Carbon sink auction

THE country’s first-ever mangrove carbon sink auction concluded in Shenzhen yesterday, with the carbon sink sold for 485 yuan (US$67.61) per metric ton.

The carbon sink was purchased by Shenzhen Jiahua Beauty Products Co. Ltd., setting a new record for the highest transaction price in the national carbon credit market, Dute News reported. The proceeds from the auction will be channeled into the city’s treasury to bolster mangrove conservation and restoration initiatives, earlier media reports said.

A total of 17 companies and social organizations participated in the auction, engaging in nearly one hour of intense bidding made up of 92 rounds. The starting price steadily rose and the total transaction price eventually reached approximately 1.88 million yuan.

Mangroves absorb carbon dioxide, creating blue carbon sinks.

Private firms

A TOTAL of 38 private enterprises in Shenzhen have made it onto the list of the 2023 Top 100 Private Enterprises in Guangdong Province, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Seven of the top 10 firms featured on the list hail from Shenzhen, a testament to the robust economic performance in the city’s private sector. The seven Shenzhen-based companies are Amer, Tencent, Vanke, BYD, SF Express, Luxshare Precision, and Sunshine Insurance.

The ranking was compiled by the Guangdong Federation of Industry & Commerce. The threshold for entry into the top 100 list was set at 12.313 billion yuan, with four companies having revenues exceeding 400 billion yuan and 15 companies exceeding 100 billion yuan.

Railway station

WEST Kowloon Station, the terminus of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), celebrated its fifth anniversary Saturday.

As of Friday, the station’s customs authority had processed the clearance of over 36.87 million travelers and facilitated the operation of 135,000 cross-border trains, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong XRL connects Hong Kong with the extensive high-speed rail network on the mainland, offering direct access to 69 cities across the country. It takes only 14 minutes to travel between West Kowloon Station and Futian Station.