SHANGHAI, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dianping, a leading local life and business platform in China, recently published a report titled Ten-Year Changes in China's City Life Consumption (2003-201...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 1 hour ago.
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Dianping Report Examines Changes in China's Urban Lifestyles and Consumer Trends Over the Last Decade
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How did cancer become a leading cause of death in China?
NEW YORK, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 2013 June issue of NewsChina magazine's cover stories highlighted "Cancer in China", "Urbanization Push", "Rhino Farmers", and "China's Bravest Attorney". (P...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 33 minutes ago.
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Majestic Gold Celebrates a Decade of Successful Operations in China
Ten years after first stepping foot in the People’s Republic of China, a Canadian junior exploration company has successfully brought a major gold prospect into production in a joint venture with a private Chinese partner that is setting a new benchmark in cross-cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Vancouver, B.C. (PRWEB) May 28, 2013
Ten years after first stepping foot in the People’s Republic of China, a Canadian junior exploration company has successfully brought a major gold prospect into production in a joint venture with a private Chinese partner that is setting a new benchmark in cross-cultural cooperation between the two countries.
In the past 36 months, Majestic Gold Corp., based in Vancouver, has doubled gold production at its Song Jiagou property in the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province, 1,100 kilometres southeast of the capital Beijing.
Output in 2010, the first year of production, was 4,709 ounces. By 2012 annual production had increased to 18,969 ounces — an increase of 104 per cent.
Song Jiagou is one of few gold mines in China operating without a state partner, and Majestic Gold is believed to be one of very few Canadian-owned junior gold producers established in the country.
A recent tour of the mining operation by Financial Press reveals the enterprise owes its success to hard work and a harmonious relationship between the two cultures.
These sentiments were echoed on the international stage last month when Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the global community to show more openness with the Chinese to facilitate common development. Xi was delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2013.
“Countries should remain open and inclusive so as to create broad space for enhancing common development,” Xi said. “We should turn the diversity of our world and difference among countries into dynamism and driving force for development.”
Majestic’s president and CEO, Rod Husband, welcomes such sentiments and he has been focused on developing a working relationship with the local people and government since coming to China in 2003.
In 2010, Majestic’s operations took a giant step forward when it took on a new local partner, Fan Zhong Kong. “Mr. Kong has done things we would not have been able to do so quickly in Canada,” says Husband. “This includes building a new mill cheaper and probably faster than you could anywhere else in the world. Having a partner like him has really helped us grow by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.”
The Song Jiagou gold project is located along the northeastern margin of the Jiaolai Basin, about 10 kilometres northeast of the geologically similar and well-documented Pengjiakuang gold deposit.
China is the world’s largest producer of gold and gold production from this region accounts for over 25 per cent of the country’s annual gold production.
Historically, two fortuitous events helped usher in Majestic Gold's unprecedented success in China.
First, in 2003, gold prices began to rise from $250 to nearly $500 by the end of 2004 making gold production much more profitable. Secondly, in 2002 and 2003, China changed its laws regarding foreign mining in China. Previously, foreign companies were not allowed to own the majority interest in mining ventures in China.
“We had the opportunity to go to China in 2003, which was really early for junior resource companies,” says Husband. “As a result, we got to look at some of the best opportunities. At the time we picked two. There was one in the extreme west of China as well as our Song Jiagou mine that we are operating now. In 2009, we sold the other project back to our previous partners, took the money and invested it further into Song Jiagou, which allowed us to grow it by leaps and bounds in terms of the resource size and the development that was done on site.”
Majestic's operations office near the mine is an impressive four-storey building utilised by 175 employees. At the helm is Mr. Kong, a highly influential citizen in the region. Working closely with the team is the recently appointed Chairman of the Board, Mr. Gengshu Miao.
Mr. Miao is a senior economist with long experience in the mining and investment sectors in China. He is currently president of the China Council for International Investment Promotion. His industry experience includes serving as president of China Minmetals Corp., an international metals and mining company with a business scope covering 26 nations and regions with total assets of RMB 242.1 billion. His former appointments also include management positions at Shanghai Metals and Minerals Import and Export Cooperation, the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, and Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co. Ltd.
“I first became involved with Majestic Gold in 2009, and the most important thing for me at the time was that I knew the property and recognized the opportunity,” he says. “I knew this would become a very big project."
Total gold production for the Song Jiagou property is projected to be 2.32 million ounces at an average of 105,645 ounces per year during a mine life of 22 years.
The biggest short-term challenge facing the property is a lack of grade control, Husband says.
“In the next 12 months we expect to ramp up our grade control through proper training and mining techniques. This will allow our grade to increase to three or four times higher than it is now, and our production numbers will go up to between 80,000 to 100,000 ounces a year on average for the life of mine.”
Husband adds that construction of an assay lab will provide enhanced grade control and the company expects to increase production significantly over the next several months. “We expect the lab to be completed sometime before the end of June,” Husband says. “It will allow us to process the blast holes in a timely enough manner to identify ore from waste ahead of blasting.”
For a junior company to be building this kind of infrastructure is unprecedented by Canadian standards. A 6,000-tonne-per-day mill was commissioned by Majestic in May 2011. Majestic has a real asset with proven resources and a processing plant.
Fan Zhong Kong, operations manager of Song Jiagou, stresses another key asset.
“We have strong support for this project from the local community and local government,” he says. “In 2012, we were recognized by local government for having the best mining operation, fair pricing with local contractors, environmental energy savings and we were awarded best foreign investment company.”
And to what does he credit the company’s success?
“Foreign companies working in China need to understand their local communities and their partners in order to succeed,” he says. “Foreigners should also know that Majestic Gold has a great property and is run by an excellent team of Canadian and Chinese partners.”
Majestic's CEO recognizes that a key challenge to operating in China lies in helping people to understand the concept of working for profit.
