Investment treaty talks with US

China and the United States will hold the 10th round of negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty from Monday to Friday in Washington, China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Monday. The meeting marked the first substantive talks agreed to by the two countries during the fifth round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in July. The world's top two economies began negotiating a pact to govern bilateral investment in 2008 under then-US President George W Bush, but discussions were put on hold when Barack Obama took office the following year.

Banks raises yuan purchases in Sept

Chinese financial institutions, including the country's central bank the People's Bank of China, bought a net value of 126.362 billion yuan of foreign exchanges in September, according to Xinhua's calculation based on PBOC data released Monday afternoon. September's figure, sharply higher than August's 27.32 billion yuan, marked the second straight month of net purchases after China recorded two months of net selling. The PBOC said Monday that the country's position for foreign exchange purchases totaled 27.518 trillion yuan at the end of September, up from 27.392 trillion yuan registered at the end of August.

Wanda Cinema signs up Coca-Cola

Wanda Cinema Line and Coca-Cola China announced Monday a strategic marketing and beverage supply agreement that will see Coca-Cola soft drinks offered at Wanda Cinema Line, the largest movie chain in China with 119 cinemas. The partnership will include innovations such as customized social media, events, micro-films, mobile technology and more. The partnership will involve three areas: market development, brand promotion and CSR initiatives.

China Mobile sees profit decline in Q3

China Mobile Ltd posted an 8.8-percent profit decline in the third quarter, the largest since 1999, as costs of building its new fourth-generation network increased. Net income for the world's largest phone company by users fell to 28.4 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) from 31.1 billion yuan a year earlier, according to figures derived from nine-month results released by the Beijing-based company on Monday. The profit missed the 31.1-billion-yuan average of five analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg News.

Sunac home sales to exceed $8.2b

Sunac China Holdings Ltd, the Chinese developer in which buyout firm Bain Capital LLC has a stake, expects home sales to rise at least 11 percent this year amid strong demand from rich buyers. The developer's home sales will exceed 50 billion yuan ($8.2 billion) this year as it focuses on medium- and high-end properties in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai, Chairman Sun Hongbin told reporters in Suzhou.

Coal price up again as mines shut

China's benchmark price for power-station coal rebounded from the lowest level in four years as the government sought to shut unsafe mines. Spot coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram at the port of Qinhuangdao rose to a range of 530 yuan ($86.87) to 540 yuan a metric ton as of Sunday, according to the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association. That's the first weekly gain since Oct 15 last year.

China Gas expects sales surge in 2020

China Gas Holdings Ltd, which supplies natural gas to 195 cities in Asia's biggest economy, expects sales will jump as much as fivefold by 2020 as the nation pushes for wider use of the fuel to replace coal. Deliveries may reach 40 billion cubic meters from an estimated 8 billion cu m this year, Chief Financial Officer Eric Leung said on Thursday. Growing sales will gradually push dividend payouts toward 30 percent, he said, from 23 percent in the year ended March 31.

Philips Q3 profit beats estimates

Royal Philips NV, the world's largest lighting manufacturer, reported third-quarter profit that beat analyst estimates as growing healthcare orders in China offset slowing demand from Europe. Earnings before interest, taxes, amortization and one-time items was 634 million euros ($867 million), compared with 476 million euros a year earlier, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement on Monday.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 10/22/2013 page14)