Alibaba Pictures first half revenue soar on back of online promotion and distribution business
Alibaba Pictures Group, the entertainment subsidiary of e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding, recorded a 313 per cent year on year jump in revenue for the six months ended June 30 amid aggressive moves to build its infrastructure for the mainland Chinese film industry. “Having laid the foundation for its core business segments over the last two years, the group is expected to advance to a new phase of development,” said Alibaba Pictures chairman Yu Yongfu in a regulatory filing...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 31 Aug 2017 | 6:00 am(NZT)
Mengniu Dairy’s profits first-half rise 4.7 per cent
China Mengniu Dairy, the country’s second largest dairy, announced that its profits for the first half of the year increased by 4.7 per cent from the same period last year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Mengniu reported profits of 1.13 billion yuan for the six months to the end of June, up from 1.08 billion in the first half of 2016. The profit came primarily from Mengniu’s core activities, liquid milk and ice cream products, which helped compensate for a loss at its...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 31 Aug 2017 | 3:31 am(NZT)
China Construction Bank profits up 3.69 per cent
China Construction Bank announced late on Wednesday that its profits rose by 3.69 per cent, a performance in line with analysts’ expectations. The bank, China’s second most profitable, reported net profits of 138.3 billion yuan, up from 133.4 billion yuan last year. The profit growth was broad based, with net interest income up 3.25 per cent, net fee and commission income up 1.32 per cent, and some improvements in costs. In its statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the bank...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 31 Aug 2017 | 3:13 am(NZT)
NetDragon returns to profit on higher online games revenue
NetDragon Websoft, the mainland Chinese online gaming giant, returned to profit in the first half of this year on the back of the Hong Kong-listed company’s record high revenue posted in the quarter ended June 30. “Our games business brought robust growth as we executed our strategy to leverage our successful intellectual property,” said Liu Dejian, the founder and chairman of NetDragon, in a statement on Wednesday. NetDragon is the latest mainland internet company to record...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 31 Aug 2017 | 1:01 am(NZT)
JD.com offers US$15m prize to find top drone-delivery experts and solutions
Online retail giant JD.com has put 100 million yuan (US$15.1 million) up for offer, to winners of a competition to find the best solutions to introduce widespread drone delivery services in China. The company’s current drone deliveries are limited to a number of rural areas, but the Amazon-like Chinese retailer said it is now looking for the world’s top drone talent to design and create a more sophisticated service. The novel logistics initiative was launched by officials in...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 31 Aug 2017 | 1:00 am(NZT)
SAIC Motor’s near 6pc interim profit rise falls short of expectations
SAIC Motor, China’s largest automaker by sales volume, has posted a lower than expected increase in its first-half profit amid a slowing Chinese vehicle market. Net profit for the six months to June rose nearly six per cent to 15.96 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion), on the back of a 12.9 per cent jump in revenue to 396.4 billion yuan. The interim earnings, or 1.38 yuan per share, slightly fell short of an average forecast of 1.46 yuan a share by four analysts. Underlying profit in the...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 11:16 pm(NZT)
Google, HKT launch advanced home Wi-fi system in Hong Kong
Internet powerhouse Google has teamed up with HKT, Hong Kong’s largest telecommunications network operator, to introduce its advanced mesh Wi-fi technology to the city’s residential sector, marking the initial launch of the advanced home router system in Asia. HKT and Singapore-based StarHub were the only two telecommunications service providers in Asia to exclusively launch "Google Wifi" in their respective markets on Wednesday. The Google Wifi system,...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 11:00 pm(NZT)
Agricultural Bank sees interim profit grow 3.3pc, as it curbs bad debt
Agricultural Bank of China, the mainland’s third-largest lender by assets, has beaten analyst estimates after posting a 3.3 per cent growth in profit for the first half year, and successfully putting a curb on its level of bad loans. The Beijing-based bank’s net profit for the period ended on June 30 was 108.6 billion yuan (US$16.5 billion), compared with 105.1 billion yuan last time. Forecasts had suggested a 2 per cent year on year profit rise. The bank said in its regulatory...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 10:41 pm(NZT)
Marks & Spencer in talks with Al-Futtaim to sell its Hong Kong, Macau businesses
British multinational retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) said on Wednesday that it had begun talks with one of its long-time partners Al-Futtaim, to sell the franchise of its retail business in Hong Kong and Macau, a move it expects to create a more “profitable and customer-centric International business”. The talks followed the British retailer’s strategic review of its international business in November last year that led to the closure of numerous stores in 10...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 10:40 pm(NZT)
Beijing may loosen capital controls as yuan hits 14-month high
Both onshore and offshore yuan rose to the highest level in 14 months, which analysts said may herald a loosening of capital controls in the coming months. Onshore yuan rose 0.19 per cent to 6.5838 against the US dollar on Wednesday, marking the highest level since June 24, 2016. Offshore yuan advanced 0.27 per cent to 6.5906 per dollar, the 11th straight day of gains. The currency has gained 2.65 per cent so far this month, the best performance among the 11 most traded Asian currencies. Early...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 10:38 pm(NZT)