Husband says that Mr. Kong’s entrepreneurial acumen has helped convey that concept right down to the people who are doing the physical mining.
Moving forward, he says, “the biggest challenge is to keep everyone focused on the need for pushing the highest grade material possible through the mills.”
About Majestic Gold Corp.
Currently focused solely in China, Majestic Gold Corp. is a Vancouver, BC based company engaged in commercial gold production at the Song Jiagou gold mine in Yantai, China. Additional information on the Company and its projects is available at http://www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at http://www.majesticgold.net.
Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure: A fee has been paid for the production and distribution of this Report. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this article should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. Financial Press makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of the author’s only and are subject to change without notice. Financial Press assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this article and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, we assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information, provided within this article. Reported by PRWeb 8 minutes ago.
Vancouver, B.C. (PRWEB) May 28, 2013
Ten years after first stepping foot in the People’s Republic of China, a Canadian junior exploration company has successfully brought a major gold prospect into production in a joint venture with a private Chinese partner that is setting a new benchmark in cross-cultural cooperation between the two countries.
In the past 36 months, Majestic Gold Corp., based in Vancouver, has doubled gold production at its Song Jiagou property in the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong Province, 1,100 kilometres southeast of the capital Beijing.
Output in 2010, the first year of production, was 4,709 ounces. By 2012 annual production had increased to 18,969 ounces — an increase of 104 per cent.
Song Jiagou is one of few gold mines in China operating without a state partner, and Majestic Gold is believed to be one of very few Canadian-owned junior gold producers established in the country.
A recent tour of the mining operation by Financial Press reveals the enterprise owes its success to hard work and a harmonious relationship between the two cultures.
These sentiments were echoed on the international stage last month when Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the global community to show more openness with the Chinese to facilitate common development. Xi was delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2013.
“Countries should remain open and inclusive so as to create broad space for enhancing common development,” Xi said. “We should turn the diversity of our world and difference among countries into dynamism and driving force for development.”
Majestic’s president and CEO, Rod Husband, welcomes such sentiments and he has been focused on developing a working relationship with the local people and government since coming to China in 2003.
In 2010, Majestic’s operations took a giant step forward when it took on a new local partner, Fan Zhong Kong. “Mr. Kong has done things we would not have been able to do so quickly in Canada,” says Husband. “This includes building a new mill cheaper and probably faster than you could anywhere else in the world. Having a partner like him has really helped us grow by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.”
The Song Jiagou gold project is located along the northeastern margin of the Jiaolai Basin, about 10 kilometres northeast of the geologically similar and well-documented Pengjiakuang gold deposit.
China is the world’s largest producer of gold and gold production from this region accounts for over 25 per cent of the country’s annual gold production.
Historically, two fortuitous events helped usher in Majestic Gold's unprecedented success in China.
First, in 2003, gold prices began to rise from $250 to nearly $500 by the end of 2004 making gold production much more profitable. Secondly, in 2002 and 2003, China changed its laws regarding foreign mining in China. Previously, foreign companies were not allowed to own the majority interest in mining ventures in China.
“We had the opportunity to go to China in 2003, which was really early for junior resource companies,” says Husband. “As a result, we got to look at some of the best opportunities. At the time we picked two. There was one in the extreme west of China as well as our Song Jiagou mine that we are operating now. In 2009, we sold the other project back to our previous partners, took the money and invested it further into Song Jiagou, which allowed us to grow it by leaps and bounds in terms of the resource size and the development that was done on site.”
Majestic's operations office near the mine is an impressive four-storey building utilised by 175 employees. At the helm is Mr. Kong, a highly influential citizen in the region. Working closely with the team is the recently appointed Chairman of the Board, Mr. Gengshu Miao.
Mr. Miao is a senior economist with long experience in the mining and investment sectors in China. He is currently president of the China Council for International Investment Promotion. His industry experience includes serving as president of China Minmetals Corp., an international metals and mining company with a business scope covering 26 nations and regions with total assets of RMB 242.1 billion. His former appointments also include management positions at Shanghai Metals and Minerals Import and Export Cooperation, the Shanghai Foreign Economic and Trade Commission, and Sinotrans & CSC Holdings Co. Ltd.
“I first became involved with Majestic Gold in 2009, and the most important thing for me at the time was that I knew the property and recognized the opportunity,” he says. “I knew this would become a very big project."
Total gold production for the Song Jiagou property is projected to be 2.32 million ounces at an average of 105,645 ounces per year during a mine life of 22 years.
The biggest short-term challenge facing the property is a lack of grade control, Husband says.
“In the next 12 months we expect to ramp up our grade control through proper training and mining techniques. This will allow our grade to increase to three or four times higher than it is now, and our production numbers will go up to between 80,000 to 100,000 ounces a year on average for the life of mine.”
Husband adds that construction of an assay lab will provide enhanced grade control and the company expects to increase production significantly over the next several months. “We expect the lab to be completed sometime before the end of June,” Husband says. “It will allow us to process the blast holes in a timely enough manner to identify ore from waste ahead of blasting.”
For a junior company to be building this kind of infrastructure is unprecedented by Canadian standards. A 6,000-tonne-per-day mill was commissioned by Majestic in May 2011. Majestic has a real asset with proven resources and a processing plant.
Fan Zhong Kong, operations manager of Song Jiagou, stresses another key asset.
“We have strong support for this project from the local community and local government,” he says. “In 2012, we were recognized by local government for having the best mining operation, fair pricing with local contractors, environmental energy savings and we were awarded best foreign investment company.”
And to what does he credit the company’s success?
“Foreign companies working in China need to understand their local communities and their partners in order to succeed,” he says. “Foreigners should also know that Majestic Gold has a great property and is run by an excellent team of Canadian and Chinese partners.”
