Profits grow

PROFITS of China’s major industrial firms increased 3.4% year on year in the first five months of the year, official data showed Thursday.

The growth rate narrowed from the 4.3% increase registered in the first four months of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Industrial firms with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan (US$2.81 million) saw their combined profits reach 2.75 trillion yuan during the January-May period.

Mayo Clinic in China

MAYO Clinic, the largest integrated, not-for-profit medical group practice in the world, opened its first international representative office in China last week, offering Chinese patients better access to world-class health services.

By teaming up with United Family Healthcare, the office in Shanghai will develop pathways to refer local patients to Mayo sites in the United States.

Slumping milk price

THE price of fresh milk in China has been falling for 27 straight months, the longest slump since 2010. The price is expected to drop further as capacity is still growing.

Fresh milk cost 3.39 yuan (US$0.47) per kilogram in China’s major producer regions last month, down 12% from a year ago and 2% on the prior month, according to data released Monday by China’s agriculture ministry.

Lawsuit

GANFENG Lithium has filed an international lawsuit against the Mexican government for violating an investment protection treaty with China, after the Chinese mining giant bought the development rights to the world’s biggest lithium mine from the U.K.’s Bacanora Lithium, and is demanding compensation.

The Mexican government has violated the investment protection agreement with China by canceling its mineral concessions in the Sonoran Desert, Ganfeng Lithium said Tuesday, citing the arbitration proceedings it recently filed at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.