Southern Co working to finalize $8 billion nuclear loan guarantee

Southern Co (SO.N) Chairman Tom Fanning said on Wednesday that the company is working with the U.S. Energy Department to finalize an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for its two-reactor expansion at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia, the first new reactors to be built in three decades.

Southern's Georgia Power unit is leading a utility consortium that is building two 1,100-megawatt Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at a projected cost exceeding $14 billion.

"After extensive negotiations on loan guarantees, Georgia power has delivered its documents to DOE," Fanning said on a call with analysts.

While a series of steps remain to close the federal loan, Fanning said the guarantee represents about $200 million in value to Georgia Power customers who are already paying early costs for the Vogtle units. The new reactors won't begin producing power until late 2017 and late 2018, a year later than initially planned.

Federal loan guarantees had been viewed as critical to the once-predicted revival of U.S. nuclear construction due to the regulatory risk and high cost of nuclear construction.

Now, only a few new reactors are expected to be built due to lower natural gas prices, anemic growth in electricity demand and the lack of restrictions on emissions of carbon dioxide.

The only new U.S. reactors under construction are being built by the Georgia Power consortium and SCANA Corp (SCG.N), which is building two reactors in South Carolina.

The Vogtle loan guarantee, announced in 2010, was expected to be finalized in 2012, but negotiations bogged down over terms and costs and were complicated by DOE requirements added after the much-publicized bankruptcy in 2011 of solar panel maker Solyndra which had received loan guarantees.

Fanning said progress on Vogtle "is terrific."

He said construction is also going well at Mississippi Power's coal-gasification power plant in Kemper County, Mississippi.

Southern added $40 million to bolster its contingency funds for the Kemper plant as its total price tag is now above $5.2 billion, according to a filing with regulators made Tuesday.

Fanning said Kemper's gas turbines produced electricity in January using natural gas from its new pipeline as workers continue to install gasifier equipment which will eventually convert coal into synthesis gas to fuel the plant.

"We will move towards testing of the gasifier in the second quarter," Fanning said.

Source: Reuters

Italy parliament approves revaluation of central bank's capital

Italy's Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday gave final approval to a decree allowing the revaluation of the share capital of the Bank of Italy, improving the capital position of the country's largest lenders, its stakeholders.

The central bank's share capital is to be hiked dramatically to up to 7.5 billion euros ($10.23 billion) from its previous value of 156,000 euros, which had not been changed since the 1930s.

The law will enable the commercial banks to improve their balance sheets from 2015, and also help public finances thanks to the taxation of the capital gain the banks will register. It sets a 3 percent limit on stakes by single shareholders.

Intesa Sanpaolo  is the main shareholder in the Bank of Italy, with a 42 percent stake, followed by UniCredit , with a 22 percent stake.

Troubled lenders Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena  and Banca Carige  hold 2.5 percent and 4 percent of the central bank respectively.

The decree, which had already passed through the Senate, was approved in the lower house just hours before the midnight cut-off after which it would have expired.

Its passage had been slowed by filibustering by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which objects to what it views as the "privatization" of the central bank and a "gift" to banks who are not doing enough to help Italy's struggling economy.

Data this month showed bank lending to Italian companies fell in November at its steepest rate since records began 10 year ago.

The decree also scrapped the final installment in 2013 of an unpopular housing tax on primary residences.

Italy vote reform moves to parliament as parties agree changes

Italy's main political parties agreed adjustments to centre-left leader Matteo Renzi's electoral reform proposals that should clear the way for the closely watched package to come before parliament on Thursday.

The measures, designed to prevent the kind of messy stalemate left by last year's deadlocked elections, are seen as vital to allowing the creation of stable governments capable of tackling deep reforms to Italy's stagnant economy.

They would favour strong coalitions or parties, setting higher minimum thresholds for entry into parliament and guaranteeing a solid majority to the winner with a run-off round if needed to decide the result.

Renzi, who is not in government but who has assumed an ever greater role as head of the largest party in Prime Minister Enrico Letta's ruling coalition, says election reform would be the prelude to broader economic reforms.

The changes agreed by Renzi's Democratic Party (PD) and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia would make it slightly easier for smaller parties to enter parliament by lowering the minimum entry threshold from 5 percent to 4.5 percent.

