Ikea full-year sales gain 3.1% helped by China growth

Ikea Group said full-year sales rose 3.1 percent as the flat-pack furniture retailer gained share in most markets and benefited from growth in Russia and China. Revenue increased to 27.9 billion euros ($37.9 billion), the company said on Monday in an e-mailed statement. Same-store sales gained 1.8 percent at the retailer, which owns the majority of the world's Ikea outlets. Ikea said some of the strongest growth was in Russia and China and that North America showed significant progress. Southern Europe continued to be affected by that region's weak economy. The group, which will release its full-year report in January, said it gained share in "almost all markets".

Dalian exchange weighs iron ore futures for delivery

The Dalian Commodity Exchange may start trading the first iron ore futures contracts for physical delivery this week as China seeks greater control of price-setting for the steel-making material. Trading will begin "as soon as possible" and Friday is among the dates being considered, Wang Weijun, a spokesman for the exchange in the northeastern port city, said by telephone on Monday. Securities regulators approved the listing of contracts last week. Chinese steelmakers, the world's biggest iron ore buyers, earlier this year questioned the reliability of a price index provided by Platts that became a benchmark after producers, including Vale SA and Rio Tinto Group, scrapped annual contract price talks in 2010. China started its own spot trading platform last year, introducing a weighted average daily price in March.

Bosideng to acquire men's garment brands in UK

Clothing company Bosideng International Holdings Ltd will spend 40 million yuan ($6.54 million) to acquire two men's clothing brands to consolidate its market share in the United Kingdom, sources said. In a public announcement on Friday, Bosideng said it signed an agreement with Fast Speed Investments Ltd, under which Fast Speed agreed to sell the entire stake in its affiliated company for 40 million yuan. The company's only investment is 96 percent of a man's clothing company, Greenwoods Menswear Ltd. Greenwoods owns 88 franchises across the UK. The acquisition is expected to further strengthen Bosideng's market share in the UK. In May 2012, Bosideng opened a six-story flagship store near Oxford Street in London's West End with an investment of 300 million yuan. The sources didn't identify the second brand.

Power use up 10.4% in Sept, energy administration says

China's power consumption increased 10.4 percent year-on-year in September, the National Energy Administration said on Monday, with 444.8 billion kilowatt-hours used. In the first nine months, power consumption totaled 3.95 trillion kwh, up 7.2 percent year-on-year.

Shenzhen likely to hold trial for catastrophe insurance

Shenzhen is likely to launch China's first catastrophe insurance trials, the Economic Daily reported on Monday. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission Shenzhen Bureau said it had proposed a detailed plan for the catastrophe insurance trials to the city's government for review. A survey by the bureau found that some 80 percent of Shenzhen residents were interested in insurance covering losses from earthquakes, typhoons and rainstorms, and 20 percent said they would buy such policies. Most Shenzhen residents said they wanted catastrophe insurances that would cover both life and property, the Economic Daily report said. Analysts said that insurers should learn from the experience of their international counterparts and build a multiple-level, multiple-protection compensation mechanism for losses in natural disasters.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 10/15/2013 page14)