IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Futures trading hours to be cut in 2016

China will cut trading hours for stock-index futures contracts next year as the authorities step up measures to limit volatility in the nation's financial markets after a $5 trillion rout.

Trading in the morning session will start 10 minutes later, at 9:25 am, starting in January, in line with the cash market, while the afternoon session will end at 3 pm, 15 minutes earlier, the China Financial Futures Exchange said in a statement. The change will affect futures contracts linked to the CSI 300 Index, CSI Smallcap 500 Index and the Shanghai Stock Exchange 50 A-Share Index.

Shengda defaults on its onshore bond

A Chinese pig iron producer said it missed a bond repayment, becoming at least the seventh firm to renege on obligations in the local note market this year.

Sichuan Shengda Group Ltd missed the full 21.75 million yuan ($3.4 million; 3.1 million euros) in interest due Dec 5 on its 7.25 percent 2018 notes, because of a cash shortage, according to a company statement on Dec 7. It also failed to repay the full 300 million yuan of principal on the bonds that holders opted to sell back early on the same day.

Electric car sales to reach 250,000

China is forecast to become the world's biggest electric-car market this year, with sales estimated at 220,000 to 250,000 vehicles, Xinhua News Agency reported on Dec 6, quoting the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Worldwide electric-cars sales are expected to increase to 600,000 this year, the association's deputy secretary-general Xu Yanhua told an industry conference. China's e-car industry is developing rapidly, but quality and not just quantity should be the focus for growth to be sustainable, Xu said.

Nan Fung Group sells shares at premium

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Ltd said members of Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd sold shares in the Chinese developer at HK$5.05 (65 US cents; 60 euro cents) a share, a premium to the closing price on Dec 4. Nan Fung reduced its stake to less than 5 percent in Sino-Ocean, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Closely held Nan Fung, based in Hong Kong, did not disclose the amount of shares it sold. Nan Fung sold 1.54 billion Sino-Ocean shares, according to the local Ming Pao newspaper.

Authorities relax QFII regulations

China has relaxed rules on how foreign investors can use their quotas for investing in its domestic capital markets, making it easier to transfer funds between products, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The country's dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program was created to allow foreigners access to China's capital markets.

MCC merges with China Minmetals

Metallurgical Corp of China Ltd has merged with China Minmetals Corp to become its wholly owned subsidiary, according to an announcement by the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on Dec 8. Founded in 1982, MCC is a state-owned enterprise based in Beijing under the direct supervision of the SASAC.

High-tech exports to see strong growth

Japan's dominance in Asia's high-technology exports has been broken by China, according to the Asian Development Bank. China's share of Asia's exports of high-tech goods such as medical instruments, aircraft and telecommunications equipment rose to 43.7 percent in 2014 from 9.4 percent in 2000, the bank said. Japan's share slid to 7.7 percent last year from 25.5 percent in 2000.

Entertainment firms expand partnership

Imax Corp, Imax China Holding Inc and South Korean entertainment company CJ CGV announced on Dec 8 an expansion of the companies' partnership with the addition of 25 new Imax theaters in China. The theaters will be installed in new construction projects, most of which are located in first- or second-tier cities across the Chinese mainland.

China-produced Buicks to be sold in US market

General Motors Co will start selling the Buick Envision sport utility vehicle in the United States next year, the first time it will offer a China-produced model in its home market. Sales of the SUV, which is made only in China, will begin in the US in the summer, according to GM's Shanghai-based spokeswoman, Irene Shen.

The model is built at its joint venture plant with SAIC Motor Corp in Yantai, Shandong province. GM said it was not economically feasible to produce the Envision in a second location as it expects China to be the largest market for the model, accounting for more than 75 percent of sales.

Hanergy plans sales of hydropower stake

Hanergy Holding Group Ltd, the Beijing-based parent of Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd, plans to sell some hydropower assets and stakes in its solar unit to a single buyer, Chinese news portal The Paper reported.

A state-owned company discussed the purchase with Hanergy Group, which proposed selling a 15 percent stake in Hanergy Thin Film, The Paper said, citing anonymous sources. Hanergy Group declined to comment.

Steelmakers likely to face 'painful' reform

China is ready to pull the plug on more loss-making steel plants starting next year as a growing service economy and aging workforce ease the restructuring of heavy industry, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

A slump in prices and deepening oversupply will drive a wave of debt defaults in industries from steel and coal to metals and cement, analysts from the bank, including Yan Yan and Christina He, said in a note.

Twin FTAs set to come into effect on Dec 20

South Korea and China have agreed to implement their bilateral free trade agreement and reduce bilateral taxes from Dec 20, the Ministry of Commerce said on Dec 9. At the same time, a bilateral free trade agreement between Australia and China also comes into effect with reduced taxes on Dec 20. There will be a further tax reduction related to both deals on Jan 1, 2016, it said.

Credit risk seen rising with slowing economy

China's corporate bonds will face increased pressure next year, with a rising number of failures and a worsening economy pushing up yields and credit premiums, according to some of the nation's top brokerages.

"Default risks of corporate notes will certainly rise in 2016, and investors' risk preference will turn lower compared with the past couple of years," said analysts led by Shanghai-based Chen Kang at SWS Research Co, a unit of the Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co brokerage.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 12/11/2015 page18)