Bank of China profits up 11.5 per cent, but analysts concerned about quality
Bank of China reported an 11.5 per cent rise in half-year profits on Wednesday, well above forecasts, but analysts said this was thanks to a reduction in provisions it had set aside to cover bad loans. China’s fourth-largest lender said profit for the six months to June was 103.7 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion), up from the 93 billion yuan for the same period in 2016 and beating the 2.64 per cent average rise estimated by three analysts. “Bank of China’s result is definitely a...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 10:33 pm(NZT)
ICBC’s interim profits beat expectations, bad loan ratio falls
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation’s largest lender by assets, reported better-than-expected profit for the first half of this year on Wednesday. The Beijing-based bank said it earned 153 billion yuan (US$23 billion) in the six months ended June 30, a 1.9 per cent rise over the same period a year earlier and beating a consensus forecast by analysts of a 1.3 per cent rise to 152.1 billion yuan. Its interim performance was better than expected, the bank said in a statement...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 9:48 pm(NZT)
China hints at more government spending to shore up economic growth
China will be “more proactive and effective” in implementing a pro-growth fiscal policy, the country’s two powerful economic ministers said, sending a strong signal that Beijing will loosen its purse strings to offset the impact on growth from its financial crackdown. He Lifeng, the chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, the economic planning agency, told the country’s lawmakers on Tuesday that China was on track to achieve its economic...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 8:45 pm(NZT)
Sinopec Oilfield Service expects to swing back to profit next year
Sinopec Oilfield Service, the drilling and engineering services supplier of sister firm China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec), has vowed to return to profit after posting its third interim loss. The company said it aims to swing back into the black by taking up more work from Sinopec and overseas clients, adding that it expects the slow oil price recovery to continue. The state-backed company, is also confident of reaching its goal to slash 580 million yuan (US$88.03 million) of costs in the...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 8:27 pm(NZT)
Chinese data cable maker sues Apple for ‘unfair competition’
A Shenzhen-based electronics parts maker has filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc, claiming that a mandatory certification programme from the Cupertino, California-based technology giant is a form of “unfair competition” in the data cable market. Pisen, known for its tech product accessories such as data cables, power plugs and power banks, said on its official Weibo account that the Beijing Intellectual Property Court has already accepted the lawsuit. The Shenzhen firm is demanding...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 8:04 pm(NZT)
Evergrande shares rise to record as Hong Kong’s Chinese Estates keeps up its buying
Shares of China Evergrande Group rose to a fresh all-time high on Wednesday as Chinese Estates Holdings, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung’s wife Kimbie Chan Hoi-wan, continued to build a stake in the property giant. An announcement by Chinese Estates on Monday night showed it had bought another 111 million shares in Evergrande between July 19 and August 29, making its total interest 5.83 per cent. It also said Chan personally held 35 million shares or 0.27 per cent of...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 6:37 pm(NZT)
Postal Savings Bank’s HK shares rise on A-share offer plan
Shares in the Postal Savings Bank of China rallied in Hong Kong on Wednesday after it unveiled plans to replenish its capital levels through an A-share offering. Its stock ended the morning session up 3 per cent to close at HK$4.80. The Beijing-based bank, which operates China’s largest bank branch network, was reporting first-half net profit of 26.6 billion yuan (US$4 billion), up 14.5 per cent year on year. Officials said it plans to issue a maximum of 5.17 billion new shares onto the...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 5:55 pm(NZT)
Huadian Fuxin looks to buy parent’s assets and invest overseas amid overcapacity at home
Huadian Fuxin Energy, the renewable energy unit of one of the nation’s top five state-owned power generators China Huadian Group, is in talks to buy its parent’s solar and wind farms and is seeking to invest overseas, according to its new chairman. “Fuxin is the sole renewable energy listing platform of Huadian Group, so suitable assets will certainly be injected from the parent,” Huang Shaoxiong, who took the helm last Friday as Fuxin’s chairman while continuing...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 4:56 pm(NZT)
China rust belt banks ‘at centre’ of murky world of shadow banking
Regional banks in China’s rust belt provinces are driving the rapid expansion of shadow banking in the country, fuelling a web of informal lending that poses wider risks to the financial system, according to a study by the financial services company UBS Group. Smaller rust belt banks like Bank of Tangshan and Baoshang Bank have been using products such as trust beneficiary rights and directional asset-management plans to hide the true state of their bad loans and circumvent...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 4:40 pm(NZT)
Theme park operator China Travel sees 39pc rise in profit as tourist numbers and spending continue to soar
A Hong Kong-listed company focused particularly on hotel and leisure industry investment in mainland China has reported a robust 39 per cent rise in net half-time profit, driven by rising numbers of tourists visiting its properties and theme parks. China Travel International Investment Hong Kong Limited, which also operates whole leisure resorts, registered net profit of HK$375 million (US$47.9 million), or 6.88 HK cents a share. The results leaves the company on track to beat its full-year...Source: South China Morning Post - Business feed | 30 Aug 2017 | 4:32 pm(NZT)