IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Over 1,600 companies apply for Shanghai expo

More than 1,600 companies from over 120 countries and regions have applied to attend the China International Import Expo, to be held in Shanghai in November. Over 600 applicants have signed contracts for the event, set to occupy a display area of more than 120,000 square meters, the organizer said. Some leading companies plan to bring their new products to the event, given the great market potential of the world's second-largest economy.

Liaoning releases investment rules

Authorities in Liaoning province have released new measures to attract more foreign investment and to further open up. At the provincial work conference on opening-up, held last week, Liaoning authorities released 40 measures aimed at bringing overseas investment into the province's equipment, technology and service sectors. By 2020, the province aims to use $10 billion of foreign investment and 600 billion yuan ($95 billion; 77 billion euros; ￡67 billion) of investment from other Chinese provincial-level regions. In 2017, Liaoning attracted $5.34 billion in foreign investment, up by 78 percent year-on-year. The province also released measures to support foreign investors in setting up research and development centers in Liaoning. It will grant subsidies ranging from 500,000 yuan to 2 million yuan to approved R&D centers between 2018 and 2022.

Head of AXA Belgium welcomes agreement

The CEO of insurance company AXA Belgium, Jef Van In, has hailed the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Chinese bank ICBC in Europe as a new beginning that will lead to win-win cooperation. "As CEO of AXA Belgium, I clearly welcome the memorandum. Through ICBC Europe, we will be able to increase our presence and stake in China's insurance market," Van In says. As for the choice of ICBC as a partner, Van In said that ICBC is the No 1 bank in China and has a very prominent base in the Belgian capital of Brussels.

PBOC skips open market operations

China's central bank suspended open market operations on April 2 for a seventh consecutive working day, citing abundant liquidity in the financial system. "The relatively high liquidity level in the banking system can offset the impact from factors including maturing reverse repos," the People's Bank of China said on its website. On April 2, 20 billion yuan in reverse repos matured. A reverse repo is a tool the central bank uses to inject liquidity into the banking sector by purchasing securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.

Singulato to invest $2.38 billion in Suzhou

Chinese new energy vehicle startup Singulato Motors on March 31 announced plans to invest 15 billion yuan in the manufacturing hub of Suzhou over the next five years. A partnership between the company and the Suzhou city government covers research and development, production and industrial investment in the NEV industry. Singulato Motors will set up a global research and development center in the city and will employ around 2,000 to 3,000 researchers in the next five years to focus on advanced technologies like autonomous driving.

CITIC to provide services in Xiongan

China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd, the banking unit of conglomerate CITIC Group Corp, said on March 31 that it plans to provide banking services in the Xiongan New Area. The move came after the top four State-owned commercial banks in China won official approval to set up branches in the area. "CITIC has been eyeing opportunities in the Xiongan area to get involved in the construction of the zone, which is of great significance to the country," says Li Qingping, chairman of China CITIC Bank. "CITIC Bank will provide smart banking services in the area, with more efforts in the high-tech sector, such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, to help in the financial development of a smart Xiongan."

Walmart looking to expand retail in China

Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, said during his recent visit to Beijing that the world's largest retailer by revenue is looking to drive innovation in three categories: low-price and quality merchandise, redefining assortment through learning from partnerships and competitors, and creating fun and efficient shopping experiences for customers. Walmart China plans to double the number of Sam's Club stores, its high-end membership stores in China, to 40 by 2020. Other measures to boost Sam's Club include improving fresh-food quality and stocking more private brands, he said. Sam's Club has nearly 2 million members, with a renewal rate of core members of about 80 percent. Last week, Walmart opened its first community-based intelligent supermarket in Shenzhen, a 1,200-square-meter format with about 9,000 items of merchandise.

Huawei launches OpenLab in Paris

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has launched Paris OpenLab as part of its plan to create an open system offering innovative solutions to pave the way for digital transformation and to promote industry ecosystem development, it said in a statement released on April 4. Shi Weiliang, managing director of Huawei France, said, "With the opening of this OpenLab, we are taking a new step in our support of the French ecosystem in order to allow it to spread abroad." OpenLab Paris, the second such platform of Huawei in Europe following one in Germany, will "support competitiveness of French companies" by improving expertise in retail, smart city, connected car and internet fields. Fifty French partners, including Orange Business Services, the PSA Group and Thales, attended the opening ceremony of the Chinese group's innovative platform in Paris. Worldwide, Huawei aims to invest $200 million and mobilize 1,000 people to build 20 OpenLabs by 2019.

ZTE announces success in making 5G phone call

Chinese telecom equipment company ZTE Group has announced its success in making the first phone call enabled by 5G technologies, as smartphone makers scramble to work on 5G in the hope of applying this next-generation mobile communication technology to their products as soon as possible. "The success moves China a step forward in developing 5G technologies, which will accelerate its speed in commercializing 5G," says Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and chief executive of telecom industry website Cctime. The call was one of the world's first using 5G technology, according to Xiang.

China, Algeria to enhance cooperation

China said on April 2 that it expects to boost its cooperation with Algeria in the field of aerospace technology. Yang Baohua, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, and other representatives from China took part on April 1 in an on-orbit delivery ceremony for Algeria's first communication satellite, Alcomsat-1, with the Algerian Space Agency. Alcomsat-1 was sent to the scheduled orbit from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Dec 11. Afterward, both sides conducted satellite on-orbit testing and completed an on-orbit review. This project is an important manifestation of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Algeria, Yang says, adding that it creates a good precedent for increased cooperation between the two sides in the aerospace field.

( China Daily Africa Weekly 04/06/2018 page24)