Majestic's CEO recognizes that a key challenge to operating in China lies in helping people to understand the concept of working for profit.
Husband says that Mr. Kong’s entrepreneurial acumen has helped convey that concept right down to the people who are doing the physical mining.
Moving forward, he says, “the biggest challenge is to keep everyone focused on the need for pushing the highest grade material possible through the mills.”
About Majestic Gold Corp.
Currently focused solely in China, Majestic Gold Corp. is a Vancouver, BC based company engaged in commercial gold production at the Song Jiagou gold mine in Yantai, China. Additional information on the Company and its projects is available at http://www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at http://www.majesticgold.net.
Legal Disclaimer/Disclosure: A fee has been paid for the production and distribution of this Report. This document is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in this article should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. Financial Press makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness. Expressions of opinion are those of the author’s only and are subject to change without notice. Financial Press assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided within this article and will not be held liable for the consequence of reliance upon any opinion or statement contained herein or any omission. Furthermore, we assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information, provided within this article. Reported by PRWeb 8 minutes ago.
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IMF’s China Growth Estimate Cut To 7.75%
China, major driver of global GDP growth, is now expected to grow by 7.75%, just a quarter of a point over China's own 7.5% target.
Reported by IBTimes 5 hours ago.
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Mother of newborn rescued from sewer pipe in China says she couldn’t afford abortion
BEIJING- The mother of the Chinese newborn trapped in a sewer pipe in a stunning ordeal caught on video had raised the initial alarm and was present for the entire two-hour rescue but did not admit giving birth until confronted by police, reports said Wednesday.Video shows newborn being freed from toilet pipe
The state-run, Hangzhou-based newspaper Dushikuaibao said police became suspicious when they found baby toys and blood-stained toilet paper in the 22-year-old woman’s rented room, in the building where Saturday’s rescue occurred in eastern China.
The woman, whose name was not revealed in state media reports, confessed to police when they asked her to undergo a medical checkup.
The woman told police she could not afford an abortion and secretly delivered the child Saturday afternoon in the toilet. She said she tried to catch the baby but he slipped into the sewer line and that she alerted her landlord of the trapped baby after she could not pull the child out, the state-run, Jinhua-based Zhezhong News said.
Video of the rescue of Baby No. 59 — so named because of his incubator number in the hospital — was shown on Chinese news programs and websites starting late Monday and picked up worldwide, prompting both horror and an outpouring of charity on behalf of the newborn. The mother’s reported confession raises questions about whether she intended to abandon the baby, while suggesting that she was desperate and did not know what to do.
Zhezhong News said the woman is a high school graduate who works at a restaurant in the Zhejiang province city of Jinhua. She said she became pregnant after a one-night stand with a man who later denied any responsibility. The woman did not reveal the pregnancy to her parents. She also said she wanted to raise the child but had no idea how to do it, according to local reports.
Firefighters were called to the residential building in the Pujiang area of Jinhua to rescue the baby, which was trapped in the L-joint of a sewage pipe just below a squat toilet in one of the building’s public restrooms.
In the video, officials were shown removing the pipe from a ceiling that apparently was just below the restroom and then, at the hospital, using pliers and saws to gently pull apart the pipe, which was about 10 centimetres in diameter.
The baby, who weighed six pounds, 2.8 ounces, had a low heart rate and some minor abrasions on his head and limbs, but was mostly unhurt, according to local reports. The placenta was still attached.
News of the baby’s ordeal was met with horror and pity by bloggers on Chinese sites. Most speculated that the child had been dumped by his parents down the toilet. The rescue prompted an outpouring from strangers who came to the hospital with diapers, baby clothes, powdered milk and offers to adopt him.
Dushikuaibao said the mother was present throughout the entire rescue and expressed her concern for the child, thought that didn’t initially rouse suspicion of the police.
Police initially said they were treating the case of as possible attempted homicide, but it was not immediately clear whether the mother would face criminal charges.
Local police refused to comment, saying the case is under further investigation.
In China, unwanted pregnancies have been on the rise because of a lack of sex education and an increasingly lax attitude toward sex. Young men and women often are engaged in unprotected sex, and abortions have become increasingly common, with abortion services widely available.
Sociologist Li Yinhe said more than 70 per cent of China’s young adults have had premarital sex, but that Chinese schools typically shy away from sex education and teaching about contraception because teachers don’t want to appear to condone premarital sex.
“The public also is very ambiguous over whether you are committing a murder when you kill an infant or abandon it,” Li said.
The landlord of the building told local media earlier in the week that there were no signs that the birth took place in the restroom and she had not been aware of any recent pregnancies among her tenants.
The baby’s mother told police she cleaned up the scene in the toilet after the delivery and that she had managed to hide her pregnancy by wearing loose clothes and tightly wrapping her abdomen, Zhezhong News said. Reported by Toronto Star 5 hours ago.
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China continues to deny U.S. cyber attack accusations
BEIJING— China on Wednesday again denied accusations that it has used cyber attacks to steal American military and business secrets, saying it opposes all hacking.
“China opposes all forms of cyber attacks. China is also a victim of hacking,” said Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang, during a press briefing previewing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming meeting with President Obama next week. Zheng noted that China and the United States already have agreed to set up a working group to regularly discuss the issue.
Read full article >>
Reported by Washington Post 5 hours ago.
“China opposes all forms of cyber attacks. China is also a victim of hacking,” said Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang, during a press briefing previewing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming meeting with President Obama next week. Zheng noted that China and the United States already have agreed to set up a working group to regularly discuss the issue.
Read full article >>
Reported by Washington Post 5 hours ago.
