IN BRIEF (Page 14)

Alibaba Group may privatize listed unit

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group has offered to privatize its Hong Kong-listed arm Alibaba.com Ltd at a price of HK$13.5 ($1.74, 1.34 euros) per share, the companies said in a joint statement released on Feb 20. The price represents a 60.4-percent premium over the company's 60-day average closing price and a 55.3-percent premium over its latest 10-day average closing price, according to the statement.

Alibaba Group will finance the privatization through external debt financing provided by a consortium of banks, as well as internal cash resources, it said. The offer, which is being made at the same price as Alibaba.com's initial public offering in late 2007, will not be increased as the Alibaba Group does not reserve the right to do so according to Hong Kong regulations.

Power

AES considering China asset sales

US power producer AES Corp, which entered China about two decades ago, is looking to sell all or some of its assets there, said three sources familiar with the process, hobbled by not being able to pass on higher coal costs in a State-regulated industry.

The sources said Arlington, Virginia-based AES, which has a market value of around $10.5 billion, has recently hired an investment bank to kick off the process. A sale or sales could potentially be worth $300-$400 million.

China's sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp acquired a 15 percent stake in AES for $1.6 billion in 2009.

Telecom

China Telecom to offer iPhone 4S

China Telecom Corp Ltd, China's smallest telecom carrier by subscriber numbers, will sell Apple Inc's iPhone 4S from March 9. That means the company will become the second Chinese operator to offer the Apple handsets on contract.

Customers will be able to place online applications for the Code Division Multiple Access version of the iPhone 4S from March 2, according to a company statement on Feb 21. The CDMA2000 wireless standard is the third-generation telecommunications technology used by China Telecom.

Buyers can choose a suitable plan with China Telecom's 3G network service in authorized outlets, or through its website.

Apple loses market share in China

Smartphone maker Apple Inc's market share in China slipped for a second straight quarter between October and December. The retreat came as the company lost ground to cheaper local brands and as some shoppers held back from purchases until after the launch of the iPhone 4S in January.

Apple's China smartphone marekt share slid to 7.5 percent from 10.4 percent in July-September, data from research firm Gartner showed. While Apple regained its top spot as the world's largest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter and for last year as a whole, it slipped to 5th place in China, overtaken by ZTE.

Energy

CNPC keen on stake in Woodside field

Energy producer China National Petroleum Corp has offered to buy a stake in Woodside Petroleum Ltd's Browse liquefied natural gas project in Australia, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

State-controlled CNPC made a binding bid for as much as 15 percent of the venture comprising two natural gas areas off Western Australia's coast, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the sale process is confidential. The stake may be worth up to $1.5 billion, based on Citigroup Inc's estimate.

DQY inks biofuel deal with US meat supplier

The biggest egg producer in China said on Feb 17 that it would join hands with a major US meat supplier to establish a biofuel company in the United States with a total investment of $1.8 billion.

Beijing DQY Agriculture Technology Co Ltd and Virginia-based Smithfield Foods will set up a joint venture co-run by their subsidiaries, Beijing Helee Bio-Energy and Murphy-Brown, DQY said in a statement.

The joint venture will adopt core technologies from Helee Bio-Energy and launch a pig farm biogas project this year, the company said, citing an agreement it signed with the Smithfield Foods in Des Moines, capital of the US state of Iowa, on Feb 16.

Retail

Wal-Mart to increase holding in Yihaodian

US retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc is looking to acquire a controlling interest in Yihaodian, a Chinese online retailer.

The move is aimed at boosting Wal-Mart's online sales in the Chinese market and maintaining its competitiveness in the country's e-commerce sector.

In a statement, Wal-Mart said it plans to increase its holding in Yihaodian to 51 percent. The US retailer said the move is awaiting approval from the Chinese regulatory authorities.

Machinery

China loses top market spot for ABB

China has lost its position as the top revenue market for power and automation giant ABB Group for the first time since 2006.

The lowered status is the result of the Swedish-Swiss company's heavy investment in the United States during the past year, said Claudio Facchin, chairman and president of ABB China

He said that the US has outgrown China, becoming the company's largest market in 2011 after the group made a large acquisition in the US in the past 18 months.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 02/24/2012 page14)