IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Overseas rail projects gathering momentum

Companies from China are carrying out more than 20 railway projects overseas, with a total investment of 100 billion yuan ($15.2 billion; 12.8 billion euros; ￡11.4 billion), China's railway authorities said on Nov 21. Zhu Zhexun, chief engineer of China Railway International Group, said construction is underway on projects including the China-Laos railway; a railway linking the Indonesian capital of Jakarta with Bandung; a link between Serbia and Hungary; and a subway train in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. Preliminary work is being done on high-speed rail links between Malaysia and Singapore, and between Moscow and Kazan in Russia, he said. "Chinese companies have a strong competitive edge in technology, trains, control systems, management and safety," he said.

BRICS bank approves India, Russia loans

The Shanghai-based New Development Bank approved two infrastructure and sustainable development projects in India and Russia with loans of $400 million. The loans will be used to rehabilitate the Indira Gandhi Canal in India and to build a toll transportation corridor connecting the Ufa city center with the M-5 federal highway in Russia. "The NDB was established to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, and the two projects approved today are fully in line with the bank's mandate and national development plans of our member countries," says NDB President K V Kamath.

Mobike expands its services to Berlin

Bike-sharing titan Mobike Technology Co announced on Nov 22 that has launched service in Berlin, Germany, meeting its goal of expanding to 200 cities globally by the end of thes year. Mobike founder and President Hu Weiwei said Mobike will add value to German cities with its collaborative and sustainable approach, enabled by internet of things technology and custom-engineered bikes. The company said it will expand soon to more cities in Germany.

Yichang starts freight train to Hamburg

Cargo train services have been launched between Yichang, in Central China's Hubei province, and Hamburg, Germany. A train carrying fresh oranges, medical gauze and packaging film departed from the Yichang East Railway Station on Nov 20, marking the inauguration of the service. The train will run through the provincial capital of Wuhan and travel to Hamburg via Russia, Belarus and Poland, says Zhou Chigang from the Wuhan branch of the National Railway Administration. The total length of the route is about 11,000 kilometers. The journey will take around 17 days - half the time required for shipping services, at only a quarter of the cost of air freight, Zhou says.

5 cities are playing bigger digital role

Five second-tier cities - Chengdu, Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan and Xi'an - are representative of the Chinese mainland in terms of their rapidly growing skills base in the digital economy, according to a report released on Nov 22. These cities displayed an obvious advantage in their digital talent pools over others in the past three years, although Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, which is the base of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, remain the five leading cities in this area, according to the report based on user data by LinkedIn, the US-based networking website. The number of such skilled workers in Chengdu, for example, which took sixth place in the rankings of the cities, was nearly 18,500, compared with 10,000 in Dalian and 8,200 in Tianjin.

Private sector set to play bigger role

China wants its private sector to play a larger role in the country's pursuit of high-end manufacturing, according to a government guideline. The guideline, which has been jointly released by 16 government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, said measures will be introduced to break the barriers that hamper private investment. Private enterprises will be encouraged to participate in the construction of manufacturing innovation centers or establish national technological innovation centers on their own, said the guideline. Meanwhile, the government will support private enterprises to enter sectors such as smart manufacturing and to help improve China's basic industrial capacities.

Wanda Hotel plans strategic review

Wanda Hotel Development Co said on Nov 21 that it was open to "business opportunities" related to its portfolio of landmark overseas properties, although no sale talks were underway. The company was responding to a South China Morning Post report last week that the conglomerate was looking to sell $5 billion (4.2 billion euros; ￡3.8 billion) of overseas property assets to a single buyer. On Nov 21, Wanda Hotel said it had not entered talks for the assets. It added, however, that it was undertaking a strategic review of the projects following recent changes in its directors, and that it would "consider any business opportunities that can create value for shareholders".

Xiaomi investing in India startups

China's leading smartphone company, Xiaomi Corp, will invest about $1 billion (845 million euros; ￡751 million) in 100 startups in India over the next five years, says CEO Lei Jun. The company will invest in sectors such as financial technology and hyperlocal services and seek to create an ecosystem of apps based on its smartphone brand, Lei says. India is now the company's biggest market outside of China, where it sells products including smartphones, televisions and air purifiers.

Ukraine animal feed OK'd for export to China

Ukraine has been approved to export sunflower meal and sugar beet pulp to China, State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection said in a statement on Nov 20. According to the statement, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has approved seven Ukrainian companies for sunflower meal deliveries and two Ukrainian companies for sugar beet pulp supplies. Sunflower meal and sugar beet pulp are widely used as feed for farm animals, especially for beef cattle and chickens. This year, China has allowed beef imports from Ukraine and increased the list of certified Ukrainian dairy suppliers from 18 to 27. Ukraine also hopes to get the green light from China on fish product exports by the end of the year.

Morocco will host China-Africa forum

The second China-Africa Investment Forum will be held in the Moroccan city of Marrakech on Nov 27 and 28, the organizers said in a statement on Nov 20. It will bring together more than 400 high-level Chinese and African business leaders. The forum dedicates two days of conferences and debates to financial implications for African economies and making the continent a true industrial platform, the statement said. In addition to the conferences, practical workshops will provide insights into and keys to understanding Chinese and African economic policies and operational environments, it added.

(China Daily European Weekly 11/24/2017 page24)