IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Auto

Ferrari enjoys record year in revenue

The Italian automaker Ferrari has broken records with its business performance last year despite global economic turmoil. The company's total revenue rose 8 percent to 2.43 billion euros, while net profit rose 17.8 percent to 244 million euros. The Greater China region, including the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, remain the Italian brand's second largest market in its four major regional markets: the US, Europe, Greater China and the Far East. Ferrari sold 784 of its sports cars in the Greater China region, 4 percent more than in the previous year, with almost 500 going to mainland consumers.

Geely sets profit plan for new acquisition

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group plans to invest 100 million pounds ($151.4 million; 115 million euros) in a global taxi project that the company expects will make its newly acquired British taxi maker Manganese Bronze Holdings profitable within a year, Geely's management said.

"The acquisition won't be a money loser for Geely," Li Shufu said. "Manganese Bronze will regain profitability this year, much sooner than our previous perspective for three years."

He announced a global taxi project that will introduce the service and culture of London's black cabs to China and cities across the globe.

Finance

Watchdog approves new foreign investors

China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved six new Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors, bringing the number to 213. China has quickened the approval process for QFIIs to attract more foreign investors. It approved 72 QFIIs last year and 29 in 2011, Securities Daily reported. The commission has also lowered the entry threshold, including lowering the QFII asset requirements to $500 million (382 million euros) from $5 billion.

Asian banking reform is necessary: KPMG

Lack of a level playing field on regulatory reform in the Asia-Pacific region may do long-term harm to its economy and be a burden to its banks, a KPMG report said on Feb 20. Comparing Asian banking regulation with that of Europe and the United States, the report said there are some areas where there is a clear commonality of approach such as on capital, and others where there is more diversity, such as liquidity reforms.

Technology

Yahoo co-founder joins Lenovo board

Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's second-biggest maker of personal computers, says Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang will join the board of directors as an observer during its expansion into smartphones and tablets. Yang, 44, will attend board meetings to share his "experience and perspective as an Internet and technology pioneer", Beijing-based Lenovo said. He will not have the power to vote at board meetings.

UnionPay to promote mobile payment

The Chinese payment network operator UnionPay will work with China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network operator, to promote mobile payment methods, the two companies say.

The companies' Trusted Service Manager platform will be used to facilitate mobile payment, the companies said. The creation of the platform marks the first significant achievement since both companies signed a cooperative agreement last June, they said.

The platform will allow UnionPay and China Mobile to explore the application of more payment functions via mobile terminals, allowing users to use remote payment services through their mobile devices.

Energy

Sinopec buys gas assets in Oklahoma

The China Petrochemical Corporation has bought half of the stakes of the second-largest natural gas developer in the US in its oil and gas assets in Oklahoma.

The oil giant announced on Feb 25 that its wholly owned subsidiary Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation has signed an agreement with Chesapeake Energy Corporation to buy 50 percent of the latter's shares of an oil and gas reserve in northern Oklahoma.

The acquisition, which will cost Sinopec $1.02 billion (780 million euros) for a 171,990-hectare limestone oil reserve, represents the largest such share a Chinese enterprise has bought.

Under the agreement, the two parties will share future exploratory spending for the project based on their holdings, with Chesapeake serving as the operator.

CNOOC takes over Nexen of Canada

China National Offshore Oil Corporation has announced that it has closed a deal to acquire Nexen Inc of Canada.

CNOOC, China's largest offshore oil and gas producer, said the company paid about $15.1 billion (11.5 billion euros) for Nexen's common and preferred shares.

Wang Yilin, chairman of CNOOC, said the company is delighted to have acquired a leading international platform by buying Nexen.

Investment

Amway sales in China rise to 27.1b yuan

Amway Company, the largest multinational direct-seller by sales and network coverage, says sales in China, its largest market, reached 27.1 billion yuan ($4.3 billion; 3.3 billion euros) last year, compared with 26.7 billion yuan a year earlier. Global sales amounted to $11.3 billion, a company record, and double its performance in 2007. Last year the company spent $335 million globally to strengthen its research and development and expand manufacturing facilities, with 600 million yuan spent in China to set up a plant in Guangzhou and a botanical R&D center in Wuxi, Jiangsu province.

Pirelli to pump $200m into Chinese plant

Pirelli & C SpA, the Italian tire giant, plans a $200 million (153 million euros) investment to make China its largest global manufacturing center by next year.

Gregorio Borgo, CEO of Pirelli Asia Pacific, said the expansion is needed to keep pace with the huge potential market for its tires coming from China's surging demand for luxury and sports-utility vehicles.

Pirelli reported turnover of 353 million euros in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, and says it expects last year's figure to be 23 percent higher, helped by rising demand for more expensive vehicles in China.

Sanquan Foods to buy Heinz's four food firms

Zhengzhou Sanquan Foods Co Ltd, one of China's largest producers of fast-frozen food, said it has agreed with H.J. Heinz Co to buy the four Longfong food companies that Heinz owns directly or indirectly.

The statement did not disclose the price and said the two companies will have the target companies audited and evaluated by authorities.

The four Longfong food companies are based in Shanghai, Tianjin and Chengdu as well as Zhejiang province.

Sanquan Foods Co had a 10.9 percent share of the fast-frozen food retail market in China last year, Longfong Food had 3.3 percent, Synear Food Holdings Ltd 5.7 percent and Wanchai Ferry 3.5 percent, according to a China Business News report.

Aviation

Boeing and COMAC to work on air traffic

A technology center jointly set up by Boeing Co and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China will conduct two research projects on China's air traffic management, the two companies say. The Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center, opened in August, will work with the Civil Aviation University of China to forecast the 30-year capacity of the country's airspace system. The center will also work with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics on an air traffic support system to improve in-bound traffic flow at airports.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 03/01/2013 page14)