Vietnam power plant

    CHINESE energy firms China Southern Power Grid and China Power International Development Co. have joined forces to build a US$1.75 billion coal-fired power plant in southern Vietnam, Vietnamese state coal mining group Vinacomin said.

    Construction of the 1,200-megawatt Vinh Tan 1 power plant began Saturday in the province of Binh Thuan, and its first generator is scheduled to start operation in December 2018, Vinacomin said in a statement at the weekend.

    Sino-Arab e-commerce

    NINGXIA SRP Group and Bank of China Ningxia Branch have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to develop Sino-Arab cross border e-commerce in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

    According to the agreement, Ningxia SRP Group is committed to providing financial services for domestic e-commerce trade while Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) will serve for merchants and consumers outside China. Bank of China Ningxia Branch will be responsible for overseas RMB payment, real-time currency exchanges and reducing exchange rate risks and settlement costs.

    Xiaomi patents

    FAST-GROWING Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc. is strengthening its patents in preparation for its entry into the U.S. market, head of international operations Hugo Barra told Bloomberg Television late Thursday, without offering a time table.

    The company has already encountered intellectual property hurdles in India, where a patent infringement complaint from telecom equipment giant Ericsson briefly halted sales of its handsets late last year.