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Amazon Kindle To Light Up China Tablet Market
Some 6 months after buzz first emerged that Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) could soon bring its popular Kindle tablet PCs to China, media are reporting that the product could finally make its debut in the market next month. I'll be frank in saying that Amazon is coming to the China tablet PC market a bit late, as the space is already quite competitive due to the earlier arrival of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, along with tablet offerings from Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and homegrown giant Lenovo (HKEx: 992). But that said, I would also say there's still no clear leader in the space, meaning Amazon could quickly grab some market share if it makes the right moves.
Reported by Forbes.com 5 hours ago.
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China Green Agriculture Inc. Announces the Improvement of Selected Sunlight Greenhouses
XI'AN, China, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --China Green Agriculture, Inc.(NYSE: CGA; "China Green Agriculture" or the "Company"), a company that mainly produces and distributes humic acid-...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 5 hours ago.
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Ascent Solar debuts EnerPlex consumer line in China
Ascent Solar Technologies Inc. says its EnerPlex line of consumer solar-power products has entered the China market. The Thornton-based maker of flexible thin-film photovoltaic power modules (Nasdaq: ASTI) said Wednesday that its strategic partner in China, Shenzhen Radiant Enterprise Co., Ltd., has reached a distribution agreement with DiXinTong Inc., doing business as D.Phone, one of China’s largest retailers of mobile phones and accessories, with some 1,300 stores across China. Ascent's EnerPlex…
Reported by bizjournals 4 hours ago.
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China Group Tour with Essence Itinerary Recruits for MembersShanghaiFocus.com
ShanghaiFocus offers a series of China group tours with great bargain to response the travel policy of China. This small China travel agent takes full advantage of its professional travel guide service and its 25 years’ travel experience.
ShanghaiFocus offers a series of China group tours with great bargain to response the travel policy of China. This small China travel agent takes full advantage of its professional travel guide service and its 25 years’ travel experience to give customers a big deal on cheap tours of China.
As the changes from the traditional tourism to the new online tourism, the new style of transaction makes this business more challenging and competive. The online business is becoming more and more popular among young students. ShanghaiFocus offers four cheap group tour focused in Beijing, Shanghai and some historical relics or the Yangtze River Cruise. The tours take 8 or 11 days, which is enough and can take you to explore the long history of China.
ShanghaiFocus is a Shanghai travel agent, whose head office located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. There are many branches locating in everywhere of China, such as Shanghai and so on. In another way, it is anther style of the local travel agent. The best and professional service makes this travel agent famous in Shanghai and its side cities. Now the new group tours are in big bargain with low price of $299, $399Œ$899 and $1125. In generally, the price includes the hotel accommodation, means in hotels and English-speaking travel guide and the entry tickets of travel sites in the itinerary. Different price has different service, as you know. What’s more, there are some special service every now and then in this travel website, just to thank customers. More bargain information click here: http://shanghaifocus.com/china-group-tour
Company Contact Information
Shanghai International Travel Agent
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 4 hours ago.
ShanghaiFocus offers a series of China group tours with great bargain to response the travel policy of China. This small China travel agent takes full advantage of its professional travel guide service and its 25 years’ travel experience to give customers a big deal on cheap tours of China.
As the changes from the traditional tourism to the new online tourism, the new style of transaction makes this business more challenging and competive. The online business is becoming more and more popular among young students. ShanghaiFocus offers four cheap group tour focused in Beijing, Shanghai and some historical relics or the Yangtze River Cruise. The tours take 8 or 11 days, which is enough and can take you to explore the long history of China.
ShanghaiFocus is a Shanghai travel agent, whose head office located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. There are many branches locating in everywhere of China, such as Shanghai and so on. In another way, it is anther style of the local travel agent. The best and professional service makes this travel agent famous in Shanghai and its side cities. Now the new group tours are in big bargain with low price of $299, $399Œ$899 and $1125. In generally, the price includes the hotel accommodation, means in hotels and English-speaking travel guide and the entry tickets of travel sites in the itinerary. Different price has different service, as you know. What’s more, there are some special service every now and then in this travel website, just to thank customers. More bargain information click here: http://shanghaifocus.com/china-group-tour
Company Contact Information
Shanghai International Travel Agent
News and Press Release Distribution From I-Newswire.com Reported by i-Newswire.com 4 hours ago.
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Insane Gridlock Photos Go Viral In China
Photos taken yesterday showing a ridiculous gridlock at a junction in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, have gone viral in China.The photos have earned the nickname "Mahjong Gridlock" due to the similarity to the tile-based game popular in China, and have been picked up by Xinhua, Shanghaiist, and Reddit.
Xinhua blames the gridlock on wet weather, but Reddit users are quick to point out that these scenes are not unique, and that impatient bus drivers may be to blame. One user posted an image from his office window that shows a similar situation at a completely different junction last year.
Please follow Getting There on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
Reported by Business Insider 4 hours ago.
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Smithfield Buyout: Do You Want China Owning Your Meat Supply?
Filed under: Retail, Accounting, Mergers & Acquisitions, Global Economy, Consumer GoodsSmithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD) is seeing its shares surge this morning on news that it has received a big premium buyout offer. A Chinese firm called Shuanghui International Holdings, which is the is the majority shareholder of China's largest meat processing enterprise, has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire Smithfield Foods for approximately $7.1 billion after the assumption of debt.
Outside of this being potentially the largest Chinese acquisition of a U.S. company, we are a bit curious how U.S. customers are going to feel about one of America's top meat suppliers being owned and controlled by the Chinese. Will consumers buying future Smithfield products think it is odd that they are now eating Chinese food?
Terms call for Smithfield shareholders to receive $34.00 per share in cash, and the boards of directors of both companies have accepted the deal. The announcement this morning calls for the combined companies to have greater access to the large and growing Chinese marketplace, while retaining "world-leading food safety and quality control standards."
Shuanghui International has said that Larry Pope will continue as president and chief executive officer of Smithfield. The company also said that the existing management teams and workforces of Smithfield's independent operating companies will continue in place after the transaction.
