VW recalls

    GERMAN carmaker Volkswagen AG (VW) will recall 80,000 cars from its luxury division Audi due to issues with the fuel injection system, Audi said Saturday, adding that around 35,000 of the affected vehicles are from China.

    The cars were made between April 2011 and April 2012, and “in rare cases customers may notice a smell of fuel in affected vehicles,” Audi said in an e-mailed statement. The Xinhua news agency, citing the country’s quality watchdog, reported that Volkswagen’s local joint venture, China FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd., will begin the recall March 20, affecting various Audi A4, A5, A6, A7 and Q7 models.

    Coal drops

    CHINA recorded its first drop in coal production since 2000 last year, as the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter pulls back on its use of the fossil fuel and switches to cleaner energy sources.

    According to the country’s national coal association, China produced 3.5 billion tons of coal in the first 11 months of 2014, 2.1 percent less than the same period in 2013. The association estimates the drop for the entire year will reach 2.5 percent. The report, quoted by Xinhua on Friday, said the profits of major Chinese coal companies dropped 44 percent in that same period to 110.5 billion yuan, or US$18 billion, amid low global coal prices.

    US$100b saved

    CHINA will save US$100 billion on its oil import bill in just six months thanks to the collapse in crude prices.

    That assumes prices remain at current levels, said Lin Boqiang, a leading China energy economist, at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos at the weekend. “And we don’t have to do anything,” he added. Lin is dean of the China Institute for Energy Policy Studies.

    Premium income

    PREMIUM income derived from insurance sold in Shenzhen increased by 17 percent from a year ago, to 55 billion yuan (US$8.86 billion) last year while the assets of Shenzhen’s 20 insurers totaled 2.45 trillion yuan, the second most among Chinese cities, according to the Shenzhen bureau of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

    Shenzhen insurers also lent 2.73 billion yuan to 61,400 small and medium-sized firms and offered 8.66 billion yuan in loans to 631 micro companies last year.