IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Cosco sole bidder for Piraeus Port Stake

Greece's privatization agency board said on Jan 14 that Chinese shipping giant Cosco was the only confirmed bidder for a binding stake in the country's biggest harbour, but it had asked Cosco for an improved financial offer which it would consider during the next week. The announcement is the latest move in the long-delayed sale of a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port Authority SA, where Cosco already runs container operations at two piers.

FAW plans to build cars in Pakistan

China FAW Group Corp, a Chinese partner of Volkswagen AG, plans to start assembling cars in Pakistan to tap growing demand and boost the South Asian economy. The company aims to sell 10,000 vehicles, including vans, cars and pickups, in 2018 after it begins local assembly of the V2 hatchback at the end of this year, Hilal Khan Afridi, chief executive officer of Al-Haj FAW Motors, said in an interview in Karachi. Al-Haj FAW is the Chinese group's local venture and began selling imported V2s a year ago.

China probes feed imports from the US

The country will launch a one-year probe into US imports of a major animal feed ingredient, after Chinese ethanol producers claimed that the US ethanol industry is unfairly benefiting from subsidies. China will conduct an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into imports of US distillers' dried grains with or without solubles starting Jan 12, the Ministry of Commerce said. China is the world's top buyer of DDGS, a byproduct of corn ethanol that is used by feed mills as a substitute for corn and soybean meal.

Interbank gold trading to boost liquidity

China has launched interbank gold trading, part of a broader drive to open up the country's bullion market and increase financial investments in the world's largest consumer of the precious metal. The trading mechanism, introduced by the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the China Foreign Exchange Trading System, aims to "boost interbank gold trading liquidity and promote price discovery".

More institutions get nod for forex market

The government has allowed a second batch of foreign institutions to enter China's interbank foreign exchange market, the country's central bank said. Six central banks and international financial institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of International Settlements, are now allowed to trade spot products, forwards, swaps, currency swaps and options in China's domestic foreign exchange market, it said.

Restructuring planned for industrial firms

China First Heavy Industries and Harbin Electric Corp are expected to restructure, and the restructuring plan is in the process of development, sources close to the matter told China Business News. China First Heavy Industries mainly engages in the heavy machinery manufacturing business, providing major sets of technical equipment, high-tech products and technology services to industries including metallurgy, electricity, energy, transportation and petrochemicals.

Natural gas demand predicted to rise 6.5%

Natural gas demand in China may rise 6.5 percent to 199 billion cubic meters in 2016, up from last year's tepid growth, as a cut in government-set prices and efforts to promote gas usage will lift demand for the fuel, said the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association. It said domestic gas demand grew at less than 4 percent in the first 11 months of 2015, a far cry from the heady years between 2004 and 2013 when gas use jumped fivefold.

Baidu to reduce Tieba monetization

Baidu Inc has said it will stop monetizing all of Tieba, an online community-based group discussion service run by the Chinese search engine giant, after growing concern over the impact brought by its commercialization. The United States-listed Baidu said in a statement that it will stop the commercialized operation of all of Tieba, which focuses on discussion on the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses and will invite nonprofit organizations to run these online discussion groups.

Closures expected to help clear capital's air

Some 2,500 small enterprises in four southern districts of Beijing will be closed by the end of this year to improve air quality, according to a media report. The businesses are in districts including Fengtai, Fangshan, Tongzhou and Daxing, which have seen more severe air pollution than the northern part of the capital. The Beijing municipal government said large ventures that were major polluters and high energy consumers have been moved out of the city.

Chevron-PetroChina project operational

Chevron Corp and PetroChina Co have started natural gas production in China's southwestern regions of Sichuan and Chongqing, eight years after signing a production-sharing agreement. Gas well-A in Chongqing's Luojiazhai gas field began commercial natural gas production on Dec 30, China National Petroleum Corp, PetroChina's parent, said in a statement on Jan 11.

Uber China unit closes fundraising round

Uber Technologies Inc CEO Travis Kalanick said on Jan 11 that the US ride-hailing firm's China unit closed a funding round recently and that its investors from China were more than he could name. Before the funding round, the China unit was valued at $7 billion, Kalanick said at an event in Beijing.

Relending scheme to support farming

China's central bank said on Jan 11 it would push forward a pilot scheme on relending in a bid to support the country's farming sector and small firms, the most vulnerable part of the economy. The scheme, which allows banks to refinance high-quality credit assets rated by the central bank, was first introduced in Guangdong and Shandong provinces in 2014. The People's Bank of China relent 4.97 billion yuan ($754 million; 693 million euros) to 31 institutions from the start of the program through to the end of 2015.

Investment firms' registration on hold

Beijing has suspended approvals for new investment companies, as the Chinese capital steps up a crackdown on illegal fundraising activities, two representatives at the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce's official inquiry hotline said on Jan 11. Since Jan 9, the city has suspended registration for new companies in categories including equity investment, investment management, project management and investment consultancy, according to one of the representatives, citing an internal notice.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/15/2016 page24)