IN BRIEF (Page: 14, Date: 11/09/2001)
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11/09/2001
Commodity fairThe Shanghai International Consumer Goods Fair opened at the Everbright Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday with more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises and delegations from 12 countries attending. The 4-day fair will be accompanied by the Third China Supermarket Fair and the Third China Chain Store Conference. Consumer goods sales The total volume of consumer goods retail sales in Shanghai reached US$16.42 billion during the January-September period, an increase of 8.8 per cent over the corresponding period of last year. Chain stores registered a combined sales volume of US$5 billion worth of consumables, accounting for 30.7 per cent of the city's total retail sales in the first three quarters. Semicon industry Deutsche Bank would like to branch out into China's semiconductor sector and help China's local companies utilize the global capital market, Michael Cohrs, president of the bank's financing department, said at a symposium on the semiconductor industry of the Asia-Pacific region held in Shanghai. Although the global semiconductor market has been sluggish, Deutsche Bank is confident in the sector's future and would like to invest in the Asia-Pacific market, particularly in China, Cohrs said. HSBC service centre Global banking giant HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp) will open its service centre in Shanghai next year, after having set up its first centre in China's mainland in the southern city of Guangzhou. The centre is expected to handle the HSBC's data input and account processing business in Hong Kong and other Asian branches. Moreover, it will provide service to the company's branches in Canada and other regions. HSBC officials said all logistics work of HSBC will be moved to Shanghai when the centre starts operation to keep down costs. With approval of the Shanghai authority, HSBC will establish a data processing company to manage the centre. Kodak heritage Eastman Kodak Company donated US$151,000 to the Shaanxi Tourist Administration at a ceremony last Friday at the Museum of Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. In his address at the ceremony, Daniel Carp, chairman and CEO of Kodak, said the fund will help local government to better protect its rich cultural heritage and launch related educational projects in the tourist sector. It was also announced at the ceremony that Kodak has joined with the local tourist administration in launching a website featuring China Silk Road tours. Futures MOU China's Shanghai Futures Exchange has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Futures Exchange of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to set up co-operative relations in developing products and exchanging information. The ROK believes the ties will bring about mutual benefits and contribute to the co-operation between the financial industries of the two countries. 263 expands Beijing-based 263 Network Group which has been awarded two service prizes by the State, is expanding its market in Shanghai by joining China's E-net and South Korea's Via-SK. Shanghai has more than 100,000 enterprises using 95963 dialing-up services, which need technical help. Duty-free shop China's largest downtown duty-free shop will open in Shanghai on November 16 to serve foreigners, overseas Chinese and Taiwanese coming to the city. A shop manager said tourists from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan will be major customers. R&D centres boom Multinational companies have set up more than 40 R&D centres in Shanghai by co-operating with their Chinese partners. They include a new e-generation information centre run by IBM and Jiaotong University and facilities supported by Shanghai Bell Alcatel and Microsoft. Bayer's jumbo project Bayer of Germany plans to build a $3.1 billion polymer base in southern Shanghai Caojing industrial park. Covering an area of 1.5 square kilometres, the project, to be fully completed in 2008, will provide raw materials to the electronic and automotive industries. Meanwhile, Bayer established a polymer R&D centre in the Pudong New Area last month to provide technical support to its clients in the region.
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