China probe sparks metals stocks scramble

June 10, 2014 11:21 am

China probe sparks metals stocks scramble

By Lucy Hornby

Metals traders are rushing to secure copper and aluminium stocks following a financing probe in the northeast Chinese port of Qingdao, with at least one company asking courts to freeze inventory while traders move metal to other ports to prevent possible seizure.

CITIC Resources, an arm of Chinese banking, trading and metals conglomerate CITIC Group, said on Tuesday it had asked courts in Qingdao to secure alumina – the raw material for aluminium – and copper it had stored at Qingdao Port. Read more of this post

Flood of cash needs to irrigate businesses

June 10, 2014 3:52 pm

Flood of cash needs to irrigate businesses

By Luke Johnson

Is there just too much capital? Asset prices are at record highs – be it London property or stock market indices – yet still the surpluses rise. What is happening?

Eighteen months ago, Bain published an insightful document called A World Awash With Money . It stated that “financial assets are nearly ten times the value of the global output of all goods and services”. In other words, the financial economy has swamped the real economy. Bain believes this will continue – as China, India and other emerging markets grow, it estimates total global capital will increase by a further $300tn by 2020, or 50 per cent from current levels. Read more of this post

Conflict looms in ‘Asia’s cauldron’; China’s disputes with neighbours are becoming dangerous

June 10, 2014 7:05 pm

Conflict looms in ‘Asia’s cauldron’

China’s disputes with neighbours are becoming dangerous

Maritime disputes between China and its neighbours have reached new levels of tension. The South China Sea, where Beijing has active disputes with both Hanoi and Manila, has become “Asia’s cauldron” in the phrase of Robert Kaplan. In the East China Sea, a stand-off with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands has become especially poisonous. Thepotential for miscalculation is high. Japanese and Chinese aircraft regularly fly too close to each other for comfort. Last month, Vietnamese fishermen had to be rescued when their boat sank after clashing with a Chinese vessel. Read more of this post

Ferrari drops agent as China’s luxury car market shrinks; With its sales in China dropping by one third to 554 cars in 2013, Ferrari has recently terminated a franchise agreement with a Chinese agent

Ferrari drops agent as China’s luxury car market shrinks

Staff Reporter

2014-06-11

With its sales in China dropping by one third to 554 cars in 2013, Ferrari has recently terminated a franchise agreement with a Chinese agent which owns two stores, out of more than 20 in the nation, a reflection of China’s shrinking luxury car market, reports the Chinese-language Beijing Business Today.

A company source told the paper that Ferrari decide to back out of the franchise following allegations that the agent was also selling rival brands at the same time, but market players attributed the move to the shrinkage of China’s top luxury car market. Read more of this post

China’s LED industry: Get big or go home

China’s LED industry: Get big or go home

Staff Reporter

2014-06-11

Over 10,000 Chinese enterprises have jumped onto the LED bandwagon but up to 50% of them will be forced out in five to eight years, said Pan Wenpo, chairman of Guangzhou Guangya Frankfurt Exhibition.

Pan predicted that China’s LED industry will become increasingly concentrated, leading to the emergence of enterprises with annual sales in the billions of yuan over a five-to-eight-year period, according to Shanghai’s China Business News. He added that the industry’s annual output value will grow at an annual clip of 22%-25% and surpass 1 trillion yuan (US$160 billion) in five years, compared with 350 billion yuan (US$56 billion) in 2013. The forecast amounts to 420-430 billion yuan (US$67-$69 billion) this year, as the LED penetration rate could jump to over 80%. The industry will be dominated by enterprises with edges in branding, sales networks and technology, stressed Pan. Read more of this post

New Silk Road to build global access to Chinese culture

New Silk Road to build global access to Chinese culture

XI’AN, June 9 (Xinhua) — China should build a new Silk Road using the Internet to help integrate Chinese culture into the outside world, the vice chief of a Chinese Internet entertainment company said at the weekend.

American cartoons, such as Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” and Disney’s “Mulan,” are not true embodiments of Chinese culture, said Wang Yuyun, vice president of Perfect World.