At the same time, they would make it more likely that an election would require a run-off vote by raising the minimum threshold a party or coalition would need to claim outright victory in the first round from 35 percent to 37 percent. The winning group or party would then receive a winner's bonus guaranteeing a majority of over 50 percent.

Dario Nardella, a PD deputy close to Renzi, told reporters that a definitive accord had been signed between the PD, Forza Italia and the small New Centre Right (NCD) group led by Interior Minister Angelino Alfano. "I hope other groups will sign up to it as well," he said.

The package will now go to the lower house on Thursday afternoon but would not be passed before April.

The package was originally agreed between Renzi and centre-right leader Berlusconi over the objections of many on the left, who resisted any deal with the 77 year-old media billionaire banned from parliament over a tax fraud conviction.

A separate law intended to end the risk of deadlock between the two houses of parliament would reduce the Senate, which currently has virtually equal powers to the lower house, to a toothless regional assembly.

However that will require a deeper constitutional change and is not expected to be passed for at least another year.

The package has been the subject of intense wrangling in parliament's constitutional affairs committee but Renzi has fought to head off the welter of amendments which frequently bury reform efforts before they even get off the ground.

He has faced sniping from many on the left in the PD, suspicious of his disregard for party traditions, as well as opposition from the small parties in Letta's coalition which face the risk of elimination under the proposed rules.

Egypt to put Al Jazeera journalists on trial - prosecutor

Egypt will put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organisation", the public prosecutor said on Wednesday, describing the four as Al Jazeera correspondents.

Three of the Qatar-based television network's journalists - Peter Greste, an Australian; Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian national; and Baher Mohamed - were detained in Cairo on December 29 and remain in custody, Al Jazeera said.

Source: reuters

Russia to await new Ukraine government before fully implementing rescue - Putin

(Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin raised the pressure on Ukraine on Wednesday, saying Russia would wait until it forms a new government before fully implementing a $15 billion bailout deal that Kiev urgently needs.

Putin repeated a promise to honour the lifeline agreement with Ukraine in full, but left open the timing of the next aid instalment as Kiev struggles to calm more than two months of turmoil since President Viktor Yanukovich walked away from a treaty with the European Union.

A day after Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday, hoping to appease the opposition and street protesters, Russia tightened border checks on imports from Ukraine in what looked like a reminder to Yanukovich not to install a government that tilts policy back towards the West.

Ukraine's new interim prime minister promised to try to limit the economic damage inflicted by the sometimes violent street protests, and said he expected Russia to disburse a further $2 billion aid instalment "very soon".

Putin had less of a sense of urgency. "I would ask the (Russian) government to fulfil all our financial agreements in full," he said, repeating a promise made on Tuesday after the government resigned in Kiev.

However, he signalled that the latest instalment was on hold in remarks he made during a meeting with senior government officials, extracts of which were broadcast later on Russian TV.

"Let's wait for the formation of a Ukrainian government," he said, before telling the meeting: "But I ask you, even in the current situation, not to lose contact with our (Ukrainian) colleagues," adding that discussions should continue before a new government is formed.

Alarm about Ukraine is growing in the West. German Chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned Putin and Yanukovich on Wednesday, urging a constructive dialogue between the government and opposition in Kiev. "The situation must not be allowed to spiral again into violence," a German government spokesman quoted her as saying.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was more forthright, blaming Russia for Kiev's failure to sign the EU deals. "An association pact with Ukraine would have been a major boost to Euro-Atlantic security, I truly regret that it could not be done," he told the French newspaper le Figaro. "The reason is well-known: pressure that Russia exerts on Kiev.

Ukraine badly needs the Russian money. Figures compiled by UniCredit bank before the bailout put its gross external financing requirements at $3.8 billion in the first three months of this year alone, including $2.29 billion for gas which is covered by the deal with Moscow.

That rises to $5.5 billion in April-June, including repaying a $1 billion bond which matures then. Altogether the government would need $17.44 billion this year to pay its foreign bills, including for Russian gas.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, called for sincere discussion during Ukraine's crisis. "The dialogue which has happened from time to time needs to become a real dialogue. We hope to see real progress in these coming days. Time is really of the essence," she said after meeting Yanukovich.

