Ganfeng Lithium to purchase 37.5pct stakes in Argentina's company -- Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. (002460.SZ) announced on Aug. 15 that its subsidiary had set up a new company in Holland that purchased 37.5 percent stakes in Argentina's Minera Exar with a total of 60.30 million U.S. dollars. Minera Exar is a mining and exploration company based in Argentina. Established in 2006, the company has a Cauchari-Olaroz lithium salt lake project in Jujuy Province, Argentina. The first phase of planned production capacity of 25,000 tons of battery-grade lithium carbonate is scheduled to be put into production in 2020.
Xiaomi opens 1st store in Israel -- Chinese electronics company Xiaomi opened its first official store in Israel's coastal city of Tel Aviv on Aug. 15. The new store will offer more than 100 products, including smartphones, laptops, cameras, speakers, routers, headsets, electric scooters, smart kettles, electric toothbrushes, smart robotic vacuum cleaners, smart watches, chargers and selfie sticks. At a cost of 1 million new shekels (270,000 U.S. dollars), the store locates at the Dizengoff Center shopping mall at the heart of Tel Aviv, occupying 140 square meters and including a service laboratory.
Sri Lanka to ink agreement with China's Alibaba to attract more tourists -- The Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will ink an agreement with China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba's travel arm, Fliggy, to bring down 1,000 travelers weekly to Sri Lanka for expanding the island's growing tourism sector, local media quoted Tourism Minister John Amaratunga as saying on Aug. 14. Amaratunga said after obtaining the necessary approval, the ministry will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Alibaba next week. Supreme Global Holdings Limited, the local company that has tied up with Alibaba, will work closely with SLTPB on the project's implementation, which is expected to result in a positive large-scale impact on Sri Lanka's tourism.
Taobao, HoloLens to develop price-checking smart glasses -- Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce platform, will work with Microsoft HoloLens to develop smart glasses that can check product information at a glance, the company said. The glasses, named Taobao MR Buy, can identify a product and use mixed reality technology on the HoloLens to exhibit the product information including price, reviews and purchasing options. "Customers can also search for products on Taobao using the glasses and see a holographic version of the product through the lens," said Zheng Zhong, Taobao marketing manager. The product will be available for consumers to experience in a Taobao marketing event in September.
Malaysian mobile telecommunications firm partners Huawei in cloud business -- Malaysian mobile telecommunications company Celcom Axiata Bhd has inked an agreement with Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. to apply the Cloud based Digitized Operation Platform, a Software-as-a-service solution in cloud business. Celcom Axiata said in a statement on Aug. 10, the partnership will enhance the group's capabilities in managing increasingly complex networks and services, and also enables it to transform its daily operation. Through this partnership, Huawei also aims to leverage its Digitized Operation Automation and Intelligence Services Solution (AUTIN), and share global experience with Celcom to achieve a visualized, automated and intelligent network operation, it said.
CHN Energy to build new coal-to-liquid production lines -- China's energy conglomerate, China Energy Corporation (CHN Energy), will build the second and third coal-to-liquid production lines soon to expand the clean and efficient use of coal, the Xinhua-run cnstock.com reported on Aug. 13. Its coal-to-liquid branch in Erdos, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has currently operated a production line for the direct coal liquefaction which was put into service on a trial basis at the end of 2008, with an annual output of diesel, naphtha and other products standing at 1.08 million metric tons (tonnes).
Quora-like platform Zhihu raises USD270 mln -- Chinese popular question-and-answer website Zhihu announced it has completed a 270 million U.S. dollars E-round financing, the biggest in the company's history, The Paper reported. Zhihu didn't disclose the investors list or the valuation. But some sources said this round of financing could value the company at almost 2.5 billion dollars. The purpose behind fundraising was not just to raise funds, but also to find partners, said Zhou Yuan, founder and CEO of Zhihu. (Source:China Daily)
Poly Real Estate sees H1 net profit up 15pct -- Poly Real Estate (600048.SH) announced on Aug. 14 that its net profits in the first half of 2018 stood at 6.505 billion yuan, up 15.13 percent year on year. According to a filing to the stock exchange, the developer achieved operating income of 59.514 billion yuan, representing an increase of 9.28 percent year on year. Among the top ten shareholders, China Securities Finance Co., Ltd.(CSF)'s share holding in the developer increased to 4.90 percent at the end of the second quarter from 4.33 percent at the end of the first quarter.
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