Friday______________________March 29

US firms see other areas for investing

One in 10 US companies operating in China have removed it from their list of top-three priority destinations for global investment in 2013 due to rising labor costs and slower growth, a survey showed.

The survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China said 68 percent of companies surveyed rated China among their top three investment priorities in 2013, down 10 percentage points from last year. "Maybe in the past, they would say, China is clearly number one, but now they will say, we have a few options and China may be one of the top three," said Grey Gilligan, chairman of the chamber.

The middle class invests in many areas

China's middle class is growing rapidly and investing in many areas of the economy, according to a report from Forbes China.

The middle class was identified as having "investable" financial assets worth between $100,000 and $1 million, according to Forbes' Chinese Mass Affluent Group Report 2013. It said their financial assets are spread across cash, deposits, securities, funds, bonds, insurance and other financial wealth management products, as well as individually held property.

The report also said 96.7 percent of Chinese middle class own apartments, and 39.9 percent have three or more apartments.

Monday

______________________April 1

Airline adds flights to New York, California

Air China has increased its nonstop New York-Beijing flights to 11 round trips a week with an upgrade to Boeing 777-300ER jet aircraft.

The takeoff on March 31 of a Beijing-bound Air China jet from John F. Kennedy International Airport marked a milestone for the national flag carrier in the US market.

"In Los Angeles, where we are running 11 times per week already with Boeing 777-300 ERs, today it's going to go from 11 to 14 times a week; in San Francisco, our operation is going to go from a Boeing 747-400 combination aircraft to an all-passenger aircraft, which presents a 20 percent increase in the number of seats," said Chi Zhihang, Air China's vice-president and general manager for North America.

Air China inaugurated its nonstop New York-Beijing service in 1981. (Photo 1)

W hotel opens in Guangzhou

W Hotels Worldwide - known for its hip, minimalist brand - has opened its first hotel on the Chinese mainland with W Hotel in Guangzhou.

The hotel, which has 317 rooms and suites, represents "a new style of modern luxury," featuring cutting-edge architecture and interior design, according to the luxury chain's owner, Starwood Hotels Corp. The newest W has a "vibrant tapestry" theme.

Vying for visual dominance is a four-story bar suspended in a glass loft on one side of the hotel. Optical-fiber strands of light cascade down the inside of the translucent walls.

W Hotels Worldwide brought interior designers from New York, Toronto, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur to depict the ancient history of Guangzhou against a backdrop of a thoroughly modern commercial city.

Guangzhou is the first of five W hotels set to open in the Chinese mainland in coming years.

Tuesday_____________________April 2

Wal-Mart will open 30 new stores

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will open 30 new stores in China this year, part of a previously announced plan to have more than 100 new stores in the next three years.

The world's largest retailer told China Daily it will invest nearly 500 million yuan ($80.1 million) to remodel existing stores. The company has been in China for 17 years and has nearly 400 stores.

Recognizing the development potential in the retail industry created by rapid urbanization and emergence of the middle class, Li Ling, senior director of corporate affairs at Wal-Mart China Investment Co, said the company's business has entered a new phase, focusing on the quality of individual stores. (Photo 2)

New-home prices increase for 10th month

Property prices in China's major cities increased for a 10th consecutive month in March, and industry analysts said new government policies aimed at cooling the sizzling real estate market are expected to stabilize prices across the country.

The average price of new homes in 100 monitored cities was 9,998 yuan per square meter during March, up 1.06 percent on the previous month, according to China Index Academy, a Beijing-based real estate research institute. (Photo 3)

Wednesday

____________April 3

BYD to build e-bus plant in California

BYD, the Shenzhen-based producer of electric vehicles will break ground on May 1 for an assembly plant in California to make electric buses for US and Latin American public-transportation markets.

The facility in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, will be one of only a few making electric buses in the US. Most buses in the country use diesel fuel or compressed natural gas.

The ground-breaking ceremony will come a month after BYD won a $14 million contract to make 10 electric buses for the transit system of Long Beach, California. Under the contract partly funded by the Federal Transit Administration, BYD - which is backed by investment titan Warren Buffett - will deliver the buses in 2014. (Photo 4)

Fewer Chinese are becoming US citizens

The number of Chinese who became US citizens has declined annually over the last five years to 31,868 in 2012 from 40,017 in 2008, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

"It's not like the old-fashioned way when Chinese immigrants would come to the US, gain their citizenship, stay and assimilate to US culture," said Tao Lin, managing attorney of T. Lin & Associates. "You're seeing more Chinese people returning to China."

China ranked fifth after Mexico, the Philippines, India and the Dominican Republic in the number of new US citizens each country produced in 2012, according to the March 2013 Annual Flow Report by the Office of Immigration Statistics of Homeland Security.

Thursday__________________April 4

Sany turns to NASCAR event for exposure

Sany, China's biggest maker of construction equipment, is turning to the auto-racing circuit in the United States to increase global market share.

Sany Heavy Industry Co is the major sponsor of the No 7 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The car will be decorated with the logo of Sany America Inc for 14 races through the fall.

It's the first time a Chinese company has sponsored a car in a NASCAR event.

"These races are televised nationally and are broadcast around 150 countries, so there is great potential for brand exposure," said Joe Hanneman, Sany America marketing director.

"Research shows that for folks who work in construction, NASCAR is the number one recreational activity spectator sport," he said.

Part of Transformers to be shot in China

It has been one of Hollywood's most popular exports ever to China, and now part of the next sequel in Transformers will be filmed in the country.

The filming of Transformers 4 starring Mark Wahlberg was announced by Paramount Pictures, China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises.

The agreement marks the first time China Movie Channel will work with a Western studio to produce a major motion picture. The channel will scout locations in China, create promotion material and possibly assist in casting Chinese actors and conduct post-production activities in China.

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon grossed $165 million in China and more than $1.1 billion worldwide. Transformers 4 is expected to be released in China and the US in June 2014.

Sales of American wine on the Chinese mainland last year totaled $74 million. Now the San Francisco-based Wine Institute is aiming to increase it. Institute members will join California Governor Jerry Brown when he leads his state's trade and investment trip to China starting on April 8. To beat back competition from California and elsewhere and to increase its wine sales, Cofco announced that it will spend about $20 million to buy two or three wineries in the US and Australia.

(China Daily 04/05/2013 page8)