IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Aviation

Airbus delivery set for October

China's first Airbus A380 is likely to be delivered to China Southern Airlines in Toulouse, France, on Oct 15, the Guangzhou-based carrier said on Sept 20.

The jumbo aircraft will fly between Beijing and Guangzhou and Shanghai from Oct 17 to 29 before switching to international routes.

Energy

Oil giant Conoco sets up second spill fund

ConocoPhillips China said on Sept 19 that it will establish a second fund with its partner, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, to address environmental issues in Bohai Bay amid a continuing oil spill.

The establishment of an earlier fund was announced on Sept 16 to pay compensation for damages caused by the spill.

The spill started at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield on June 4. The spill has polluted more than 5,500 square kilometers of Bohai Bay with more than 700 barrels of oil released into the sea, according to ConocoPhillips China.

Insurance

Fosun, PFI form joint life insurance venture

China's private Fosun Group and Prudential Financial Inc won government approval to launch a new life insurance joint venture. It will be China's only life insurance joint venture between a private enterprise and a foreign insurer.

Fosun said the 50-50 venture will start with 500 million yuan ($78 million) of capital, with each company providing 250 million yuan.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Shanghai and mainly focus on the Chinese market. Business is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012 following final approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and other authorities.

Metals

Alcoa to take major stake in venture

Alcoa Inc, the world's largest aluminum producer, will take a majority equity share in a joint venture with the State-owned China Power Investment Corp to cash in on the nation's growing demand in the high-end fabricated aluminum market, Alcoa's Asia-Pacific President Chen Jinya said.

The joint venture, not yet named, intends to produce high-end fabricated aluminum products for various industries, such as commercial transportation, consumer electronics, packaging, aerospace and autos, according to Chen.

The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January, pledging close collaboration in the fields of mining, refining, smelting, fabrication and engineering in the global arena.

Finance

Lazard bolstering China unit with M&A

Lazard Ltd, a global boutique investment bank, announced on Sept 19 that it wants to strengthen its business in China by taking advantage of rising cross-border merger and acquisition activity related to the world's second-largest economy.

Yan Lan, Lazard's managing director in China and head of Greater China Investment Banking, said the company decided to expand its business in China and ramp up its domestic network this year to provide Chinese clients with Lazard's extensive international network.

US markets delist 26 China firms this year

A total of 26 Chinese companies have been delisted from US markets so far this year, according to figures from the stock news website imeigu.com.

The number of delisted companies accounts for almost 10 percent of all Chinese stocks listed in the US. The reasons included long-term low prices, weak liquidity and questionable financial information, said Huang Heyuan of Beijing Antaixiang Investment Management Co Ltd.

Auto

SAIC, GM join for electric car venture

SAIC Motor Corp, China's biggest automaker by revenue, signed an agreement with United States vehicle giant General Motors Co (GM) on Sept 20 to develop a new production platform for electric vehicles in China.

Under the agreement, the Shanghai-based Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, an engineering and design joint venture between SAIC and GM, will serve as the global development center. Joint teams will also cooperate on the development of key parts and vehicle structures.

Technology

Google focusing on China's ad market

Google is renewing its efforts to further increase cooperation with Internet and mobile publishers and advertisers in China, company executives said.

Google says it is currently working with 100,000 advertising partners in the country through its AdSense and AdMob services.

Google accounted for 7.2 percent of the online advertising market share in the second quarter of this year, compared with Baidu Inc's 28.7 percent and Alibaba Group's 15.9 percent, data from Analysys International showed.

Huawei eyes more enterprise deals

Network equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd expects its deals in the enterprise sector to total more than $7 billion by next year, banking on demand from key markets such as China, a senior executive said.

The company also plans to triple staff numbers at its enterprise unit to about 30,000 in the next three years from an expected 10,000 by the end of this year, to compete with the likes of Cisco Systems Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co. Half of the beefed up staff will work in research and development.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/23/2011 page14)