If you think that having a Chinese owner of a U.S. meat company does not matter to U.S. customers, there are many brands to consider here. Smithfield generates $13 billion in annual sales, and its brands include the following: Smithfield as the primary, followed by Eckrich, Farmland, Armour, Cook's, Gwaltney, John Morrell, Kretschmar, Curly's, Carando, Margherita and Healthy Ones. That is a lot of brands that touch millions and millions of Americans each year.
We expect that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review will be an extra-detailed one. The group gets to oversee foreign mergers and investment regarding national security and safety.
If you want to consider fairness or cross-border treatment in reverse, it is unlikely at all that Smithfield Foods would be permitted by Chinese authorities to do this deal in reverse. China likely would allow a U.S. food giant to make a handy investment or a partnership of sorts, but China likely would not approve a U.S. food giant coming in and buying outright a major meat producer and supplier in China. The companies may have agreed to the deal and shareholders may be getting a big bump here, but under no circumstances would we consider this merger a done deal on the regulatory front.
Smithfield shares are up 25% at $32.60, and that 4.3% arbitrage spread to the $34 buyout price is indicative of a deal that is still likely to close but may take a long time. At least one law firm already has announced an investigation into whether the Smithfield acquisition is fair. It even noted one analyst saying that Smithfield should be worth $48 per share.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Accounting, Consumer Product, Food, International Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, Retail Tagged: SFD
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by DailyFinance 4 hours ago.
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Mountain China Resorts Announces Appointment of New Audit Committee Member
*BEIJING, CHINA--(Marketwired - May 29, 2013) -* *Mountain China Resorts (Holding) Limited (TSX VENTURE:MCG) *("MCR" or the "Company"), announced today that it has appointed Shi Chen to the audit committee in place of Ermanno Pascutto. The audit committee now consists of Wing Keun Philip Li, Lian Wang and Shi Chen.
Reported by Marketwired 4 hours ago.
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FIDELITY CHINA SPECIAL SITUATIONS PLC - Total Voting Rights
Fidelity China Special Situations PLC Voting Rights and Capital as at 29 May 2013. This announcement is made in accordance with DTR5.6.1. As at 29 May 2013 Fidelity China Special Situations PLC's ...
Reported by FinanzNachrichten.de 4 hours ago.
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IMF Reduces China Growth Forecast to 7.75%
Filed under: Investing
The International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 economic growth forecast for China 0.25 percentage points, to 7.75%, according to a press release issued this week.
The IMF review provides a mixed picture of the country's economy, pointing to improvements and declines on a national and international level.
In the short term, the IMF expects recent credit expansions and a growing world economy to help China's prospects, but questions the longer-term efficacy of the country's investment strategies. The report notes that "while good progress has been made with external rebalancing, growth has become too dependent on the continued expansion of investment, much of it by the property sector and local governments whose financial position is being affected as a result."
The IMF did make note of its approval of the new government's recent reforms to prioritize more "balanced, inclusive, and environmentally friendly growth" going forward. Looking ahead, the IMF prioritized localized governance, market liberalization, and income equality as key policy areas.
The IMF's new growth forecast is still higher than China's own 7.5% prediction, but nonetheless points to important areas for improvement in the quarters to come. Inflation is forecast to hit 3% for 2013, while China's external account surplus is expected to remain steady at 2.5% of GDP. "These measures represent a challenging reform agenda that will require strong determination and administrative capacity to implement," the IMF wrote. "... success will benefit both China and the rest of the world, reflecting the growing importance of China and its integration with the global economy."
link
The article IMF Reduces China Growth Forecast to 7.75% Reported by DailyFinance 3 hours ago.
The International Monetary Fund cut its 2013 economic growth forecast for China 0.25 percentage points, to 7.75%, according to a press release issued this week.
The IMF review provides a mixed picture of the country's economy, pointing to improvements and declines on a national and international level.
In the short term, the IMF expects recent credit expansions and a growing world economy to help China's prospects, but questions the longer-term efficacy of the country's investment strategies. The report notes that "while good progress has been made with external rebalancing, growth has become too dependent on the continued expansion of investment, much of it by the property sector and local governments whose financial position is being affected as a result."
The IMF did make note of its approval of the new government's recent reforms to prioritize more "balanced, inclusive, and environmentally friendly growth" going forward. Looking ahead, the IMF prioritized localized governance, market liberalization, and income equality as key policy areas.
The IMF's new growth forecast is still higher than China's own 7.5% prediction, but nonetheless points to important areas for improvement in the quarters to come. Inflation is forecast to hit 3% for 2013, while China's external account surplus is expected to remain steady at 2.5% of GDP. "These measures represent a challenging reform agenda that will require strong determination and administrative capacity to implement," the IMF wrote. "... success will benefit both China and the rest of the world, reflecting the growing importance of China and its integration with the global economy."
link
The article IMF Reduces China Growth Forecast to 7.75% Reported by DailyFinance 3 hours ago.
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15 Startling Photos Of Pigs In China
Chinese company Shuanghui International Holdings Limited will acquire Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer.Remember, China is the world's largest pork consumer so this deal makes a lot of strategic sense.
Moreover, the recent decline in Chinese pork prices is seeing the industry consolidate and smaller farmers
We pulled together these images to put together a tour of China's pork industry.
-China is the world's largest pork consumer and is expected to have consumed 52 million tons in 2012.-
-Half of the world's pigs, about 476 million are said to reside in China.-
-China become a net importer of pork in 2008. -
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
Reported by Business Insider 1 hour ago.