The opposition also wants a return to the previous constitution which would represent another significant concession since it would reduce Yanukovich's powers.

Speculation that Russia might cut the financial lifeline it has offered prompted the Standard & Poors agency to cut Ukraine's credit rating to CCC+ on Tuesday.

Arbuzov said the central bank was ensuring stability on the financial markets and he made no mention of any changes to his predecessor's policy of keeping the hryvnia currency pegged close to the dollar and maintaining subsidies for domestic gas - both criticised by the International Monetary Fund.

Source: Reuters

Big Oil Companies Struggle to Justify Soaring Project Costs

 According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,"Chevron Corp.,Exxon Mobil Corp.  and Royal Dutch Schell PLC spent more than $120 billion in 2013 to boost their oil and gas output—about the same cost in today's dollars as putting a man on the moon".

"But the three oil giants have little to show for all their big spending. Oil and gas production are down despite combined capital expenses of a half-trillion dollars in the past five years. Each company is expected to report later this week a profit decline for 2013 compared with 2012, even though oil prices are high".

One of the biggest problems: Costs are soaring for many of the new "megaprojects" to tap petroleum deposits needed to replenish depleting fields.

Plans under way to pump oil using man-made islands in the Caspian Sea could cost a consortium that includes Exxon and Shell $40 billion, up from the original budget of $10 billion. The price tag for a natural-gas project in Australia, called Gorgon and jointly owned by the three companies, has ballooned 45% to $54 billion. Shell is spending at least $10 billion on untested technology to build a natural-gas plant on a large boat so the company can tap a remote field, according to people who have worked on the project.

Finding the next gusher has always been a risky business, sending oil companies beneath the ocean floor and into unstable parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Now the pursuit is trickier and more expensive than ever. The easiest-to-reach oil ran dry long ago, and the most prolific fields often are controlled by state-owned companies in places like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

As a result, Chevron, Exxon and Shell are digging even deeper into their pockets, putting their usually reliable profit margins in jeopardy. Exxon is borrowing more, dipping into its cash pile and buying back fewer shares to help the Irving, Texas, company cover capital costs.

Exxon has said such costs would hit about $41 billion last year, up 51% from $27.1 billion in 2009.

As they pursued the big-bet strategy, the three oil giants arrived late to the shale boom in North America, where they missed out on profits raked in by smaller, nimbler companies that pioneered how to extract oil and gas from the dense rock.

The news isn't all bad. Combined profits at Chevron, Exxon and Shell totaled about $70 billion in 2013, according to analysts' estimates. Exxon and Shell report fourth-quarter and full-year results Thursday, while Chevron announces its results Friday. In 2012, the three companies earned nearly $100 billion.

Exxon and Chevron are pressing ahead with their megaprojects, confident they will boost production within three years. "Before we make the first cut with a saw, we re-measure five times instead of one," says Ken Cohen, Exxon's vice president of public and government affairs.

By 2017, Exxon will pump a million new barrels of oil per day and the equivalent in natural gas, showing the company's ability to deliver big projects on time, executives say. Exxon's output started to rebound in late 2013 after a two-year decline, helped by new crude from a $13 billion oil-sands project in Canada. The project's cost rose $2 billion since 2011 because of regulatory hurdles and permit delays.

 Earlier this month, Shell announced its first profit warning in 10 years and has vowed to focus more on profitability than increasing its oil and gas output.

Full-year earnings at Shell are expected to total about $16.8 billion, down from $27.2 billion in 2012. Net capital spending hit $44.3 billion in 2013, up nearly 50% from 2012.

Chevron has been especially aggressive, promising a 25% increase in oil and gas output by 2017. Last year, the San Ramon, Calif., company poured $42 billion into oil and gas projects, more than double its 2010 total, even though Chevron is half as big as Exxon or Shell by annual revenue. Chevron plans to spend an additional $40 billion in 2014.

Chevron's most gargantuan projects, from Australia to the Gulf of Mexico, haven't generated any cash flow yet—and might not until next year. The lag between the upfront investment in the projects and their output is pressuring Chevron's bottom line. Analysts expect the company to report that profits fell about 20% to $21 billion in 2013 from $26.2 billion in 2012.

