Govt And Policies

Projects invite private capital

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, said on Wednesday that a list of high-profile construction projects would attract private capital. State-owned enterprises involved in electricity, petroleum, gas, transportation and information programs on the 165 key project list have been encouraged to invite private capital participation through mixed-ownership, the NDRC said. It said multi-source capital channels - including fiscal capital, bank loans, private equity industry funds and public-private partnerships - were being encouraged, in an effort to improve project financing efficiency. The NDRC added that it will further ease investment entry limitations for sectors including civil airports, basic telecommunications services, as well as the oil and gas sector.

Business travel market growing

The Chinese business travel market is expected to maintain steady growth this year, according to an industry report. AirPlus, a leading German travel services provider, said managers had a positive outlook toward the business travel market, with about 45 percent of those surveyed expecting increased travel this year, outperforming the global average. About 41 percent of the managers believed that the Chinese economy would support the business travel sector, and that the Belt and Road Initiative was set to increase international business exchanges. The report also found that over 90 percent of business travelers used mobile payment tools to pay for their trips.

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Companies And Markets

CICC, Goldman lead China Tower IPO

China Tower Corp has picked China International Capital Corp Ltd and Goldman Sachs to lead a planned Hong Kong initial public offering worth up to $10 billion, people with direct knowledge of the plans said on Thursday. Their formal appointment still needs board approval and the deal could see other banks added to the final IPO sponsor team. China Tower owns and manages the mobile phone towers for the country's three State-owned telecom operators. China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd, China Mobile Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd formed China Tower in October 2015 to save on infrastructure investment and cut management costs.

Entrepreneurs showcase ideas

Emerging entrepreneurs from China and Australia competed on Tuesday, showcasing their startup ideas at an event at the University of Technology in Sydney. The competition, sponsored by the Beijing Overseas Talent Center and Zhongguancun Development Group, brought together aspiring innovators from many fields to compete for a chance to travel to Beijing and further develop their ideas. According to Wang Hongbo, the economic and commercial counselor at the consulate-general of China in Sydney, the event boosted national ties further. Wang said both nations had reached a very important stage where they were stepping up their cooperation, and both governments had committed to stronger ties.

Uber silent on CEO departure

Uber Technologies Inc. remained silent publicly on Wednesday, a day after Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick agreed to step down from the helm of the giant ride-hailing services company. The co-founder of Uber, a San Francisco-based startup currently estimated to be worth $68 billion, was forced out on Tuesday by a shareholder revolt, launched by five of the technology company's major investors, according to a New York Times report. The paper and the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources that identified the five investors who demanded Kalanick's resignation as Benchmark, Menlo Ventures, First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital and Fidelity Investments.

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Around The World

Probe on polyester staple fiber trade

The US Commerce Department on Wednesday launched anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations against imports of fine denier polyester staple fiber from China, India, South Korea and Vietnam. The investigations are a response to a request from three US-based producers of polyester staple fiber, the Commerce Department said in a statement. They alleged that producers in each of these four countries were dumping fine denier polyester staple fiber in the US market with margins ranging from 21.43 percent to 103.06 percent.

Africans call for green incentives

African governments should enact a raft of policy and regulatory incentives to encourage the continent's small and medium-sized enterprises to borrow money to implement green projects, experts told a Nairobi forum on Wednesday. The finance experts, policymakers and fund managers who attended the green finance conference said that Africa's nascent small and medium-sized business segment had potential to transform the continent's green agenda. However, this was subject to the availability of capital, technology and skilled manpower, they said. Kenya's Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Henry Rotich in his opening remarks, noted that green financing had gained traction in Africa in line with the continent's quest to accelerate low carbon use and expand its inclusive development.

Iran blames US output

Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on Wednesday blamed the United States for the recent plunge in global crude prices, Iran's Press TV reported. The US has increased its oil production by 900,000 barrels per day, Zanganeh said, adding that this is beyond what the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had estimated. He was discussing the US role in the decline of prices with OPEC member states. Zanganeh said, however, it would be difficult for the member states to take collective action on such issues. The Iranian minister spoke highly of OPEC's performance in arriving at a consensus to cut output and help prop up prices.

Zambia mines need manpower

The global mining industry is experiencing its most serious skills shortage in decades and this is having major ramifications for mining countries around the world, including Zambia, according to a new report released by mining firms on Wednesday. The report, released by the Zambia Chamber of Mines, an association representing foreign mining firms operating in Zambia, said the shortage made it difficult for mining countries not just to attract skilled, experienced workers but also to retain them. The report was compiled following interviews conducted at mines in Zambia, South Africa and Mauritania. "The urgency of the skills shortage has seen a renewed emphasis on training in the world's mining companies," Rob Gentle, the report's lead researcher said at the unveiling of the report in Lusaka, the Zambian capital.

Kenya focuses on cybercrime

The Central Bank of Kenya published new rules to guide commercial banks on fighting cybercrime, as the problem increases in the East African nation. The bank noted on Wednesday that increased use of technology by banks had exposed them to the crime that saw several financial institutions lose up to $291 million in the last two years. In 2016 alone, Kenya lost $170 million to cyber criminals, according to a recent report on technology, media and telecommunications by Deloitte. "The increased leveraging of technology by banks exposes them to cyber risk," said the regulator in a note seeking views on the guidelines. "In this regard, the CBK has drafted guidelines on cyber risk that outline the minimum requirements for banks to enhance cyber security."

Armenia mulls gas imports

Armenia is interested in increasing natural gas imports from Iran, Sassan Khachaturian, managing director of Armenia's Yerevan thermal power plant, was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Khachaturian made the remarks after holding talks with an Iranian delegation in Armenia's capital Yerevan, the daily Financial Tribune reported. He added that Armenia planned to increase its electricity exports to oil and gas-rich Iran. "Armenia is ready to export more electricity to Iran during the hot summer days," Khachaturian said, calling for more gas imports from Iran to meet his country's demand in winter.