Potash-Agrium merger conditionally approved

CHINA’S Commerce Ministry said yesterday it has granted conditional regulatory approval to the proposed US$25 billion merger between fertilizer companies Agrium Inc. and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc.

The ministry said in a statement that the merged entity should divest some assets including those in Israel and Chile. The merged entity also cannot acquire stakes in industry competitors for five years without regulatory approval, it added.

China Literature shares priced at top of range

TENCENT Holdings Ltd. said yesterday the final offer price for an initial public offering of its online publishing arm was HK$55 (US$7.05) per share, confirming a report that the Chinese e-book company had priced its shares at the top of a range.

China Literature Ltd., the country’s No. 1 online publisher, and some of its existing shareholders are set to raise a combined HK$8.33 billion. The market capitalization of China Literature would be about HK$49.85 billion and trading in its shares would begin today, Tencent said in a filing to the Hong Kong exchange.

Data to show economy resilient

A BURST of data over the next few weeks is expected to show the world’s second-biggest economy cooled further in October as policymakers harden efforts to reduce financial risks and foster long-term sustainable growth.

Growth in factory output is seen slowing to 6.3 percent year-on-year in October from September’s 6.6 percent, according to a poll of 32 economists. But October data is again expected to show growth will easily hit the 6.5-percent target for 2017 as surging profits see factories expanding output, albeit at a slower pace, and resilient consumer spending supports overall economic activity.

PetroChina, Beijing firm doubling LNG storage

PETROCHINA and Beijing Enterprises Group are expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage capacity at a main import facility in northern China as the country boosts infrastructure to meet surging demand for the cleaner fuel.

PetroChina and Beijing Enterprises Group will each add two 160,000-cubic-meter tanks at Caofeidian — an industrial landfilled zone in the northern city of Tangshan — to double the site’s storage capacity to 1.28 million cubic meters.