BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's key local business news from the past week.
-- HUAWEI REVENUE
Chinese tech giant Huawei's revenue rose 39 percent year-on-year to 179.7 billion yuan (about 26.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year.
Huawei continued to see robust growth of its consumer business as its smart devices led by smartphones continued to expand market presence. In the first quarter, it shipped 59 million smartphones.
By the end of March, the company had signed 40 5G commercial contracts with carriers around the globe, with more than 70,000 5G bases shipped to markets around the world.
-- EXXONMOBIL LNG DEAL
ExxonMobil signed a 20-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group.
Zhejiang Energy is expected to receive 1 million metric tons of LNG from the U.S. energy giant each year.
-- BAOSTEEL PROFIT
Baoshan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. saw its net profit slump 45.7 percent year-on-year to 2.7 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2019. Its gross profit margin for the main business of steel-making fell by 8 percentage points from a year earlier to 9 percent last quarter.
During the three months, Baosteel generated a revenue of 65.4 billion yuan, down 3.1 percent year-on-year.
-- BYD FACILITY
Leading Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker BYD will set up an industrial base for passenger vehicles and key components in the city of Changzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province.
With a total investment of 10 billion yuan, the base is designed to produce 400,000 NEVs each year with an annual output worth of 50 billion yuan.
-- CATL PROFIT
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), China's leading lithium-ion battery and energy storage system producer, posted a 153.4 percent year-on-year growth in net profit in the first quarter of 2019 amid a booming NEV market.
CATL's net profit reached 1.05 billion yuan while revenue surged 168.9 percent year-on-year to 9.98 billion yuan.
During the first quarter, China's NEV production and sales amounted to 304,000 units and 299,000 units respectively, up 102.7 percent and 109.7 percent year-on-year.
-- CHANGAN PROFIT
Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. saw net profit plunge 90.5 percent year-on-year to 680.7 million yuan and revenue fall 17.1 percent to 66.3 billion yuan in 2018 amid falling sales.
Its automobile sales totalled 2.14 million units in 2018, roughly one-quarter less than 2.87 million units in 2017, as China's auto market experienced a bumpy year.
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