Gome to buy stake in Huishang Bank

    GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. said yesterday it would buy more than 5 percent of Huishang Bank for HK$2.4 billion (US$309.5 million), as the Chinese electronics retailer aims to upgrade its financial services platform.

    Gome, backed by private equity firm Bain Capital, said it would buy 632.5 million new H shares, or 5.4 percent of the enlarged share capital, of the Hefei-based commercial bank at HK$3.8 per share. The issue price represented a 12.4 percent premium to the bank’s previous close, Gome said.

    Fosun to expand in overseas real estate

    CHINESE conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. is looking to expand its real estate holdings abroad, even as foreign competitors bridle at the high prices Chinese buyers have been paying for commercial property, homes and other assets.

    Fosun made a splash last year when it purchased New York’s Chase Manhattan Plaza for US$725 million and London’s Lloyds Chambers for US$102 million. Now, backed by bank loans and funds from insurers, Fosun is on the hunt for real estate in cities such as Los Angeles, Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Lisbon and Sydney, said Xu Xiaoliang, president of Fosun Property, the company’s real-estate arm. The firm is finalizing a deal in Los Angeles that could close by the end of the year, he said.

    China Southern Airlines expands capacity

    CHINA Southern Airlines will increase capacity on its service between Auckland and the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, the carrier and Auckland Airport announced Tuesday.

    The airlines would replace the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its night flight from Auckland to Guangzhou from January to March 2015. Norris Carter, Auckland Airport general manager aeronautical commercial, said the bigger aircraft would provide an additional 14,000 seats on the route during the peak period. Last month, China Southern increased its services on the route from 10 to 14 flights per week for the October-March peak summer period.

    Rolls-Royce signs deal with Jiangsu A-Star

    BRITISH aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce has signed a US$50 million long-term contract to supply Jiangsu A-Star with M250 turboprop engines for the Extra EA 500 aircraft the Chinese company is due to start manufacturing.

    Rolls-Royce said that the contract was worth more than US$50 million and it would start delivering engines next year.