Upgraded cars at lower prices
()
02/01/2002
Shanghai General Motors launched on January 29 its new Sail model, an upgraded version of the popular 100,000-yuan ($12,000) economy car with manual transmission, now selling for 92,800 yuan ($11,180). Also, the company offered a new Buick hatchback model, equipped with a 2.5-litre engine, that is priced at 258,000 yuan ($31,000). Meanwhile, the automaker lowered the prices of its Sail compact and recreational vehicles by as much as 10,000 yuan ($1,200). Solar battery for cellphone China's first domestically-made solar battery for mobile phones was recently put into mass production in Shanghai at the Haoxin Technology Co Ltd. The new solar battery has a thin layer of photoelectric cells which, upon exposure to light, will start charging the normal lithium battery to which it is attached. Five minutes of exposure to light will produce the power for one minute of communications, while one night under a reading lamp will be enough for two days of stand-by power. The solar battery sells for about the same price as a normal lithium battery. More flights for festival tourists Shanghai Airlines will increase the volume of flights to meet the growing demand of passengers who want to tour during the Spring Festival, which falls on February 12, as well as flights bound for Macao to help Taiwan compatriots working in Shanghai return home. An airline spokesman said a service programme will be launched for family tourism groups by providing hotels and tourism routes to Beijing, Harbin, Guilin and Guangzhou. UL moves into 66 Plaza Underwriters Laboratories, a US product safety standard developer and certification organization, has moved its Shanghai office to 66 Plaza in Jing'an District. The shift cost $1 million. Sjeev Jesudas, president and managing director of UL for the Asia-Pacific Region, confirmed that it is an act taken to help UL be more approachable to local applicants. Tallest building to break ground After a four-year delay, construction of Shanghai International Financial Centre, which is expected to be the world's tallest building, is set to begin in June. The height of the building will exceed 500 metres after construction, but its name may be changed, according to Shanghai Laodong Daily. The overall investment will exceed 75 billion yen ($560 million). Private capital flows in The city's private enterprises numbered 176,384 at the end of last year, placing Shanghai third in the national ranking. Total registered capital reached 186.21 billion yuan ($22.44 billion), up 43.1 per cent on the figure for the end of 2000. Of the top 10 private enterprises, half came from other provinces or municipalities. Private enterprises with registered capital of more than 100 million yuan ($12.04 million) numbered 98, double the figure for the end of 2000. Of these, 17 had registered capital of more than 200 million yuan ($24.1 million). Record-high insurance revenue China Life Insurance Shanghai Office reported a record-high revenue last year and the total volume exceeded 3.5 billion yuan ($422.7 million) for the first time. The revenue saw a net increase of 810 million yuan ($97.83 million) compared to 2000, or up 30 per cent on a yearly basis, to hit 3.517 billion yuan ($424.75 million). Homac contracts cut storage charges Japanese chain-store group Homac has signed three contracts with Cargo System under the OOCL Group to provide single country consolidation service. The service aims to reduce the storage charges on the part of importers and to speed up the stock turn-over cycle. As these contracts are effective from February 21, Chinese exporters will only need to deliver goods to the nominated warehouses at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone before they go for bank negotiation. Lab tests mobile networks Joining hands with Alcatel, Shanghai-based Intrinsic Technology Co will launch in March nG Lab, a real end-to-end environment open for testing the next generation mobile applications. The first of its kind in China, the local lab will enable network operators like China Mobile and China Unicom as well as data service providers to conduct testing and showcasing activities for assorted wireless applications like short message service. Woosang consulting firms DAEWOO Securities Co set up its consulting business in Shanghai on January 28. Woosang Investment Consulting Co will help Korean companies, especially high-tech enterprises, to go public and raise money in China. SVA-Cirrus alliance SVA Information Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Shanghai General Electronics (Group) Co, announced it has formed a strategic alliance with the US-based Cirrus Logic Inc, a supplier of high-performance analogue and digital signal processing chip solutions for the consumer entertainment electronics market. The two parties have agreed to set up a new consumer electronics system design centre in the city to foster audio and video electronics products. New flights beckon Lufthansa Stefan Lauer, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, applauds the airline's expansion in Shanghai with its launch of five weekly Shanghai-Munich flights starting from March 16. "Adding these to our daily flights to Frankfurt means that they further enhance Lufthansa's position in Shanghai," said Lauer. The airline will provide 32 non-stop weekly flights serving Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong utilizing A340-300 aircraft as new flights open. He said daily flights from Shanghai to Munich will depend on market demand. The new services will provide a new gateway in Europe for travellers from Shanghai. The airline has profited from its daily flights from Shanghai to Frankfurt. The passenger load rate on the route has exceeded 80 per cent. Of the passengers, approximately 40 per cent are business clients and the remaining are tourists
|
