Market ‘over-reacted’ to platform fee cut guidance

A DOMESTIC newspaper said yesterday that the market had over-reacted to the government’s guidance that food delivery platforms should lower service fees.

The policy was not intended to target the platform economy as the government recognizes its crucial role in the economy, the Economic Daily’s commentary said. China’s top economic planner Friday issued a set of rules to promote a faster recovery from the pandemic in the services sector, including guidance for online food delivery platforms to reduce service fees to help to lower operating costs for catering businesses.

Lenovo’s third-quarter profit up 62%

LENOVO Group Ltd.’s net profit jumped 62 percent to an all-time high in the third quarter, extending a run of record earnings as the pandemic fueled demand for electronics.

Net profit for the October-December period was US$640 million, the world’s largest personal-computer maker said yesterday. Profitability rose in all businesses, driven in particular by its high-margin services segment, a new growth focus for Lenovo since last year.

Zijin announces expansion plan for Congo venture

ZIJIN Mining said yesterday its joint venture copper mine project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will spend US$50 million on an upgrade that will boost both its metal producing capacity and output.

The Kamoa-Kakula project, in which Ivanhoe Mines of Canada is Zijin’s main partner with 39.6 percent stake each, will increase capacity of its concentrator plants by about a fifth as part of the plan. Zijin’s “de-bottlenecking plan” will increase the combined design processing capacity of the concentrator plants, which process ore brought from the mine, to 9.2 million tons of ore per year from 7.6 million tons, Zijin said.

HK weighs easing listing rules for large tech firms

HONG KONG is considering easing some listing requirements for large, advanced technology firms that are currently not eligible in an effort to help them meet capital needs for research and development, according to the city’s top financial official.

The Securities and Futures Commission and Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. are reviewing the main board listing rules and examine to revise them to meet the fundraising needs of “large-scale advanced technology enterprises,” Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan said yesterday.