The Gorgon natural-gas project is one of the most extreme examples of the runaway costs that haunt Chevron, Exxon and Shell. The three companies teamed up in 2009 to build the plant on an island reserve 40 miles off Australia's coast, aiming to tap a natural-gas trove estimated at 40 trillion cubic feet. Gorgon could be productive for decades and feed energy-hungry Japan, South Korea and China.

Chevron staked more than $18 billion of its own money on Gorgon, one of the company's biggest projects ever, owns nearly half of the project and runs it.  Exxon and Shell own a 25% stake each.

Barrow Island's sensitive ecology meant that much of Gorgon's construction had to be done elsewhere, with hundreds of thousands of tons of buildings and equipment disinfected and shrink-wrapped to keep out invasive species.

Chevron executives brushed aside analysts' worries about the project's cost. "We see a window of opportunity to move forward with Gorgon, timing it to capture growing market demand while benefiting from a lowering cost environment," George Kirkland, now Chevron's vice chairman, said in March 2009.

Costs soon spiked higher. Labor costs rose because of fierce competition for skilled workers as other companies committed to spending more than $100 billion in similar gas projects across Australia. The strong Australian dollar inflated the cost of materials. Cyclones slowed work on Gorgon and forced Chevron, Exxon and Shell to build stormproof camps for workers.

Gorgon was about half-finished in December 2012 when Chevron estimated the project would cost a total of $52 billion—or 40% over budget. Last month, Chevron tacked an additional $2 billion to the price tag. The project now is 75% complete, according to the company.

"The economics of the Gorgon project are strong," says Kurt Glaubitz, a Chevron spokesman. The company has struck deals to sell most of Gorgon's output under contracts tied to oil prices that are up about 60% since Chevron committed itself to the project, he adds.

Chevron says it is working hard to keep costs in line. A civil-engineering unit dedicated to managing expenses and overseeing contractors has tripled to 120 employees since 2008. The company has about 62,000 employees.

Toyota group annual output tops 10 mil. units

The Toyota Motor group produced more than 10 million vehicles last year, becoming the first automaker to reach that figure.

Toyota officials said on Wednesday that the group, which includes Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, manufactured more than 10.1 million vehicles worldwide in 2013. That's up a little over 2 percent from the previous year.The increase was driven by overseas production, which rose over 6 percent, to about 5.8 million units. The US economic recovery and an upturn in demand in China were key factors behind the rise.

Source: NHK

Toyota,Mass production of FCVs to begin

Automakers are ready to begin full-fledged production of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs), dubbed "the ultimate form of eco-friendly cars."

This summer, Toyota Motor Corp. will be the world's first automaker to start mass-production of FCVs.As a sales war with electric vehicles (EVs) is expected, competition among automakers over next-generation eco-friendly cars likely will be increasingly fierce.
At Toyota's plant at its headquarters in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, fuel-cell production lines started operations on Jan. 6.
Fuel cells are the heart of an FCV, generating electricity through the chemical reactions of hydrogen fuel and oxygen.

Source: The Japan News

Nintendo boss: I'm sorry, let me halve my salary

Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata announced that he will cut his salary in half after the company recorded a tumble in profits.

According to AFP, Satoru will receive half of his usual salary for the next five months, while Nintendo board members will receive a 20 to 30 percent cut in their salaries.

Source: Time

Venture Investment Booming in Japan

Interest in unlisted startup firms among Japanese venture investors is increasing on the back of revived momentum in the country's stock market and the economic recovery.

Moves to launch funds are gaining momentum among venture capital firms, while government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan is stepping up its investment activities.

Some major information technology companies have established their own funds to invest in new technologies.

An increased number of investors makes venture investment in the country a "seller's market" for entrepreneurs, an informed source says.

Source: Jiji Press

Japan: Why millions are gung-ho for this gaming company

Few know about it stateside, but in Japan, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn't heard of Puzzle & Dragons.

