IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Lloyd's aiming to double business in China

Lloyd's of London insurance market expects its China arm to more than double its insurance premiums this year to 2.5 billion yuan ($381 million; 350 million euros). The company reaped almost 900 million yuan of insurance premiums in 2015. Chairman John Nelson said the company is talking to a number of Chinese insurers interested in joining the platform.

ENN agrees to gas purchase from Origin

ENN Energy Holdings Ltd has agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from Australia's Origin Energy Ltd, as the Chinese distributor turns to overseas supplies amid plummeting fuel prices. ENN will receive 500,000 metric tons of LNG annually over five years, Origin said on March 1. It follows ENN's agreement in January to buy LNG from Chevron Corp's Gorgon project in Australia and another last month with Paris-based Total SA.

Airbus: Tianjin center to deliver A330s in 2017

Airbus expects its new China A330 completion center to deliver a jet per month starting in 2017, rising to two a month in the next two years, Airbus China President Eric Chen said on March 1. Airbus said it expects China's aviation market, currently the second largest in the world, to emerge relatively unscathed from the economic slowdown and provide demand for 5,400 new airplanes over the next 20 years.

Evergrande buys 5.6% stake in Shengjing

A subsidiary of Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd has paid HK$3.89 billion ($500 million; 460 million euros) for a 5.59 percent stake in Shengjing Bank Co. Guangzhou-based Evergrande acquired 324 million shares, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It bought 314 million shares through block trades and 10 million shares on the open market. The purchase is the latest in a string of deals by Evergrande, which paid HK$12.5 billion to buy Mass Mutual Tower in Hong Kong in November from Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd, a record price for a commercial building in the city.

Disney rights protection key task for local govt

Intellectual property protection for The Walt Disney Co is one of the major tasks this year, the Shanghai government has said. It said a law enforcement team made up of police and officials from cultural, IP and market supervision authorities will be set up this month. Small commodity markets, major tourist attractions, transportation hubs and hotels will be the areas watched.

Qualcomm JV to focus on drones and robots

Qualcomm Inc has set up a joint venture with Chinese tech company Thundersoft to develop technologies used in next-generation drones, virtual reality goggles and other "smart devices". Thundercomm was established on Feb 29 with a registered capital of 18.74 million yuan ($2.85 million; 2.62 million euros). Beijing-based Thundersoft will control nearly 82 percent of the JV, which is based in Chongqing.

ChemChina seeks loans for Syngenta takeover

China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, is seeking to borrow $35 billion to help fund the purchase of Swiss pesticide maker Syngenta. The company has hired China Citic Bank International Ltd to arrange a $15 billion loan facility, which would be fully guaranteed by ChemChina, people familiar with the matter said. ChemChina was scheduled to meet lenders for a separate $20 billion syndicated loan, according to an earlier statement.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/04/2016 page24)