China's SPIC hints at merger with China Huaneng -- China's state energy giant State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) has indicated a potential merger with China Huaneng Group, another state power company. The SPIC and China Huaneng are "both thinking about forming a union," but all related processes are still ongoing, according to Wang Binghua, chairman of SPIC. SPIC and China Huaneng are among the nine power companies in China, which are all SOEs operating in similar ways. This is "obviously inappropriate" as it disrupts resource-distribution, efficiency and benefits of the sector, Wang said.
13 firms debut on China's New Third Board -- Thirteen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) debuted on China's New Third Board over the past week. The newcomers brought the number of companies listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ) to 11,294. Turnover on the board totaled 4.23 billion yuan (about 621 million U.S. dollars) from July 3 to July 7, down 18.9 percent from the previous week.
Tencent to help build smart airport in Beijing -- Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) inked strategic cooperation agreement on July 7 with Tencent and a public fund to build smart airports. BCIA, Tencent and China Civil Aviation Science Popularization Foundation will work together to offer smart services to passengers, according to the agreement. They will expand channels for airport information and improve its accuracy and timeliness, enabling passengers to get transport information on familiar platforms such as WeChat.
UN, Alibaba cooperate to improve China's rural e-commerce infrastructure -- The United Nations announced on July 10 that it will join hands with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to increase spending on China's rural e-commerce infrastructure. A total of 200 million U.S. dollars will be allocated by the UN for construction of rural e-commerce infrastructure in China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, said Lakshmi Puri, UN Assistant Secretary-General and deputy executive director of UN Women.
China's Huawei partners to launch mobile money service in Africa -- Chinese tech giant Huawei said on July 11 that it has partnered with British money transfer service operator WorldRemit to enable African expatriates to send money home to millions of subscribers of Huawei's mobile money service platform across Africa. The deal will enable Huawei to add a ready-made solution for remittances -- a growing mobile money product offering -- to its existing suite of services.
Starwood forms JV to run hotels in China -- The U.S.-based private investment firm Starwood Capital Group has formed a joint venture with a Chinese partner to run middle and upper scale hotels in China. The inception of Shanghai Shimao Star Hotel Management Co., Ltd was announced on July 12 by Starwood's partner, Shimao Property Holdings Limited. In the joint venture, Starwood holds 49 percent stake and Shimao 51 percent. The amount of investment is not disclosed.
Ofo gears up with USD 700 mln of fresh funding -- Chinese bike-sharing company ofo Inc said on July 11 it has raised more than 700 million U.S. dollars in a fresh round of financing to expand globally, as its faces rising competition from domestic rivals, chiefly Mobike Technology Co Ltd. The new series E round of financing was led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Hony Capital and Citic Private Equity, the company said in a statement. Other backers include its former investors DST Global and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing.
It is the biggest round of financing in the bike-sharing industry to date, surpassing Mobike's latest over 600 million dollars round last month.
Sunac to buy Wanda projects for USD9.3 bln -- Sunac China Holdings has signed a deal to buy hotels and projects from Dalian Wanda Group for 63.2 billion yuan (9.3 billion U.S. dollars), marking one of the country's biggest property transactions. Sunac will buy 76 hotels from the real estate and entertainment conglomerate, and will acquire a 91 percent stake of its 13 cultural and tourism projects, according to a joint statement posted on Wanda's website. The properties will continue to operate under the Wanda brand, with the company managing the design and quality control of the construction projects, it said.
Sinolove gets 100 mln yuan investment -- Sinolove Technology Co Ltd, a business-to-business, or B2B pet healthcare company, announced on July 9 it received 100 million yuan (14.7 million U.S. dollars) in investment from THG Venture and the SME development fund under the Ministry of Finance in its A-round financing. Founded in 2014, Sinolove focuses on pet medical consulting, healthcare and pet behavior training. The company launched Lpet, an online platform to link the veterinary healthcare industry to product suppliers. (Source: China Daily)
COSCO Shipping to buy OOIL for USD6.3 bln -- COSCO Shipping Holding Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd, will purchase a majority stake in Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) for 6.3 billion U.S. dollars, creating a global shipping giant, Reuters reports on July 10. COSCO Shipping, together with Shanghai International Port (SIPG), agreed to buy a combined 68.7 percent stake from OOIL's controlling shareholders, giving COSCO Shipping and SIPG a 90.1 percent and 9.9 percent stake respectively. The offer price was 78.67 HK dollars per share. (Source: China Daily)
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