Illegal fundraising

THE central bank issued a warning Friday on the risks of illegal fundraising by companies marketing virtual currencies and blockchain technology.

The People’s Bank of China said those so-called “financial innovation” activities are akin to ponzi schemes, adding that people should hold a rational attitude towards blockchain rather than put blind trust in it.

SOEs’ profits

STATE-OWNED enterprises’ (SOEs) profits rose 21.4 percent from a year earlier to 2.02 trillion yuan (US$293.86 billion) in the first seven months of this year from the same period last year, the Securities Times reported Friday, quoting the Finance Ministry.

Tianjin gas stations

THE city of Tianjin replaced gasoline with ethanol at 10 gas stations Saturday, Xinhua reported, the first outlets to do so in a wider push to get vehicles in the city to switch to the biofuel.

Tianjin will later replace ordinary gasoline with ethanol at other stations in October.

Pandora China chief

JEWELER Pandora has recruited Geena Tok from Nike to head its business in China. The Danish company has 200 stores and employs more than 1,400 people in China.