China plans to spend 250 billion to 300 billion yuan ($36.71 billion-$44.05 billion) under its new five-year development plan to boost offshore oil production, the official China Securities Journal reported Thursday.
The investment aims to increase China’s offshore oil production capacity by 50 million metric tons by 2015, the newspaper reported, citing a general manager at CNOOC’s engineering department.
Esprit Holdings, Asia’s No.3 apparel retailer, said Thursday it is looking to China as its next growth engine, aiming to double sales there in five years as its core European market remains uncertain.
The company blamed tough conditions in Europe, which accounts for more than 80 percent of sales, as its second-half earnings missed forecasts with a 19 percent fall, sending its shares down 3 percent in a firmer Hong Kong market.
Jet producer Bombardier Thursday told the Global Times that the Huaxia Airlines accident in Guiyang, Guizhou Province Saturday will not hamper the future of jet sales in China.
“The CRJ series is our flagship product, and the accident will not impact sales in China,” said Xiao Xiao from the communications department with Bombardier China, adding there are five airlines in Greater China operating aircraft made by the company.
A Huaxia jet’s wings scraped the ground while landing Saturday. The incident was followed by a suspended order for all flights of the carrier by the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
Sinosteel, the country’s largest iron ore trader, said Thursday that its financial management is under control after reports spread Monday that the company was suffering from major problems.
“Sinosteel’s businesses both at home and abroad is running normally and orderly. As of the end of August, our sales revenue and profits reached the highest level in history,” said the company, providing no exact figures.
Sinosteel didn’t mention whether the National Audit Office (NAO) had audited the company’s finances as media reported. But a source told the Global Times that the NAO did visit the company in May.
The NAO found problematic commissions totaling $50 million, Century Weekly Magazine reported Monday
ZTE Corp, China’s No.2 telecommunications equipment maker, said its cell phone sales jumped 40 percent in the first half of 2010, fueled by strong demand from international markets and for smartphones.
Technology services provider Computer Sciences Corp aims to double or triple their China presence in two or three years, the firm’s Asia Pacific president said Thursday.
CSC said the fastest growing areas in China were healthcare and financial services.
China Southern Airlines began offering direct flights on Thursday from Beijing to Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, to meet rising air travel demand and further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.
Flights to Tashkent, the largest city in Central Asia, depart Beijing at 4:20 p.m. and arrive at 7:35 p.m. (local time). Return flights from Tashkent leave at 8:55 p.m. (local time) and arrive in Beijing at 5:50 a.m. Flights are scheduled every Thursday and Sunday.
An Airbus 330-200 plane will be used for the flights.
The airline provides passengers with 100 classic movies and 1,000 songs to entertain them during the long flight. It also serves a variety of halal food.
An executive with the company said the launch of the route would facilitate personal exchanges and trade relations between China and Central Asia.
Baidu Inc, operator of China’s dominant search engine, announced on Thursday that it has formed a quadrilateral mobile internet alliance with Samsung, Beijing Compass Technology Development Co. Ltd. and Media Tek Inc.
Baidu will focus its future mobile Internet investments on its core search business as it takes aim at the next big Internet space.
Besides, e-commerce initiatives in the business-to-consumer space will be also included in the company’s future development.
In expanding its development on mobile Internet, Baidu has established a strategic cooperative partnership with China Telecom and China Unicom.
Rumors that hot-pot restaurant chain operator Little Sheep Group was in talks with American Burger King Holdings (BK) for a potential buyout of the latter was denied by Li Lichan, spokeswoman of the hot pot restaurant in an interview with the Global Times Friday.
Li said the company has no plan to purchase BK and rumors on the matter are totally unfounded.
Previous reports by the Wall Street Journal said Burger King was in negotiations with several potential buyers, which included China’s Little Sheep, private equity firm 3i Group Plc, and Refresco, manufacturer of soft drinks and fruit juices.
Hong Kang-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts plans to open another 30 hotels in China in the coming three years, especially in third-tier cities, doubling the quantity it owns in the country, according to reports Friday.
Currently, the group has hotels under construction in the cities of Chongqing, Nanjing, Shenyang, Tangshan and Qinghuangdao, said a senior official of Shangri-La.
It will also invest $200 million to build two deluxe hotels in Pudong and Puxi districts in Shanghai soon, which will be equipped with 300 guest rooms.
The hotel had a revenue growth of 35 percent in the first half of 2010 compared with one year earlier and the occupancy rate increased 15 percent.
