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As Macao’s economy is witnessing a rapid development, many Australians saw “significant opportunities” in the Special Administrative Region (SAR), said Les Luck, Australian Consul-General Hong Kong and Macao, when delivering a speech at an Australian reception in the island city on May 22nd.

The Consul-General said he was impressed by the level of Australians’ engagement in Macao’s economy, working in fields ranging from the hospitality, gaming, construction, infrastructure, transportation and food and beverage sectors.

James Packer, Australia’s richest man, has set up a joint venture, Melco PBL Entertainment, with Lawrence Ho, son of Macao gaming magnate Stanley Ho, and has built the Crown Macao, a six-star casino resort. And a larger integrated casino resort project initiated by Melco PBL is under construction in the city at present.

In addition, statistics released by the Consulate-General show that between 2006 and 2007, Australia’s merchandise trade with the SAR was worth 632.2 million patacas ($79 million), and Australian’s direct exports to the SAR amounted to 565.1 million patacas ($70.6 million) while imports from Macao’s to 67.1 million patacas ($8.4 million).

“We estimate more than 2,000 Australians live in Macao and expect that number will continue to increase,” said Luck.

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On May 20, Mexico and China reached an agreement on reciprocal promotion and protection of investments to tighten bilateral economic ties.

The deal, according to Mexico’s Deputy Economy Secretary Carlos Arce Macias, will consolidate a juridical framework more favorable for investments, and will provide juridical guarantee for investments and contribute to the increase and diversification of investments to attract more countries to invest in Mexico.

Meanwhile, it is expected to improve conditions for foreign direct investments, help attract more foreign productive capital and provide better conditions for Mexican investors.

The agreement will be signed in July during President Felipe Calderon’s visit to China.

We, Bpovia Ltd, would like to help you succeed in this promising econimic cooperation.

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China Business, China Business News, China Economy, Investment China, Joint Venture China bilateral economic ties, China, FDI, investment, Mexico

Chalco, China’s largest aluminum producer whose shares are traded both in Shanghai and Hong Kong, agreed last Friday to set up a joint venture with Malaysia’s MMC and the Saudi Binladin Group to build and operate an aluminum smelter plant in Saudia Arabia.

The plant is to be built in three stages and the total investment is estimated to reach $4.5 billion. In the joint venture, the aluminum producer Chalco will own a 40% stake to become the largest single shareholder. Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary-backed MMC will hold a 20% share while a consortium of local investors led by the Saudi Binladin Group will hold the remaining stake.

The smelter plant is to be located in the Middle East country’s Jizan Economic City (JEC), where electricity costs an average of $20 per megawatt-hour compared with $28 in the US and $40 in China for the same measure. The annual aluminum production capacity of the plant is expected to reach one million tons.

In addition, an associated 1,860mW power plant with an estimated $2 billion will also be built, in which Chalco will take a 20% stake to become the third largest shareholder.

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China Merchants Bank (CMB), the country’s largest credit issuer said it would take all 50 percent of the CIGNA &CMC shares that is worth 142 million yuan. CIGNA &CMC, founded in summer 2003, is a Sino-American joint venture offering life, casualty and health insurance. US-based CIGNA Company holds the other 50 percent of the shares.

As an agent for CIGNA &CMC’s insurance policies, CMB has earned 66.39 million yuan in service fees from the company during the first 11 months of last year.

This new step, aiming to improve the bank’s revenue structure and sharpen its competitive edge, must first be approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

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China Business, China Business News, China Economy, China Finance and Banking, Joint Venture China China Merchants Bank, CIGNA &CMC company, insurance industry, joint venture

A joint venture company will be launched on Sunday in Shanghai to develop and build the country’s first large airplanes.

The new company has a registered capital of 19 billion yuan, with its largest shareholder being the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. Other shareholders with different stakes are the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, AVICⅠ, AVICⅡ, Baosteel, Aluminum Corp of China and Sinochem Corp.

By this move, China Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd aims to manufacture passenger jets with at least 150 seats, strengthening its competitive edge over Boeing and Airbus in the fast-growing aviation market. And its first aircraft are scheduled for takeoff by 2020.

Above all, the company will be to develop an operating structure and a research and development center which is to be based at the Shanghai branch of the First Aircraft Institute under the China Aviation Industry CorporationⅠ.

The institute currently employs 700 staff, who previously designed the 50 to 60-seat MA60 turboprop aircraft and the 70 to 90-seat ARJ21 regional jet. And such experience obtained in the development of these smaller aircraft will lay a solid foundation for the development of larger planes.

