Minzhong Food falls after short-seller accusation

China Minzhong Food Corp slumped by the most on record after short-seller Glaucus Research Group accused the vegetable producer of "significantly deceiving" regulators and investors about the scale of its business. Minzhong shares were halted in Singapore at S$0.53 (41 US cents), down 48 percent, after tumbling as much as 51 percent, the most since the company's listing in April 2010. Short interest in Minzhong, which has become the latest target of Glaucus, rose to a record 7.2 percent of the outstanding stock on Aug 19 from this year's low of 3.8 percent in March, according to the most recent data from research company Markit Group Ltd.

LightInTheBox suffers a slump on revenue decline

The 48 percent slump in LightInTheBox Holding Co Ltd, the Chinese online discount retailer that sold shares in the United States this year, risks reducing the price for the nation's companies seeking to go public, IPOX Schuster LLC said. American depositary receipts of LightInTheBox plunged below their June 6 debut level last week, after the Beijing-based company said sales will decline. The ADRs posted the biggest slump on the Bloomberg China-US Equity Index of the most-traded Chinese stocks. LightInTheBox, whose $80 wedding gowns and $2 iPhone gadgets are manufactured in China and sold in the US and Europe, reported on Aug 19 second-quarter sales that failed to surpass analysts' estimates and said revenue will decline in the following three months.

Lenovo adopts Apple way in chasing Samsung

Taking a page from the playbook of Apple Inc, a company it's already beaten in China smartphone sales, Lenovo Group Ltd is counting on a chain of retail stores to help it surpass leader Samsung Electronics Co. The outlets offer the gleaming glass and wide counters found at Apple shops, with phones and tablets sitting on tables for customers to try out. Lenovo's Solution Center takes the place of the Genius Bar, and employees look trim and neat in black polo shirts instead of Apple's blue T-shirts. The retail outlets are part of a strategy to overtake Samsung in the world's biggest smartphone market, offering a range of devices in an environment starkly different from the typical Chinese electronics bazaar.

Online shopping sees a surge in volume in Q2

China saw surging online shopping in the second quarter of the year with transactions totaling 437.13 billion yuan ($70.8 billion), new data showed on Sunday. The figure was a 24.2 percent quarter-to-quarter increase, and a 45.3 percent year-on-year increase, according to a research report released by iResearch, China's leading Internet industry research company. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, total retail sales amounted to 6.03 trillion yuan nationwide in the period.

Cloudary reaches a script deal with Seven Stars Film

Cloudary Corp, an online literature platform owned by interactive media giant Shanda Group, said on Friday that it reached a film script agreement with the Chinese movie firm Seven Stars Films. Seven Stars Films, a movie production and investment firm owned by Chinese media entrepreneur Bruno Wu, will link Cloudary's literature with the world's movie industry. Wu, who is married to popular TV host Yang Lan, founded Seven Star Films in 2012. The company has invested in 14 movies and bought the rights to more than 100 movies globally.

Culture industry expands 16.5% in 2012 output

The output of China's culture industry increased 16.5 percent year-on-year to 1.81 trillion yuan ($296 billion) in 2012, accounting for just under 3.5 percent of GDP, according to data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics. China aims to develop the sector into a new growth source, and it's set a goal of having cultural value-added output account for 5 percent of GDP in 2016, according to the Ministry of Culture. The emphasis is on developing the markets for books, newspapers, magazines, digital audio and video publications, performing arts, television series, movies and cartoons, with support from bank loans as well as fiscal subsidies, tax breaks and land use benefits.

Listed firms' refinancing grows 23% from Jan-Aug

Refinancing by China's listed companies increased 23 percent year-on-year to 344.5 billion yuan ($56.3 billion) from January to August, the Shanghai Securities Journal reported on Monday, citing a China Securities Regulatory Commission source. Equity refinancing raised 181.6 billion yuan, up 55 percent. Almost 80 percent of the equity refinancing transactions were carried out by private placement. Bond financing grew 3 percent to 162.9 billion, the CSRC source told the newspaper. The source denied an earlier report that said listed companies had raised 2 trillion yuan from the A-share market.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 08/27/2013 page14)