New tariff waivers announced for US imports

CHINA announced yesterday a new list of 79 U.S. products eligible for waivers from retaliatory tariffs imposed at the height of the bilateral trade war.

China’s finance ministry said in a statement the new waivers will take effect May 19 and expire May 18, 2021. The latest list waives tariffs on products including ores of rare earth metals, gold ores, silver ores and concentrates. The ministry did not disclose the import value of the products. China in February said it will grant exemptions for 696 U.S. goods including key products such as soybeans and pork based on applications from companies.

Sinopec boosts mask material production

SINOPEC Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co., a subsidiary of China’s largest oil refiner Sinopec, put into operation the 12th of its 12 meltblown non-woven fabric production lines Saturday to meet the brisk demand of face mask producers.

Sinopec has now completed the construction of all its 16 production lines of such fabric. After the full operation of the 16 production lines and together with Sinopec’s joint ventures that can produce seven tons of meltblown non-woven fabric every day, the daily production capacity of the company is expected to reach 37 tons, and its annual production capacity will exceed 13,500 tons, which can be used in making 13.5 billion medical masks.

Tim Hortons secures Tencent investment

CANADIAN coffee-and-food chain operator Tim Hortons said yesterday it received an investment from Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Tim Hortons said it plans to use the funding for business expansion in China, according to a post on its official Weibo account. It didn’t disclose the amount of the funding. The company’s China joint venture with Cartesian Capital Group has opened nearly 50 outlets in the country, with most of them in Shanghai, said Tim Hortons, a unit of Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Tencent Music misses revenue estimates

TENCENT Music Entertainment Group missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the firm’s social entertainment services business.

Monthly average revenue per paying user from the firm’s social entertainment services fell 12.9 percent to 111.1 yuan (US$15.65). It reported 256 million users for the segment during the quarter, a rise of 13.3 percent from a year earlier.