“They are Hollywood cultural products made for viewers around the world. American producers borrowed the classic tales or images of China, and the cartoons mainly reflect American values,” she said. Read more of this post

CITIC Securities Analyst Suspended after Disclosing Drug Firm’s Stock-Incentive Compensation Plan; Zhang Mingfang put information on WeChat, prompting investors and fund managers to make quick exits from group chats

06.09.2014 16:17

CITIC Securities Analyst Suspended after Disclosing Drug Firm’s Compensation Plan

Zhang Mingfang put information on WeChat, prompting investors and fund managers to make quick exits from group chats

By staff reporters Zheng Fei and Liu Zhuozhe

(Beijing) – CITIC Securities has suspended an analyst who put information about Lizhu Medicine Group Holding Co. Ltd. on a messaging app’s group chats.

Lizhu, a medicine company listed in Shenzhen, said it will halt trading of its shares on June 9 until it releases a plan on stock-based incentive compensation for its employees. Read more of this post

The ex-chairman of fast-food chain Kungfu has lost his appeal in an embezzlement case that sources close to the company say was the result of a dispute involving family members

06.09.2014 18:54

Ex-Boss of Fast-Food Chain Loses Appeal of Embezzlement Conviction

Court upholds verdict against Cai Dabiao in case sources close to Kungfu Catering say was result of power struggle

By staff reporter Wang Jing

(Beijing) – The ex-chairman of fast-food chain Kungfu Catering Management Co. Ltd. has lost his appeal in an embezzlement case that sources close to the company say was the result of a dispute involving family members.

The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court upheld the conviction of Cai Dabiao on June 6. The southern city’s Tianhe District Court had sentenced Cai to 14 years in prison on December 13 for misappropriation of funds and embezzlement. He will also have 1 million yuan’s worth of personal assets confiscated. Read more of this post

Former top PLA general under graft probe

Former top PLA general under graft probe
Hilary Wong and Qi Luo
Wednesday, June 11, 2014

A graft probe against retired PLA general Xu Caihou – who has been placed under house arrest for his alleged involvement in a 10 million yuan (HK$12.4 million) corruption scandal – is to go head, according to Bastille Post.

Xu, 71 – the former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission – is the second highest official to come under investigation after Bo Xilai, the former Communist Party chief in Chongqing. Read more of this post

Investment sentiment is drastically turning around as opinions diverge over the direction of corporate governance realignment by Samsung Group, following the announcement of Samsung Everland’s planned listing

Stock market swayed by speculations on Samsung’s conversion into holding co structure

2014.06.10 15:05:15

Investment sentiment is drastically turning around as opinions diverge over the direction of corporate governance realignment by Samsung Group, following the announcement of Samsung Everland’s planned listing.
Brokerages shifted their focus from Samsung Group’s possible conversion into a holding company structure to strengthened control of the Group through spinoffs and mergers of major affiliates or handover of shareholdings to the third generation of the owner family after Everland’s listing.  Read more of this post

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is soon forecast to impose harsh disciplinary action on Amorepacific, which was embroiled in an unfair trade controversy over using forceful sales tactics against door-to-door sales distributors

Amorepacific likely to face hefty penalty

Park Yoon-soo

2014.06.10 17:54:36

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is soon forecast to impose harsh disciplinary action on Amorepacific, which was embroiled in an unfair trade controversy over using forceful sales tactics against door-to-door sales distributors last year.  Read more of this post

The “brain drain” that has afflicted developing countries for decades is now going into reverse. But success requires more than plugging a leak; economic development requires countries to make active efforts to attract talent

MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

JUN 8, 2014

The Brain Regain

DUBAI – In 1968, while studying at the Mons Officer Cadet School in the United Kingdom, I needed to visit a hospital. There I met a doctor who, to my surprise, spoke fluent Arabic. I learned that he was new to the UK, so I asked if he intended to stay long or return home. He replied with an Arabic saying that translates as: “My home is where I can eat.” Read more of this post