IN BRIEF

Finance

CIC wary of European government bonds

Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp remains wary about investing in European government bonds but will look for opportunities in infrastructure and industrial projects, said Lou Jiwei, chairman of the fund.

"For European bonds like the government bonds of Italy and Spain, only central banks with certain responsibilities can invest. But it's more difficult for long-term investors like us to make (such) investments," Lou said.

Lanxess issues 'dim sum' bonds

German specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG has announced that it will issue 500 million yuan ($79.4 million, 60 million euros) worth of Chinese offshore renminbi-dominated bonds, or "dim sum" bonds, in Hong Kong.

Proceeds will be used for building a new leather chemicals plant in Changzhou, Jiangsu province and a new pigment plant.

According to the company's announcement, the bonds have a yearly coupon rate of 3.95 percent and began trading on Feb 13.

Aviation

Boeing calls for Sino-US efforts on ETS

The United States should form a united front with China to combat European Union carbon-emission taxes, a senior executive with Boeing Co said.

Without a doubt, the united front between China and the US on what action to take would be quite powerful, said Marc Allen, president of Boeing China, talking about the EU Emission Trading Scheme.

Under the scheme, which took effect on Jan 1, airlines must buy additional allowances for emissions beyond a set level or face fines. However, the charges have been opposed by a number of countries, including China and the US.

Materials

Sinoma completes $1b cement project

Cement maker China National Materials Co Ltd, also known as Sinoma, has finished construction of a $1 billion (759 million euros) cement plant in Nigeria that will provide the country with a new export industry.

The plant, owned by Nigeria-based cement giant Dangote Group, was inaugurated on Feb 9 by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan at Ibese, in southwest Nigeria's Ogun State.

Sinoma signed a $1.6-billion contract and $1.18-billion letter of intent with Dangote Group in February 2008 to build the plant, which will have an annual capacity of 6 million tons and is expected to make cement more available and affordable in Nigeria.

Retail

Localization fuels Starbucks' success

Helped by the localization strategy, sales of the US-based coffee chain operator, Starbucks Corp, increased 30 percent year-on-year in the Chinese market in 2011, compared with the growth rate of 10 percent at home and 6 percent in the international market.

Li Zhiqi, president of CBCT, a brand marketing institution in Beijing, said Starbucks has been making strategic deployments based on the consumption trends in the Chinese market since its debut in China, which also caters to the needs of its target customers, said the report.

Wal-Mart anticipates faster growth

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, branded as Walmart, expects its China business to grow faster in the current robust market conditions, said Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart International.

"China is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. We want to not only keep pace with the market growth, but we would like to, over time, grow market share," McMillon said.

Auto

VW to make electric cars in China by 2014

German auto major Volkswagen AG's two joint ventures in China plan to start making electric cars in 2014 and to ramp up to mass production by 2018, its China chief said on Feb 14

Initial EV output at Shanghai Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen is estimated at a few thousand vehicles, and rising to 100,000 by 2018, the president and chief executive of Volkswagen's China operations, Karl-Thomas Neumann, said at the EU-China business convention in Beijing.

Electric vehicles have been hampered by high battery costs and lack economies of scale and models that appeal to car buyers.

Neumann, however, says that EVs are needed to reduce China's pollution and reliance on oil.

China Daily-Agencies