Currency trading with Singapore

The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced on Tuesday that China and Singapore will introduce direct trading of their currencies, a move that will entrench Singapore's position as Asia's largest center for foreign exchange trading. More details on the direct trading of the currencies of China and Singapore will be released later, the MAS said on Tuesday. China will extend its Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program to Singapore, with an aggregate quota of 50 billion yuan ($8.2 billion), according to a statement from the MAS. China has been internationalizing the use of the yuan. The country will also extend the RQFII program to London and give investors there the right to buy up to 80 billion yuan of Chinese securities, Xinhua reported.

CNOOC wins bid for Brazilian oil field

CNOOC Ltd, China's largest offshore oil and natural gas producer, announced Tuesday it jointly won a 35-year production-sharing contract to develop a discovery in Brazil's Libra oil field. The company won the bid as part of a consortium comprising Petrobras, Shell Oil Co, Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp, according to a statement on its website. The company holds a 10 percent stake in the winning consortium, with operator Petrobras having a 40 percent stake. Shell and Total have 20 percent each. CNPC holds 10 percent, the statement said. CNOOC will pay 1.5 billion Brazilian reais ($700 million) for its share, the statement said.

China remains world leader in steel output

China remained the world leader in steel output in September, according to figures released by the World Steel Association on Monday. China's crude steel production for September was 65.4 million metric tons, up 11 percent year-on-year. The United States produced 7.2 million tons of crude steel in September, up 6.3 percent year-on-year. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan produced 9.3 million tons of crude steel, an increase of 5.5 percent, and South Korea's crude steel production was 5.2 million tons, down 8.7 percent. Total crude steel production for the 65 countries reporting to the association was 133 million tons in September, up 6.1 percent.

Beijing, HK to widen business ties

The 17th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium will open in Beijing on Wednesday, with the aim to create a win-win situation for the two cities through further cooperation. Participants will promote 370 investment projects covering finance, trade, the cultural and creative industries, innovative technology, logistics and tourism during the two-day symposium. The symposium, launched in 1997, is an effective platform for cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong companies. Since last year's event, 138 investment projects have been successfully matched.

Baidu to launch financial service

Baidu Inc, China's largest search-engine provider, said on Monday that it would launch its Baidu Finance Center on Oct 28, offering a product with China Asset Management Co with an annual rate of return as high as 8 percent. The product will be available to registered users of Baifubao, its online payment platform. There's no minimum requirement for depositors, who can take advantage of real-time redemption. However, industry insiders said an 8-percent annual yield is almost impossible to achieve. Baidu has not explained how the target will be achieved.

ZTE sees $39.7m in profit in Q3

ZTE Corp posted a 242 million yuan ($39.7 million) third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, at the lower end of its own guidance, as cost-cutting measures helped the firm rebound from a loss in the same period last year. ZTE - the world's fifth-largest telecom equipment and smartphone maker in terms of sales - had forecast a net profit of 190 to 440 million yuan for the third quarter. The company said its net profit for the year to September was 551.6 million yuan, in line with its projections for a 500 to 750 million yuan net profit.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily USA 10/23/2013 page14)