China may cancel emerging industries board

    REFERENCES to China’s plans for a strategic emerging industries equities board have been deleted from the draft of the nation’s 13th Five-Year Plan, currently being reviewed by policymakers in Beijing, domestic media reported yesterday.

    This indicates that China may cancel the introduction of the board that was previously planned to be launched on the Shanghai Stock Exchange to support innovative firms to raise funds. But the securities regulators and other government bodies have not made any formal announcements regarding the change.

    Toshiba may sell white goods unit to Midea

    JAPANESE industrial conglomerate Toshiba Corp. is in late-stage talks to sell its white goods business to Chinese household appliance giant Midea Group Co., Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a Nikkei report.

    The deal is expected to fetch tens of billions of yen, the Japanese newspaper reported. But Toshiba said in a statement Tuesday that the company was negotiating with other companies about restructuring its white goods business, but nothing had been decided.

    CCCC to resume Sri Lanka port project

    CHINA Communication Construction Co. (CCCC) said yesterday it had approval to restart the construction of its US$1.4 billion real estate project near Colombo’s port that was suspended a year ago on the orders of the Sri Lankan Government.

    Sri Lanka’s cabinet last week granted approval for CCCC to resume the biggest foreign direct investment project in the country after suspending it in March last year. The project includes apartments, shopping malls, a water sports area, a golf course, hotels and marinas next to Colombo’s main port, which India uses as a main transhipment port.

    Bank of China gains foothold in Morocco

    BANK of China has established a presence in Morocco that will further reinforce China’s far-reaching influence in resource-rich Africa, officials said.

    The commercial bank, one of the largest in China, inaugurated a representative office in Morocco’s economic capital Casablanca on Tuesday. The move aims to support Chinese companies’ development in French-speaking African nations, help African firms seeking closer business ties with China and participate in financing trade.