JD.com, Shanghai Pharma in pharmacy deal

    DOMESTIC e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. has teamed up with leading Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co. (Shanghai Pharma) to develop its online health care business, the drugmaker said yesterday.

    The move reflects a growing rivalry between Chinese e-commerce firms over China’s fast-growing online health care market, with technology seen as a potential cure for a sector that is bogged down by high prices, snarling hospital queues and frequent allegations of corruption.

    Greenland to acquire Rundong Auto

    MAJOR domestic developer Greenland Holding Group Co. will pay HK$1.5 billion (US$193 million) for a controlling stake in luxury auto dealer China Rundong Auto Group Ltd., Rundong Auto said yesterday.

    Rundong Auto, backed by U.S. private equity firm KKR & Co., said it will sell a 46 percent controlling stake to Greenland and change its name to China Greenland Rundong Auto Group Ltd. The car dealership company is based in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province and operates more than 50 dealerships, featuring brands such as BMW and Land Rover.

    BoCom nears deal to buy Brazilian bank stake

    CHINA’S Bank of Communications Co. (BoCom) is nearing a deal to buy control of Brazilian lender Banco BBM S.A., according to a source familiar with the situation, deepening ties between Brazil and its largest trade partner.

    The move by the Shanghai-based lender, one of China’s largest banks, comes as Chinese banks are boosting their presence in Latin America to support the growing trade and financial flows between the regions. The Bank of Communications deal could potentially be announced to coincide with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s scheduled visit to Brazil this week.

    ICBC plans U.S. dollar bond issue

    INDUSTRIAL and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the country’s largest bank by assets, plans to issue a U.S. dollar-denominated benchmark bond through its branch in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), sources aware of the matter said yesterday.

    It would be the first bond issue by ICBC through its DIFC branch, underlining the bank’s growing business in the Middle East as trade and investment ties between China and the Gulf expand rapidly. The issue may be announced to investors as soon as this week.