Shanghai-London link talks enter ‘second phase’

    TALKS on a Shanghai-London stock connect program are moving to a “second phase,” the City of London’s Lord Mayor Andrew Parmley said in a Hong Kong briefing Friday.

    “The stock connect is working well. We are moving to the second phase of discussions. We are working very hard with it,” Parmley said. “There is a widespread support in the U.K. Government and certainly widespread support in the City of London. All the signs are good.” The Shanghai-London stock connect was proposed by the Chinese and U.K. governments in 2015 and a link between the Shanghai and London stock exchanges would allow investors on one bourse to invest in the other.

    Dongfeng, FAW to build joint innovation center

    DONGFENG Motor Corp. and China FAW Group Corp. said Friday they will build a joint innovation center, a move that brings China’s two oldest automakers together after they swapped top executives in 2015.

    The companies signed an agreement Friday that will see them collaborate in five areas including fuel cell technology, smart connectivity and testing facilities. The companies did not disclose financial terms. In 2015, former FAW president Zhu Yanfeng replaced Dongfeng’s chairman Xu Ping, who was in turn named the chairman of FAW Group.

    Guanghui Energy shuts LNG, methanol project

    OIL and gas operator Guanghui Energy Co.’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and methanol plant are temporarily shut after a fire mishap at the company’s energy complex in Hami in Xinjiang, the company said Saturday.

    A 1.2 million-per-ton methanol project and an LNG plant with 500 million tons of production capacity per year caught fire Thursday night due to gas leakage, the company said. The fire, which left two people injured, was put out late Thursday night.

    Yunnan Aluminum plans to buy hydro plants

    YUNNAN Aluminum plans to raise up to 4.5 billion yuan (US$656.28 million) to acquire three power plants as well as reduce debt levels, the Shanghai-listed company said Friday.

    Proceeds from the fundraising will be used to purchase Guodian Yunnan Power’s three power plants, estimated to be worth up to 2.1 billion yuan. About 30 percent of an aluminum producer’s costs come from power.