Revamp plan

China's leading oil and gas supplier PetroChina Co Ltd has started to revamp its ageing refining facilities in Fushun, northeast China's Liaoning Province, keeping the plant's capacity unchanged.

The firm also began building an ethylene plant capable of producing 800,000 tonnes per year in the city, under a combined programme that will cost roughly 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion). The plant will add secondary units to replace old ones by mid- 2009, but its total crude run capacity will remain the same.

Property agreement

Shanghai Greenland Group, one of the city's largest state-owned developers, said last week it signed an agreement with the government of North China's Shanxi Province, to invest 3.2 billion yuan (US$400 million) in Taiyuan, capital of the province.

About 1.1 billion yuan (US$137 million) will be used to build infrastructure such as roads and bridges, while 1.2 billion (US$150 million) yuan will be allocated to construct a business district, including offices and a hotel. The rest will be allocated to build educational facilities such as kindergartens and universities. The entire project is expected to be finished in five to eight years.

Flat-panel deal

Japan-based Fuji Photo Film Co and China's electronics parts maker SVA Electron Co Ltd announced recently they will spend US$270 million together to make colour filters used in liquid-crystal displays.

The joint venture in Shanghai between Fuji and SVA Electron, will be capitalized with US$100 million, with the Japanese firm taking a 25 per cent stake and SVA Electron holding the rest. Aiming to tap into growing demand for flat-panel televisions in China, the venture will mainly supply to a unit SVA set up with Japanese electronics conglomerate NEC Corp.

Share gain

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, one of China's largest network equipment providers, announced this month that it has won the share of a contract worth US$100 million to become the leading CDMA provider for Nigeria's Multi-links.

Huawei Technologies has won 70 per cent of the contract with Multi-links, a Nigerian private telephone operator which was awarded unified licenses to operate CDMA nationally in May 2006 by Nigeria's telecoms regulator. Canada's Nortel Networks Corp, one of the world's largest telecom equipment suppliers won the remaining share of the Multi-links contract.

Joint investment

Shenzhen-based developer Gemdale Corp said last week it has established a strategic partnership with Netherlands-based ING Group's real estate unit, to invest in China's property market.

Firstly, the partners will jointly develop a real estate project in Tianjin. ING Real Estate will invest 188 million yuan (US$23.5 million) in the development deal through its ING Real Estate China Opportunity Fund, with 137 million yuan (US$17 million) going toward a 51 per cent stake in Gemdale Tianjin Real Estate, the project operator. The two companies will also jointly invest, develop, construct, operate and manage residential and commercial projects in other major cities.

Additional investment

Global food packaging giant Tetra Pak International SA will invest an additional 30 million euros (US$38.7 million) in China to expand production at its Beijing plant, aiming to double annual capacity in its capital factory to 16 billion packages a year.

The company will add a second laminator at the Beijing plant, with the start of production scheduled for first quarter of 2007. The Swedish company hopes to keep Tetra Pak well ahead of both market demand and competition through the additional investments. Adding the 30 million euros, the Sweden-based company's total investment in China will jump to 2 billion yuan (US$250 million).

Order win

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, said it has won an electrical package order totalling US$7.8 million from Baosteel Group, China's largest steel manufacturer.

The Switzerland-based company will design and supply a complete 220/33kv Electrical Arc Furnace Substation package including Static Var Compensator system, a key element in the power supply to a new steel plant of Baosteel Group. "Our proven technology will secure the reliable power supply and operation of the new steel plant," says Daniel Assandri, head of Power Systems Division for ABB in China.

(China Daily 08/28/2006 page3)