Part puzzler, part dungeon crawler, part monster-collecting adventure, GungHo Online Entertainment launched the mobile game in 2012, and it now claims over 20 million users -- roughly 1/6 of the Japanese population -- who have downloaded the free-to-play game and bought into its ecosystem of virtual goods. Puzzle & Dragons' success has, in turn, sent GungHo's own fortunes soaring: The company has generated $700 million-plus in profit on revenues of over $1.2 billion so far during its fiscal year, ending this month. Its stock spiked a whopping 775% in 2013.

Source: Fortune

Huge haul of weapons seized by Kanagawa cops likely yakuza arsenal

Kanagawa Prefectural Police on Monday announced the seizure of pistols, a rifle and ammunition that likely comprise part of an arsenal for an organized crime group.

In December, officers retrieved 18 hand guns, including Smith & Wesson revolvers and Colt automatic pistols, a military rifle and 670 rounds of ammunition from inside a home in an unidentified location in the prefecture.That same month, officers received a tip indicating that an organized crime group was concealing weapons inside the residence. A search was then conducted for violations related the Swords and Firearms Control Law. No arrests were announced.
The location of the home was not announced due to the potential impact such information may have on the investigation, police said.
In June of 2007, prefectural police seized 31 pistols and 500 rounds of ammunition from a home in Yokohama.

Source: Tokyo Reporter

Japan: Number of influenza patients rising rapidly

With the influenza season approaching its peak this winter, the number of patients reached about 660,000 nationwide in the week of Jan. 13 to 19, almost doubling the 340,000 tallied the previous week.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry issued a warning last week that the outbreak has reached epidemic proportions and that the peak won't be reached until early February.The health ministry said Okinawa Prefecture, followed by Miyazaki, Gifu, Oita and Fukuoka, are the hardest-hit areas.
Close to 700 schools for all age groups were closed from Jan. 13 through 19, and the number is expected to rise.

Source: Japan Times

Hong Kong customs reports 40 pct more smuggling cases in 2013

Hong Kong's customs authority on Wednesday revealed that it had detected a total of 282 smuggling cases in 2013, an increase of about 40 percent compared with 2012.

The commissioner of Hong Kong's Customs and Excise, Clement Cheung, said that the total seizures of the smuggling cases worth 652 million HK dollars (83.97 million U.S. dollars), an increase of 90 percent.

Cheung said as smuggling between China's mainland and Hong Kong had been on the rise and more complicated, the customs restructured its internal organs in early 2013 to improve effectiveness of joint operations with the mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies.

Since the implementation of export control on powdered formula for infants and young children in March 2013, about 4,300 cases have been detected with more than 33,000 kg of powdered formula seized at various customs control points as of the end of last year.

Cheung said that the department would continue to liaise closely with its mainland counterpart and spare no efforts in combating parallel trading activities.

For anti-narcotics work, the authority detected a total of 518 cases and seized 445 kg of various kinds of drugs, 75 percent of which were detected at Hong Kong International Airport. As for the cases involving controlled chemicals used for drug manufacturing, the number of cases increased two times over 2012 to 33, the majority of which were related to pseudoephedrine.

Cheung said the department would set up a dedicated team to strengthen external liaison and intelligence exchange for maintaining high enforcement effectiveness.

On endangered species, 192 cases involving ivory tusks and ivory products, rhino horns, leopard skin, pangolin carcass and scale and dried sea horses were detected in 2013.

The quantity and value of ivory tusks seized in 2013 increased by 43 percent and 115 percent respectively compared with those of 2012, which proves Hong Kong's dedication and perseverance in shouldering its international obligations, Cheung said.

On intellectual property rights protection, the number of infringement cases detected increased by 30 percent to 720, of which 88 percent involved counterfeit goods.

Cheung said with the growing popularity of the Internet and rapid growth of e-commerce, the cases of online sale of counterfeit goods and that of delivering infringing goods by courier services surged by 1.7 and 1.5 times respectively.

The department has strengthened communication with Hong Kong Post and is liaising with the logistics industry to address the issue at source, he said.

Deputy commissioner of the department, Luke Au Yeung, said that the department would set up a dedicated team to foster liaison and intelligence exchange with the mainland and overseas enforcement agencies to combat transnational drugs trafficking.

