Coal mines warned not to avoid inspections

THE National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Thursday warned coal miners not to temporarily close to avoid inspections as the country’s top economic planner works to stabilize prices amid the environmental and safety checks.

In a statement on its website, the NDRC also said railway and shipping companies must make coal transport a priority, especially to power plants in the country’s northeast where stockpiles are low. Regions such the three northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Jilin as well as the southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan and the southwestern city of Chongqing are “facing difficulties in securing coal supplies,” the NDRC said.

Tencent to take stake in investment bank CICC

TENCENT Holdings Ltd. will invest HK$2.86 billion (US$366.6 million) in China International Capital Corp. (CICC) for a 4.95 percent stake in the investment bank, CICC said late Wednesday.

Tencent Mobility, a unit of Shenzhen-based Internet company Tencent, will subscribe for 207.5 million new Hong Kong-listed shares of CICC at a price of HK$13.80 per share, representing an 11 percent discount to the stock’s Wednesday closing price.

Henan aluminum available for relocation

HENAN Province has announced that aluminum capacity from three smelters that have shut down would be available for transfer to other regions in the country.

The Commission of Industry and Information Technology of Henan Province said late Wednesday that 70,000 tons per year (tpy) of aluminum capacity would be available for transfer throughout the country. Any smelter in China can buy the capacity, provided the capacity is within overall quotas in the province or region where the company operates.

Alstom wins US$68m Chengdu metro contract

FRENCH manufacturing group Alstom has won a contract worth 57 million euros (US$68 million) to supply traction systems for a new metro line in Chengdu, capital city of southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan.

All the traction systems will be manufactured jointly by Alstom’s joint ventures of Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment and Chengdu Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment, with support from Xi’an Alstom Yongji Electric Equipment Co. and four Alstom sites in Europe, Alstom said Wednesday.