IN BRIEF (Page: 1, Date: 01/18/2002)
()
01/18/2002
Cross-Straits exchangesShanghai has so far approved 4,185 Taiwanese-funded projects with a total investment of $6.6 billion. Some 352 of the projects were approved in the 11 months of 2001, involving US$636 million of contractual Taiwanese investment, up 65 per cent and 270 per cent, respectively, on a yearly basis. Taiwanese arrivals amounted to 430,000 in the first 11 months of 2001, up 53 per cent year on year. Of the total, 6,000 people went across the Straits for more than 1,000 programmes of cultural, scientific and academic exchanges, and the scope of exchanges was expanded to financial and journalistic fields. Influx of imported cars A total of 105 cars were imported into China through Shanghai Customs on January 4 and 7, with the daily imports rising 162.5 per cent above the daily imports last year. Customs said most of the imported cars are brand names including BMW and Daewoo. The prices of BMW cars run from 80,000 to 210,000 yuan (US$9,600 to 25,300) lower than previous prices. Customs officers predict that a hike in the number of imported cars is expected because China has drastically lowered the import duty on cars and no longer levies 100 per cent special Customs duty on cars made in Japan. Grace-Compaq alliance Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp signed an agreement with Compaq in Shanghai on January 15 to launch a computer automation integration management project. The semiconductor company has invested US$1.6 billion in Pudong's Zhangjiang High-tech Park to build a factory which is expected to produce 50,000 wafers monthly. A Grace spokesman said the investment will be increased to US$6 billion within 10 years, which will be used to build three more factories in Zhangjiang. EasyShare camera zooms in Shanghai Dahai Camera Co Ltd debuts its DX3500 EasyShare digital camera this week. It is the first locally produced EasyShare camera. Dahai is an 80/20 investment between Eastman Kodak and Seagull Camera Co. Nike more aggressive Nike announced that it will consolidate its Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland operations under the leadership of Adam Koo, 46, as its new general manager. "With the Beijing 2008 Olympics, WTO entry and permanent MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status, China represents a tremendous growth opportunity for Nike," said Eunan McLaughlin, vice president of the Asia Pacific Region. "This integration will allow us to more sharply focus our resources and more effectively serve the footwear, apparel and equipment needs of more than 1.2 billion consumers." Koo, who joined Nike in 1992, was previously the general manager of Nike Hong Kong and the most tenured GM in the Asia Pacific region. He will be based in Shanghai. 4G double-screen mobile phone Xiamen Xiaxin Electronics Co has begun promoting its Korean-designed fourth generation of double-screen mobile phones known as Amoisonic A8 in Shanghai. General Manager Xu Chaohui said Shanghai and Guangzhou are the two key markets for the firm in China. With two production lines, it is able to produce more than a million mobile phones of this kind annually. More Yellow Pages in English A new version of Shanghai Yellow Pages English-language Edition, produced by a joint venture between China Telecom and US-based Verizon, will be published in early 2002. Some 100,000 copies will be available free at hotels and foreign-funded ventures. Golden Plaza ready for sale Golden Plaza, a 39-floor office tower at Lujiazui hub in Pudong, is ready for occupancy. Shanghai Huaneng Enterprise Development and Halla Engineering & Construction Corp based in South Korea co-invested US$100 million in the project. New housing projects Shanghai will build 16 million square meters of new housing this year, with a total input of US$6 billion, according to sources from the Shanghai Construction Committee. Shanghai will also carry out reconstruction projects on about 1, 000 residential buildings, transforming their flat roofs into sloped tops, according to the sources. In addition, Shanghai plans to add 390 hectares of green space in residential quarters this year. Bank assets up At the end of 2001, the total assets of the Bank of Shanghai registered US$14.5 billion, up 25 per cent over the previous year. Last year by drawing in shares from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp (HSBC), International Finance Corp (IFC) as well as Hong Kong and Shanghai Commercial Bank, Shanghai Bank made an annual profit of US$120 million.
|