Enforcement at source would be able to curb the inflow of drugs to Hong Kong or other destinations via Hong Kong, further enhancing the department's drug detection capability at the Hong Kong International Airport and land boundary control points, he said.

Source: Xinhua

Asia-Pacific Markets: Asian shares dealt double blow by Fed taper, China PMI

  Source: CNBC

Asian stocks suffered heavy losses on Thursday amid fresh signs of a contraction in China's economy and following the Federal Reserve's decision to continue reducing its stimulus.

The final China HSBC purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to a new six-month low of 49.5 in January, from last week's preliminary estimate of 49.6, confirming expectations of a slowdown in the world's second largest economy.

"Within the week, it didn't plunge further from our preliminary reading but it is below 50. The broad story is that China is decelerating. It's not a collapse but we need to see policy measures to support growth after Chinese New Year otherwise we might continue to slide, " said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics and managing director at HSBC.

Meanwhile, a sell-off on Wall Street overnight also weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq shed over 1 percent each after the Fed opted to stick with its plan to trim its monthly bond purchases, now down to $65 billion, regardless of recent distress in emerging markets.

	Name	Price		Change	%Change
NIKKEI	Nikkei 225 Index	14872.38		-511.53	-3.33%
HSI	Hang Seng Index	21823.62		-317.99	-1.44%
ASX 200	S&P/ASX 200	5176.20		-52.81	-1.01%
SHANGHAI	Shanghai Composite Index	2033.43		-16.48	-0.80%
KOSPI	KOSPI Index	1941.15		24.22	1.26%
CNBC 100	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	6890.89		-114.15	-1.63%

South African Rand tumble on weak economic growth

Emerging market currencies suffered a fresh bout of weakness today as China posted some disappointing economic data. But key emerging markets have been struggling since the beginning of the year. That’s when the U.S. Fed announced that it would ease back on its bond buying program. The Turkish Lira slid to fresh lows as did the South African Rand.

The Rand, now trading at over 11 to the dollar and close to R18 against the pound, is at its worst level in five years.

John Cairns, currency economist at RMB, said, "The Rand’s primarily being driven by what’s going on in emerging markets. The domestic issues are a negative backdrop to that but certainly not a major driver. In fact RMB have gone away and looked at what’s been going on in some of these other emerging markets. There domestic problems are much, much larger than what we have in South Africa"

South Africa’s finance Minister believes there’s no need to panic as a weaker rand is welcome news for exporters.

“Firstly, we should be importing less but that isn’t happening unfortunately. Our current account deficit, our trade deficit is still very wide and I think that will persist unless until our exporters in particular can convince people in the developed world, we can supply on a sustained basis, globally, competitively priced goods,” Chris Gilmour, analyst of ABSA Investment, said.

But manufacturing output remains under pressure in SA. Government believes its a good time to ramp up production. However key export sectors like mining and fruit, are struggling with labour unrest.

"It’s catching a lot of negatives over and above just the general wave of poor sentiment and to that I ascribe things like the idiosyncracies that we currently have - things like shooting ourselves in the foot with strike, with political violence, that type of thing and of course in the lead up to an election. I think that will also serve to help to weaken the Rand," Gilmour said.

In the meantime the weaker rand will soon hit consumers that are already under strain from rising costs.

A weaker rand may be good news for exporters but not for consumers. The impact of the weaker rand will soon filter though into the prices of fuel and food adding inflationary pressure on the economy.

The ongoing labour unrest is making investors nervous. The IMF and the UN’s economic unit have also raised their concerns about rising unemployment.

Cairns said, "Continued Rand weakness would force the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates. We don’t think it’s gonna happen this week but eventually the Reserve Bank might have to hike interest rates which would dampen consumer spending and investment spending and so push GDP growth lower ."

The rand is unlikely to make a quick recovery. Experts believe the currency can be beneficial at this level, only if all sectors of the economy work at optimal levels.

Source: CCTV

ChiNext Index opens lower Thursday

 The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, opened 2.41 points or 0.16 percent lower at 1,494.12 points on Thursday.

The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and the Shenzhen SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Board Index, makes up the three core indices reflecting the performance of China's stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The ChiNext Board, which started trading on Oct. 30, 2009, mainly lists hi-tech companies and those with high growth potential.