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Barbara A. Finamore: A Five-Part Strategy to Cap and Cut China's Coal Consumption
It is hard to miss the staggering statistics when it comes to coal in China, which now consumes nearly as much coal *as the rest of the world combined*. Unrestricted growth in coal consumption in the last decade has led to the worst air pollution in recent memory, with citizens in northern and central China breathing in higher levels of hazardous air pollution this past winter than if they were living in an airport smoking lounge. Coal mining and combustion also cause serious water and soil pollution, including the release of toxic metals like mercury and arsenic. Unless things change, there are plans to build even more coal-fired power plants in the future -- some 558 GW worth, which would be a 73 percent increase over China’s 2011 thermal power plant capacity.
Source: EIA.gov
The impacts of coal mining and consumption on China’s environment, public health and the economy are already astronomical: from January’s “airpocalypse” to the existence of “cancer villages” and 3.5 percent in GDP losses (in 2010 alone), this dirty and unsustainable energy source has catapulted to the center of attention among Chinese citizens and leaders alike. Given coal’s heavy costs, China’s leaders are paying close attention to coal and have sought now seek to reduce coal consumption and pollution by introducing a suite of policy measures, including: * *
· *Establishing pilot carbon emissions trading programs* in five cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chongqing) and two provinces (Guangdong and Hubei). Shenzhen’s carbon trading program starts June 17 and will cover 638 companies responsible for 38% of the city’s emissions. China is also continuing to develop its low carbon pilot cities and provinces program.
· *Capping total energy consumption *at 4 billion tons of coal equivalent by 2015, although this is a non-binding target and no penalties are in place yet for non-compliance.
· *Considering a **tax on resources**, including coal, *in order to account for the environmental costs of coal and shift investment towards clean energy.
· *Finalizing new emissions control limits* for six heavily-polluting industries. China’s power sector accounts for about 50 percent of its coal consumption and emissions, and heavy industries such as iron and steel, cement and coal chemicals also constitute a large share, causing major climate and air pollution.
· *Planning regional coal consumption cap pilots* in key regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Shandong city cluster as part of China’s “Twelfth Five Year Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Key Areas (in Chinese).” The pilots are aimed at bringing much-needed regional cooperation and coordination to reduce key air pollutants by 2015, including cutting PM 2.5 by 5-6 percent. But as with the total energy consumption cap, the details and penalties for non-compliance are still unclear.
While these are all critically important policy measures, *the underlying challenge remains that China consumes too much coal overall,* and much more needs to be done to reduce coal consumption to a level compatible with China’s and the world’s long-term sustainable development. Global carbon dioxide levels have now passed 400 ppm and will continue to grow rapidly if countries do not wean off fossil fuels and scale up cleaner energy sources. And as the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide—spewing out 10 billion out of the global total of 38.2 billion tons in 2011—China is a key player in the future of sustainable development.
*Although scaling up alternatives to coal may seem a formidable task, we believe China can develop the policies and technologies needed to cap and then cut its coal consumption in the next decade. *We are working with government researchers, academics, NGOs and others to develop an effective and enforceable coal cap policy that will address the severe pollution and health impacts from coal while providing cleaner energy sources for China’s economy. Such a program could begin at the city and regional levels, where coal consumption cap policies are already being developed, and ultimately scale up to a national binding target that is incorporated into China’s future Five Year Plans.
Here are five key components of NRDC’s coal cap strategy:
*1. Work with the largest coal consuming sectors and regions to help them develop integrated plans for capping coal use through more efficient technologies, fuel switching and closing outdated production capacity. *In order to address coal consumption, it will be important to work with the largest coal-consuming sectors (power, iron and steel, cement, and chemicals) to find ways to scale up more efficient technologies such as combined heat and power that can reduce coal consumption. These sectors should be required to install and operate pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment when consuming coal, and should be incentivized to switch from coal to natural gas and renewables in order to reduce their emissions. Plants with smaller and less efficient boilers and other equipment should be phased out or required to use natural gas.
Similarly, those cities and regions that face the worst air pollution from coal should be the focus of efforts to pilot coal consumption caps and to develop plans and policies for capping and reducing coal consumption in the next five years by scaling up clean energy sources and developing lower carbon economies that do not rely as much on heavy industry for development.
Focusing on these key sectors and regions and showing that they can begin to limit their coal consumption will help to develop the policies and experience needed to reach a national coal cap policy.
*2. Strengthen enforcement of coal consumption and emissions targets and standards through improved data and enforcement tools. *Strengthening data on coal production and consumption and emissions from coal consuming facilities is key to providing a foundation for implementing a coal consumption cap and related policies such as a resource tax or carbon trading, and for enforcing emissions standards. Online emissions monitoring systems should be installed on all power plants and industrial facilities over a minimum size, with public reporting of data and penalties for false or inadequate reporting.
*It is also important to strengthen the use of pollution permits and environmental impact assessments to manage the impacts of high coal-consuming projects. *These tools should* *provide a* *way for the government and the public to supervise emitters’ compliance with coal consumption targets and pollution standards, pushing them to find ways during project planning to reduce emissions and health impacts to the lowest extent possible, including by reducing consumption of coal and increasing use of cleaner energy sources.
*3. Continue to scale up energy efficiency and renewable energy:* China has made significant progress in energy efficiency but still requires about twice as much energy as the world’s average to produce one unit of GDP. We have been working to scale up demand side management programs to improve efficiency in industry, and have also been promoted policies and standards to improve building energy efficiency in China. Meanwhile, China is already the world’s largest investor in renewable energy, leads the world in wind power capacity and solar hot water heating, and plans to increase its use of non-fossil energy (nuclear and renewables) to 15 percent of primary energy consumption by 2020 (including 200 GW of wind power and 50 GW of solar power). However, China still faces technical, economic and regulatory challenges that are preventing it from fully utilizing its efficiency and renewable resources, which will require cooperation and support from international partners to help develop best practices for market transformation.
