billion yuan, covering water conservancy, transportation, technology and energy sectors.

Shanghai steel futures slump to record low

Steel futures in Shanghai have slumped to a record low as demand faltered due to slowing economic growth. May delivery contracts for steel reinforcement-bar, used in construction to reinforce concrete, fell as much as 1 percent to 1,760 yuan a metric ton on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the lowest since trading began in 2009.

New credit slows as loan demand weakens

China's broadest measure of new credit fell last month, adding to evidence that six central bank interest-rate cuts in a year have not spurred a sustained pick-up in borrowing. Aggregate financing was 476.7 billion yuan, a report from the People's Bank of China said.

Tgood's Yu becomes dollar billionaire

Yu Dexiang, chairman of Qingdao Tgood Electric Co, became a billionaire as shares of the Chinese maker of electric power stations surged in a rally that pushed China stocks into a bull market.

Yu, 50, controls 27.3 percent of the Qingdao-based company directly and through his holding firm, Qingdao Derui Investments Co. He has a fortune valued at $1 billion, after removing 52 million shares he has pledged as collateral from the calculation, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Surge in direct outbound investment

China's nonfinancial outbound direct investment surged 16.3 percent year-on-year to $95.2 billion in the first 10 months of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Nov 16.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/20/2015 page18)