News in review

Monday____June 19

M&A in 2016 tops 2015 by 142%

Last year, Chinese companies spent $212.5 billion, almost 3.5 times that of 2015, to merge with, or acquire, companies overseas in 920 deals, up 142.1 percent from 2015, according to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In the first quarter of this year, mainland companies announced 142 outbound M&A's with a combined value of $21.2 billion. But the volume and value of first-quarter deals dropped 39 percent and 77 percent year-on-year, respectively, from record highs, according to the PwC report.

The report attributed the year-on-year slump in first-quarter M&A's to the slower pace of going abroad by State-owned enterprises and private companies. The deal value by financial investors in the first quarter even plunged 91 percent year-on-year.

"After the blistering growth in 2016, there will be an obvious decrease in overseas acquisition deals this year and the recovery will come in 2018," said Chen Chao, director of transaction services at PwC China.

Police are using at least 1,000 drones

At least 1,000 drones are being used by police nationwide in a wide range of operations, including tracking suspects, monitoring traffic and locating opium farms, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Most of police drones are small- and medium-size quadcopters that use two pairs of identical fixed pitched propellers, said Li Mu, who works at the ministry's test center for special police equipment and oversees the quality of unmanned aircraft.

Shenzhen is the world's largest manufacturing hub for drones, as nearly 70 percent of consumer drones on the global market are made in the southeastern coastal city, which is home to more than 300 drone companies, according to the city's commerce bureau.

Compared with manned helicopters used by police, drones have several advantages: They involve lower investment and maintenance cost, can be rapidly deployed, are suitable for use in dangerous circumstances such as chemical explosions or nuclear leaks and are not easily noticed, Li said.

Tuesday_____June 20

China seeks global sales for new stealth fighter

China is determined to tap the military aircraft market of developed nations with the domestically developed FC-31 stealth fighter jet, the plane's chief designer said.

"We will strive to use the fifth-generation combat plane to seize some share in the military aircraft market of developed nations," said Lin Peng of the Shenyang Aircraft Design and Research Institute under Aviation Industry Corp of China. He told China Daily in an exclusive interview the FC-31 has received a lot of attention from potential foreign buyers.

AVIC has a model of the FC-31 on display at the 52nd International Paris Air Show, which opened on Monday at Paris-Le Bourget Airport. The FC-31 is not yet in production, but appearances at air shows are intended to generate interest that could lead to sales. (Photo 1)

Toothpick-shooting toy alarms parents

A toy resembling a mini crossbow that fires toothpick "arrows" has become popular among school students in parts of China, resulting in many parents calling for a boycott to prevent risks of injury.

The crossbows, available at online shops, vary in size, with some less than 10 centimeters long. They are made of different materials, including metal and wood, and can shoot toothpicks.

In Kunming, students have been targeting trees and flowers alongside roads, as well as park signs, causing many people to file complaints. (Photo 2)

Wednesday____June 21

China's private wealth to further boom in 2017

Chinese private wealth market will increase more in 2017, with the total investable assets expected to reach $27.5 trillion, but the growth rate is likely to slow down from previous years, an industry report showed.

The 2017 China Private Wealth Report released by Bain Consulting and China Merchants Bank predicts that the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) - those who are in possession of over 10 million yuan in investable assets - in China will climb to 1.87 million this year, up 18 percent while the assets they hold will amount to 58 trillion yuan, up 19 percent.

The report also forecast that although the private wealth's growth rate may slow down to 14 percent, compared to the average 21 percent growth rate from 2014 to 2016, it will still have sustainable increase to 188 trillion yuan this year.

By 2016, the number of HNWI in China had topped 1.58 million.

Specialty orchid seedlings sent to US

A total of 10,00 medium butterfly orchid, or Phalaenopsis, seedlings started their journey to the United States after a ceremony that was held in Foshan's Shunde district.

The inauguration ceremony on Wednesday was held after Weng Minqiang, general manager of Dingliang Biological Technology Co Ltd, was given a special certificate by local inspection and quarantine department to export the flower seedlings.

The seedlings are expected to be shipped to the United States in about 20 days via the sea route.

This is the first time that butterfly orchid seedlings from the mainland were exported to the United States.

Thursday____une 22

E-commerce giant launches robot courier

JD.com Inc, one of China's biggest online marketplaces, has launched its first robot couriers.

The couriers follow optimal routes based on calculation, and send messages to a recipient five minutes before reaching their destination. The recipient obtains the package with facial recognition or by inputting a code.

The robot couriers, equipped with laser radars and cameras, are capable of avoiding obstacles on routes and recognizing traffic lights. With different sizes, they move up to 2.4 miles per hour and can deliver six to 20 items in one trip.

JD.com will further expand its fleet of robot couriers to more than 100 this year, mainly in universities and residential communities in Beijing, Hangzhou of Zhejiang province, and Xi'an of Shaanxi province. (Photo 3)

IBM partners for better cancer treatment

Baheal Pharm, a Chinese company that focuses on e-health, signed a partnership agreement with IBM in Beijing to introduce Watson for Genomics to medical institutions in China.

Watson for Genomics, a cognitive computing platform for more precise treatment of cancer patients, will help doctors to better identify mutations in cancer that are potentially treatable and provide doctors with treatment options, according to IBM Watson Health.

"The overall death rate of cancer patients in China remains higher than developed countries such as Japan, and a major reason is that some of them receive treatment that is not up to standard," Fu Gang, chairman of Baheal Pharm, said. "We hope the application of Watson for Genomics can help doctors at the grassroots improve treatment for patients."

Lancelot Guo, vice-president of IBM (China), said Watson for Genomics has already been used in some countries, such as the United States, and he hopes patients in China can have new choices with the introduction of the technology.

Friday____June 23

Soil monitoring network passes milestone

China has reached the halfway point in setting up a national soil monitoring network, with about 20,000 quality control devices that now cover 99 percent of all counties, according to a senior environment official.

The goal is to have 40,000 devices nationwide by 2020, Qiu Qiwen, head of soil quality management at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said.

The devices run regular tests using 12 key indicators - mainly heavy metals - and relay the data back to a central database. Eventually, the information will be available online to the public, as laid out in a five-year environmental protection plan released by the State Council in November.

Soil pollution has drawn increasing attention as a result of cases exposed in recent years involving grain that was polluted by heavy metals in the soil.

More women opt for breast enlargement surgery

The annual number of breast augmentation surgeries has doubled to roughly 100,000 during the past two decades, according to the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.

The surgery using top-quality silicone implants costs about $14,700 in China, which is the third-largest market for breast enlargement, after the United States and Brazil, according to industry reports.

Most of the surgeries are done at private specialty clinics rather than large State-owned hospitals, said Luo Shengkang, head of the breast branch of the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics. Categorized as Grade 2 surgery, breast enlargement is generally safe, Jiang said.

(China Daily USA 06/23/2017 page12)