*4. Develop responsible standards and best practices for shale gas and nuclear power development:* China reportedly has nearly 50 percent more “technically recoverable” reserves of shale gas than the U.S., and has ambitious plans to develop its unconventional gas resources. While natural gas is much less polluting during combustion than coal, unregulated hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) consumes a significant amount of water and has the potential to cause water pollution, high methane emissions, and other environmental damage. We’re working with policymakers in China to learn from best practices for environmental protection in the U.S., so that China can develop this resource as safely as possible. Similarly, we are providing policy recommendations to help strengthen China’s nuclear safety regulatory system post-Fukushima.
*5. Help to implement carbon trading and carbon tax pilot programs: *In addition to mandatory coal consumption cap targets for local governments and enterprises, it will be important to begin to develop market and fiscal mechanisms such as carbon trading and/or a carbon tax, in order to price carbon to send a signal to the market to shift investment from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources. Developing these market and fiscal measures to price carbon will depend on accurate data on coal consumption and regulation of emitters. It will also be important that government revenues from pricing carbon through either carbon trading or a carbon tax be used to provide incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy in order to spur the investments needed to scale up low-carbon energy.
*Establishing a binding coal consumption cap** **policy adds a critically important lever to existing climate and energy policies in China.* Capping coal will not be an easy task, and will require both applying pressure and providing incentives for both industry and government officials to act. Doing so will not only clean up China’s air but also conserve water and land resources, reduce water pollution, and alleviate transportation pressures, all of which will help secure a healthier future for China’s citizens, environment and economic growth.
This blog post was co-written with my colleagues Alvin Lin and Christine Xu. Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
Source: EIA.gov
The impacts of coal mining and consumption on China’s environment, public health and the economy are already astronomical: from January’s “airpocalypse” to the existence of “cancer villages” and 3.5 percent in GDP losses (in 2010 alone), this dirty and unsustainable energy source has catapulted to the center of attention among Chinese citizens and leaders alike. Given coal’s heavy costs, China’s leaders are paying close attention to coal and have sought now seek to reduce coal consumption and pollution by introducing a suite of policy measures, including: * *
· *Establishing pilot carbon emissions trading programs* in five cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Chongqing) and two provinces (Guangdong and Hubei). Shenzhen’s carbon trading program starts June 17 and will cover 638 companies responsible for 38% of the city’s emissions. China is also continuing to develop its low carbon pilot cities and provinces program.
· *Capping total energy consumption *at 4 billion tons of coal equivalent by 2015, although this is a non-binding target and no penalties are in place yet for non-compliance.
· *Considering a **tax on resources**, including coal, *in order to account for the environmental costs of coal and shift investment towards clean energy.
· *Finalizing new emissions control limits* for six heavily-polluting industries. China’s power sector accounts for about 50 percent of its coal consumption and emissions, and heavy industries such as iron and steel, cement and coal chemicals also constitute a large share, causing major climate and air pollution.
· *Planning regional coal consumption cap pilots* in key regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Shandong city cluster as part of China’s “Twelfth Five Year Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control in Key Areas (in Chinese).” The pilots are aimed at bringing much-needed regional cooperation and coordination to reduce key air pollutants by 2015, including cutting PM 2.5 by 5-6 percent. But as with the total energy consumption cap, the details and penalties for non-compliance are still unclear.
While these are all critically important policy measures, *the underlying challenge remains that China consumes too much coal overall,* and much more needs to be done to reduce coal consumption to a level compatible with China’s and the world’s long-term sustainable development. Global carbon dioxide levels have now passed 400 ppm and will continue to grow rapidly if countries do not wean off fossil fuels and scale up cleaner energy sources. And as the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide—spewing out 10 billion out of the global total of 38.2 billion tons in 2011—China is a key player in the future of sustainable development.
*Although scaling up alternatives to coal may seem a formidable task, we believe China can develop the policies and technologies needed to cap and then cut its coal consumption in the next decade. *We are working with government researchers, academics, NGOs and others to develop an effective and enforceable coal cap policy that will address the severe pollution and health impacts from coal while providing cleaner energy sources for China’s economy. Such a program could begin at the city and regional levels, where coal consumption cap policies are already being developed, and ultimately scale up to a national binding target that is incorporated into China’s future Five Year Plans.
Here are five key components of NRDC’s coal cap strategy:
*1. Work with the largest coal consuming sectors and regions to help them develop integrated plans for capping coal use through more efficient technologies, fuel switching and closing outdated production capacity. *In order to address coal consumption, it will be important to work with the largest coal-consuming sectors (power, iron and steel, cement, and chemicals) to find ways to scale up more efficient technologies such as combined heat and power that can reduce coal consumption. These sectors should be required to install and operate pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment when consuming coal, and should be incentivized to switch from coal to natural gas and renewables in order to reduce their emissions. Plants with smaller and less efficient boilers and other equipment should be phased out or required to use natural gas.
Similarly, those cities and regions that face the worst air pollution from coal should be the focus of efforts to pilot coal consumption caps and to develop plans and policies for capping and reducing coal consumption in the next five years by scaling up clean energy sources and developing lower carbon economies that do not rely as much on heavy industry for development.
Focusing on these key sectors and regions and showing that they can begin to limit their coal consumption will help to develop the policies and experience needed to reach a national coal cap policy.
*2. Strengthen enforcement of coal consumption and emissions targets and standards through improved data and enforcement tools. *Strengthening data on coal production and consumption and emissions from coal consuming facilities is key to providing a foundation for implementing a coal consumption cap and related policies such as a resource tax or carbon trading, and for enforcing emissions standards. Online emissions monitoring systems should be installed on all power plants and industrial facilities over a minimum size, with public reporting of data and penalties for false or inadequate reporting.
