Guo to head new banking, insurance regulator

GUO SHUQING has been appointed head of the country’s newly merged regulator for the banking and insurance sectors, Financial News, the official newspaper of the central bank, said in an online report Thursday.

China has merged the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to resolve problems such as unclear responsibilities and cross-regulation as the government beefs up oversight of financial services to reduce risks in the banking system. Guo, 61, was appointed the head of CBRC just a year ago.

HNA Group clears US$475m fuel bill

HNA Group has paid a more than 3 billion yuan (US$474.5 million) jet fuel bill, ending months of contentious discussions between the embattled aviation-to-financial services conglomerate and a State-run aviation fuel firm, sources said Thursday.

Facing a cash crunch following US$50 billion in acquisitions, HNA settled the bill last week with a cash transfer to China National Aviation Fuel Group Ltd., said the sources.

BYD close to completing battery recycling plant

ELECTRIC vehicle maker BYD Co. will open a battery recycling plant in Shanghai in the second quarter as it looks to reduce raw material costs and help address the battery waste issue.

BYD has been building the plant and will hold a opening ceremony in April or later in the second quarter, brand communication manager Mia Gu said Wednesday. “The date is not yet fixed,” said Gu, who did not give the capacity of the plant or the amount of investment involved. Rising costs of electric vehicle battery materials, such as lithium and cobalt, are part of the reason for BYD’s move into recycling, Gu said. “But the most important driving factor is environmental protection,” she said.

Tencent to invest more in video, payment

INTERNET giant Tencent Holdings will step up investments in areas such as video, payment and artificial intelligence, it said after reporting better-than-expected quarterly net profit thanks to a string of successful initial public offerings.

Net profit for the three months to Dec. 31 nearly doubled year on year to 20.8 billion yuan (US$3.29 billion), the firm said Wednesday. A 51 percent jump in revenue was weaker than expected after mobile gaming revenue growth slowed from the previous quarter.