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Google and Chinese software company Kingsoft have announced a co-branding strategy on China’s online market— the launch of a web-based dictionary.

With this alliance, netizens can use Google’s translation service on Kingsoft’s popular English-Chinese dictionary software PowerWord that has estimated 30 million users. Moreover, Google’s web search and photo search services will be embeded in the new dictionary service, which will carry both Kingsoft and Google logos. According to Google, the two companies will share the online advertisements revenue.

It is a new approch of Google to compete with smaller local companies, such as Baidu.com on China’s online ad sales market and customer preference. This alliance will also help Google expand its user base in China and even make it a software client similar to Tencent’s QQ.

Since last year, Google has been making efforts to furthur fit into local market by partnering Chinese companies, like China Mobile, China Telecom. As a result, Google’s market share in China has grown by 0.9% in the first quarter of this year.

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China Minsheng Banking Corp, the nation’s seventh largest bank by market value, got approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to set up a fund management company with Royal Bank of Canada and Three Gorges Financial Co.

Minsheng said it would take 60% of the venture, while Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s biggest lender, would control 30%. Three Gorges would hold the rest 10%.

Banks’ advantages over asset management firms lie in their reliable credit, wide networks and customer resources. And selling and being trustee of funds can create considerable income for banks while diversified wealth management products will help strengthen customer loyalty.

The fund company is Minsheng’s latest move toward becoming a financial holding firm. The bank also plans to pay 2.34 billion yuan for a stake in Shaanxi International Trust & Investment Corp and buy up to 20% of UCBH Holdings Inc, which is the biggest bank serving the Chinese community in the US.

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China Business, China Business News, China Economy, China Finance and Banking, Joint Venture China asset management, China, fund venture, Minsheng Bank, Royal Bank of Canada

Ping An Securities, the securities arm of Ping An (Group) Co, plans a joint venture fund management company with Singapore-based UOB Asset Management.

As a unit of Singapore’s United Overseas Bank, UOB Asset Management is the largest asset management company in Singapore.

Ping An, China’s second largest insurer, has been planning to enter the fund management business after it expanded its business to securities, banking and trust. Last year, it acquired a 9% stake in Hong Kong-based asset management firm Value Partners, becoming its strategic investor.

“This move by Ping An proves its commitment to be a financial holding company,” said Luo Yi, an analyst with China Merchants Securities. “Ping An’s existing marketing channels will be the new company’s strong back-up. Meanwhile, the fund management company could also sell Ping An’s insurance policies.”

In addition to Ping An, the country’s largest life insurer China Life is also actively preparing a fund management company.

The increasing presence of joint ventures in China demonstrates the business potential of the Chinese market. For all businessmen looking for opportunities in China, BPOVIA Ltd is always ready to provide its professional services and excellent virtual assistants.

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EMC Corp, the world’s largest data storage company, set up a 50-50 joint venture with Hong Kong-listed Digital China in March this year, aiming to tap into the country’s booming IT market.

The new venture—EMC’s first in Asia—is expected to provide information infrastructure solutions, services and support for the Chinese market. It will also help the two sides to attract partners in the information storage sector.

EMC, by shifting to software sales over the years, has now become an information management company. It planned to invest $1 billion in China before 2012 to gain a larger share in the country’s data storage market as China has witness explosive growth in websites and internet content.

According to American IT research firm IDC, the total storage capacity in China will grow 30-fold from 132 petabytes in 2004 to nearly 4,000 petabytes in 2011.

EMC is also expecting the new venture to help serve the needs of its customers in China since Digital China, the country’s largest IT products distributor and systems integrator, has been trying to enhance its IT services business.

“This is about how we grow in the years ahead in China,” said Steven Leonard, president of EMC Asia Pacific-Japan. “China is now one of the world’s fastest growing and strategically important markets.”

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The global leader of home appliance makers Whirlpool and Chinese conglomerate Hisense, a large electronics and information industry unit operating in such fields as household appliances, telecom, information, real estate and commerce, have set up a joint venture for consumers worldwide.

The 50-50 joint venture will invest about 900 million yuan ($129 million) in high-end washing machines and refrigerators production under the Hisense and Whirlpool brands.

The two sides will work together on capital management, research, manufacturing, procurement and global marketing. And the expected production capability is two million washing machines and one million refrigerators each year.

“The strong union of Hisense and Whirlpool will improve the structure of the Chinese appliances industry and prompt the research, development and manufacturing ability of Chinese companies to reach international levels,” said Huo Dufang, director-general of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association.

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BPO, China Business News, China Consumer Market, Joint Venture China China, Hisense, home appliances, JV, Whirlpool