*It is also important to strengthen the use of pollution permits and environmental impact assessments to manage the impacts of high coal-consuming projects. *These tools should* *provide a* *way for the government and the public to supervise emitters’ compliance with coal consumption targets and pollution standards, pushing them to find ways during project planning to reduce emissions and health impacts to the lowest extent possible, including by reducing consumption of coal and increasing use of cleaner energy sources.
*3. Continue to scale up energy efficiency and renewable energy:* China has made significant progress in energy efficiency but still requires about twice as much energy as the world’s average to produce one unit of GDP. We have been working to scale up demand side management programs to improve efficiency in industry, and have also been promoted policies and standards to improve building energy efficiency in China. Meanwhile, China is already the world’s largest investor in renewable energy, leads the world in wind power capacity and solar hot water heating, and plans to increase its use of non-fossil energy (nuclear and renewables) to 15 percent of primary energy consumption by 2020 (including 200 GW of wind power and 50 GW of solar power). However, China still faces technical, economic and regulatory challenges that are preventing it from fully utilizing its efficiency and renewable resources, which will require cooperation and support from international partners to help develop best practices for market transformation.
*4. Develop responsible standards and best practices for shale gas and nuclear power development:* China reportedly has nearly 50 percent more “technically recoverable” reserves of shale gas than the U.S., and has ambitious plans to develop its unconventional gas resources. While natural gas is much less polluting during combustion than coal, unregulated hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) consumes a significant amount of water and has the potential to cause water pollution, high methane emissions, and other environmental damage. We’re working with policymakers in China to learn from best practices for environmental protection in the U.S., so that China can develop this resource as safely as possible. Similarly, we are providing policy recommendations to help strengthen China’s nuclear safety regulatory system post-Fukushima.
*5. Help to implement carbon trading and carbon tax pilot programs: *In addition to mandatory coal consumption cap targets for local governments and enterprises, it will be important to begin to develop market and fiscal mechanisms such as carbon trading and/or a carbon tax, in order to price carbon to send a signal to the market to shift investment from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources. Developing these market and fiscal measures to price carbon will depend on accurate data on coal consumption and regulation of emitters. It will also be important that government revenues from pricing carbon through either carbon trading or a carbon tax be used to provide incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy in order to spur the investments needed to scale up low-carbon energy.
*Establishing a binding coal consumption cap** **policy adds a critically important lever to existing climate and energy policies in China.* Capping coal will not be an easy task, and will require both applying pressure and providing incentives for both industry and government officials to act. Doing so will not only clean up China’s air but also conserve water and land resources, reduce water pollution, and alleviate transportation pressures, all of which will help secure a healthier future for China’s citizens, environment and economic growth.
This blog post was co-written with my colleagues Alvin Lin and Christine Xu. Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
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People Actually Use QR Codes (In China)
Mock the lowly QR code as you may. But people actually use it. In China. We already knew that QR codes were popular in Japan, but they never quite took off in Western markets. However, they are finding new life in the world’s biggest market as consumers scan codes to find friends on Tencent’s WeChat messaging app or follow accounts on Sina Weibo. Today in Kleiner Perkins’ partner Mary Meeker’s always anticipated data dump, she had a few slides showing how QR codes are taking off in China. The number of codes scanned per month is up by fourfold year-over-year in China as people are using them to pay for goods, exchange information or redeem promotions and coupons. China is now seeing 9 million QR codes scanned every month up from two million per month a year before, according to a local QR code study Meeker cited. I myself witnessed such behavior in Beijing a few weeks ago. At first, I wanted to mock. But then after seeing QR code use in the wild several times, I stood corrected. Meeker showed how QR codes are even being used by the U.K. embassy in Beijing. People can scan them to follow the U.K. government’s account on Sina Weibo, the microblogging platform that has 46 million daily active users in China. Or more bizarrely, one cemetery in Shenyang has even proposed using QR codes on gravestones to call up people’s obituaries. QR code-focused startups like Israel’s Visualead have latched onto this trend by pushing more aggressively into Asia over Western markets.
Reported by TechCrunch 45 minutes ago.
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AIG Is Doubling Down in China
Filed under: Investing
*American International Group* has made some big moves in China over the past year, with both a divestiture and new investments. Recently, the insurer announced that it would be increasing its investment in the People's Republic and growing its exposure to that nation's continued growth.
In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jessica Alling discusses AIG's moves in China, the company's renewed vigor in the opportunities there, and how investors should feel about the insurer's investment.
At the end of last year, AIG was the favorite stock among hedge fund managers. Have they identified the next big multi-bagger, or are the risks facing the insurance giant still too great? In The Motley Fool's premium report on AIG, Financials Bureau Chief Matt Koppenheffer breaks down the key issues that you need to know about if you want to successfully invest in this stock. Simply click here now to claim your copy, and you'll also receive a full year of key updates and expert analysis as news continues to develop.
The article AIG Is Doubling Down in China Reported by DailyFinance 38 minutes ago.
*American International Group* has made some big moves in China over the past year, with both a divestiture and new investments. Recently, the insurer announced that it would be increasing its investment in the People's Republic and growing its exposure to that nation's continued growth.
In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jessica Alling discusses AIG's moves in China, the company's renewed vigor in the opportunities there, and how investors should feel about the insurer's investment.
At the end of last year, AIG was the favorite stock among hedge fund managers. Have they identified the next big multi-bagger, or are the risks facing the insurance giant still too great? In The Motley Fool's premium report on AIG, Financials Bureau Chief Matt Koppenheffer breaks down the key issues that you need to know about if you want to successfully invest in this stock. Simply click here now to claim your copy, and you'll also receive a full year of key updates and expert analysis as news continues to develop.
The article AIG Is Doubling Down in China Reported by DailyFinance 38 minutes ago.
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US, China face cyber security threats: Pentagon chief
Cyber security threats are a threat to not only to the US, but also other countries including China, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday.
Reported by Zee News 13 hours ago.
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