Source: Xinhua

Hong Kong and Chinese stock markets opened lower

Hong Kong stocks moved down 314. 28 points, or 1.42 percent, to open at 21,827.33 on Thursday.

Chinese stocks opened lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opening 0.19 percent lower at 2,045.93 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.04 percent to open at 7,704.49 points.

Source: Xinhua

Tencent's WeChat meets challenges overseas

China's Internet giant Tencent is pushing WeChat, a mobile messaging application, worldwide with the latest tryout in US.

Tencent announced on Jan. 25 an arrangement with Google in a promotion to invite more US users. Those who connect their WeChat account with their Google account and add five contacts receive a $25 Restaurant.com Gift card from Tencent.

Industry insiders see the move as a step in the right direction but are wary of difficulties to come.

"Linking to a Google account is beneficial for WeChat's development in the U.S.," said Zhang Yi, CEO of iMedia Research Institute, a mobile internet consulting agency.

It's not just about promotions and discounts to attract users, more work on functions tailored to the U.S. are urgently needed to acquire a reasonable market share, which will be a feather in Tencent's cap, Zhang said.

Google accounts for about 25 percent of all consumer Internet traffic running through North American ISPs. With so many consumer devices connecting to Google each day, it's bigger than Facebook, Netflix and Instagram combined.

Established in China on Jan. 21, 2011, WeChat is now one of the nation's hottest messaging apps with more than 279 million active users worldwide. Statistics from GlobalWebIndex suggested that 78 million of those users were overseas in Q4 2013.

WeChat first went global with an English front-end in 2012. It has been well received in Pacific-Asia, especially in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, across multiple smartphone OS platforms, but market share in the U.S. and Europe is very limited, and the user base remains confined to overseas Chinese.

Last year, Tencent opened a U.S. office for WeChat and invested 200 million dollars in promotions, including a TV commercial starring football star Lionel Messi to be aired in 15 countries.

Zhang Xiaolong, head of WeChat and vice president of Tencent, told Xinhua that he was proud of "Moment", a text and picture sharing innovation.

For Zhang, innovation is WeChat's main weapon in forays overseas, but the campaign is no easy matter.

Industry insiders believe the app will find a furiously competitive market where messengers like WhatsApp dominate, not to mention the possible cultural barriers.

"U.S. companies offer great packages to users, and social networking platforms like Facebook already have huge market shares, leaving WeChat only a small space to grow," said Zhang.

Accumulation of users is easier said than done, but WeChat has already made great progress in technology, capital and marketing, making it just possible that cultural barriers may be overcome, turning it into a truly global service, he added.

Source: Xinhua

ICBC buys Standard Bank Plc

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has announced that it has taken a big stake in Standard Bank Plc (SB Plc).

ICBC reached an agreement for approximately 770 million U.S. dollars with Standard Bank Group (SBG), one of South Africa's largest financial services providers, based on the net asset value of SB Plc at the end of June 2013, according to an announcement filed with the Hong Kong Exchange by ICBC on Wednesday.

SB Plc, registered in the United Kingdom in 1992, mainly functioned as the international commodities and foreign exchange business arm of SBG.

The purchase will strengthen ICBC's international business.

Jiang Jianqing, chairman of ICBC's board, believes the transaction will improve the bank's hedging, operations and innovation in global business with SB Plc's international reach.

Before the transaction is closed, SB Plc will divest itself of all business unrelated to the global market, according to the agreement.

ICBC has a five-year option to acquire a further 20 percent of existing shares of SB Plc, which will bring its holding to 80 percent.

The transaction still requires approval of SBG shareholders and regulatory authorities in China, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The SBG is scheduled to hold a shareholders' meeting in March.

ICBC is China's largest commercial bank by assets and owns 20 percent of Standard Bank.

Source: Xinhua

China's chemical sector profit grows in 2013

 China's chemical sector saw its profits increase 12.2 percent year on year to 434 billion yuan (71.06 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013, data from the country's top economic planner showed.

The sector's added value also grew by 12.2 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points higher than that of 2012, according to data released Wednesday by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Bucking the trend, profits from the country's fertilizer makers totaled 38.5 billion yuan, down 19.2 percent from the previous year.

