Huawei-backed cable lands in Kenya

A US$425 million undersea cable connecting China to Europe and Africa, which counts Huawei Technologies Co. as shareholder, has landed in Kenya.

The 15,000-kilometer Peace cable is part of China’s “Digital Silk Road” initiative that involves deploying information and communication technology infrastructure to boost trade and investment between China and the rest of the world. Peace travels over land from China to Pakistan, then underwater for about 7,500 miles before terminating in France. Another branch snakes southward to East Africa and lands in Kenya’s port city of Mombasa. An extension to Singapore and southern Africa is planned in the second phase, its promoters said.

State firms to give rent relief to SMEs

STATE owned enterprises managed by the Central Government will waive rentals for six months for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the services industries affected by COVID outbreaks.

Those located in areas categorized as medium or high-risk due to COVID infections will receive the rent relief, according to a notice published Monday on the official website of the State asset watchdog. Services SMEs in low-risk areas will be given three-month rent relief, the notice by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said.

Shanghai to hand out tax relief to firms

SHANGHAI yesterday said it would roll out policies to help the local economy cope with a surge in COVID-19 cases in the city, including offering refunds that will reduce firms’ tax burdens by 140 billion yuan (US$22 billion) in 2022.

Internet platforms will be encouraged to further lower service fees and telecom operators to provide three months’ worth of free cloud services, for instance, the city government said. Subsidy support will be given to companies in the retail and catering industries to send their staff for regular COVID tests.

CITIC Securities posts 55% rise in profit

CITIC Securities Co., China’s biggest brokerage, yesterday reported a 55.01 percent rise in profit in 2021, led by strong gains in securities investments.

Net profit rose to 23.1 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) from 14.9 billion yuan a year earlier, on the strength of investments, the company said. Its revenue generated from stock investment jumped by 37.14 percent to 18.4 billion yuan.