ZTE Grand memo handset to be first 4G smartphone sold

ZTE Corp, the world's fifth-largest smartphone maker, said it was the first company to receive regulatory approval in China to sell a handset for the fourth-generation network service. The company's Grand Memo handset was approved by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to run on the 4G TD-LTE network standard, Shenzhen-based ZTE said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. The statement didn't say when the device, which runs Nvidia Corp's Tegra3 processor, will go on sale.

GSK 'remains committed to China' despite probe

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline Plc said it remains committed to China for the long term after media reports said that the company is considering pulling out of the country because it faces a huge fine. Earlier, The Telegraph reported that the company is considering whether to pull out of China, where an ongoing criminal investigation may leave the company facing a fine as high as 20 billion yuan ($3.27 billion) and the severance of ties with major hospitals. "GSK has a long history in China - we have been present in the country since the early 1900s. We remain committed to China for the long term," GSK China said on Monday. The Telegraph also quoted other sources suggesting that GSK was using the threat of withdrawal to negotiate down the fine.

Baidu's Qunar.com said to prepare US initial offer

Baidu Inc's travel-booking service Qunar.com Inc is planning a US initial public offering that may raise about $150 million, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Qunar, which runs China's most popular mobile travel app, is working with Deutsche Bank AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc on the sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. An IPO may take place as early as in the fourth quarter, they said. Baidu, operator of China's largest search engine, paid $306 million in 2011 for a majority stake in Qunar to tap the country's growing travel market. The travel site's search coverage includes about 1,250 travel agencies, 125,000 flight routes and more than 468,000 hotels, according to its website.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 09/10/2013 page14)