In 2013, China produced 58.37 million tonnes of plastics in primary forms, up 11 percent from the previous year. It produced 4.09 million tonnes of synthetic rubber in 2013, up 6.2 percent year on year, and 37.39 million tonnes of synthetic fiber, a 7.1 percent year-on-year rise.

The output of chemical fertilizer gained 4.9 percent year on year to 71.54 million tonnes in 2013, while pesticides amounted to 3.19 million tonnes, up 1.6 percent from the previous year.

Among major chemical products, prices of soda ash increased steadily against the market's falling trend in 2013.

Source: Xinhua

China calls for dialogue among Ukraine's partie

China on Wednesday called for dialogue among Ukraine's various parties after the government was dissolved to calm mass rallies that have turned to violence.

"As a strategic partner, China respects the choice of the Ukrainians and supports the government and the people's efforts in preserving social harmony and stability," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular press briefing.

She called on relevant parties in the country to solve differences via dialogue, and to resume stability and social order.

Hua also appealed to the international community to play a constructive role.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych accepted Prime Minister Mykola Azarov's resignation on Tuesday, so as to "create an additional possibility" for a political compromise to peacefully resolve the conflict.

Protests in Ukraine turned violent about 10 days ago, when radical activists attacked riot police with fireworks and petrol bombs.

The mass rallies started last November, following a government decision to put on hold an association agreement with the European Union and opt for closer relations with Russia.

Source: Xinhua

Xi stresses ethnic unity in development

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed ethnic unity for the economic and social development in minority areas, while extending New Year greetings to people of all ethnic groups.

Xi made the remarks during a tour of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, calling people of all ethnic groups to unite to defend the country's northern border.

Xi gave affirmation to the economic and social development through ethnic unity in the region after hearing its government report.

He also encouraged Party cadres to cultivate fine work styles and continue the mass line campaign in order to further deepen reform.

In his tour, Xi visited forestry stations, prairies, enterprises and communities.

Xi urged local cadres to accelerate the reconstruction of a shanty town in order to allow the people living there move to new houses as soon as possible, when he visited Guo Yongcai, 74, who lives in poverty.

In his visit to communities, Xi said that the Communist Party of China (CPC) cadres should work hardest.

Source: Xinhua

China allows more private capital in telecoms

China's Industry and Information Technology Ministry (MIIT) on Wednesday granted a second batch of licenses to eight private enterprises for resale of certain mobile services.

The move enables the firms, including e-commerce retail giants Gome and Suning, to partner and compete with backbone operators through the resale of mobile services, further opening the largely monopolized sector.

The certified firms have to improve their pricing and customer services before starting resales, said Zhang Feng, chief engineer of MIIT.

To gain the licenses, private firms must sign a cooperation agreement with one of the three backbone operators -- China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, before filing an application with the MIIT.

The ministry granted the first batch of licenses to 11 private firms in late December last year. As the pilot scheme moves on, it will grant more licenses to qualified private businesses. Applications will close in July.

The pilot scheme focuses on protecting consumers' rights and raises detailed requirements for applicants in their payment and exit policy, and their ability of offer long-term high-quality services, Zhang added.

"This will help competition and innovation while offering more choices and better service to consumers," Zhang said.

The MIIT in early December issued 4G licenses to the three backbone operators, a new era in China's high-speed mobile network.

Source: Xinhua

Poultry farmers in China have lost about 20 billion yuan

Poultry farmers in China have lost about 20 billion yuan (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) due to H7N9 bird flu infections, said the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) on Wednesday.

Sales and prices of poultry products have slumped badly on the back of H7N9 infections.

"There is insufficient proof that the virus is transmitted from poultry to humans directly, so it is safe to eat poultry products that are bought through formal channels and quarantined," said Zhang Zhongqiu, MOA chief veterinary officer.

H7N9 has not been detected in any poultry farm, said Zhang, adding that there were genetic differences between human and avian viruses, as laboratory studies have shown.

The authorities found 88 positive samples among more than 1.6 million collected in ten cities and provinces including Shanghai, according to Zhang.

H7N9 bird flu has killed 19 in China this year, and human infections stood at 96 on Monday, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Source: Xinhua