ASIA-PACIFIC

Wahaha eyes Japan dairy firm buyoutThe chairman of beverage maker Hangzhou Wahaha said over the weekend he was considering buying a Japanese dairy firm， pushing shares of Megmilk Snow and Morinaga Milk sharply higher in Februany.A Wahaha source confirmed Zong Qinghou had told a briefing that the company had recently been approached by a Japanese yoghurt company proposing a takeover. Zong added that talks had not started.Shares of Megmilk Snow closed the morning session up 3 percent at 1，515 yen(US$ 18)， after having climbed as much as 6.5 percent to 1，567 yen (US$19)， their highest since Dec. 21. Morinaga Milk shares were up 1.5 percent at 347 yen (US$4)， compared with a 1.3 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average. (Global Times)Kuwait gets oil outlet under US$9b JVChina has approved a US$9-billion oil refining and petrochemical joint venture between Kuwait and Sinopec， two sources said on March 7.The project， to be built in the southern coastal city of Zhanjiang， will secure Kuwait， the world’s seventh-largest crude exporter， a solid outlet for its oil， ahead of competing investors such as Venezuela， Russia and Qatar， all of which are planning refineries in China.Kuwait aims to more than double its crude exports to China to 500，000 barrels per day， versus last year’s sales at under 200，000 barrels per day.For China， which imports some 55 percent of its crude needs， a commitment to lock up long-term oil supplies is essential. The Guangdong Province venture includes a 300，000 barrel-per-day refinery and a 1 million ton-per-year ethylene complex. It makes Kuwait the second OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia to have a major refining presence in the world’s fastest growing major oil market.China， which burned some 9 million bpd of oil last year， the world’s second-largest after the United States， has rapidly expanded its refining sector over the last two decades to feed a robust economy now the world’s second-largest.But the industry， long dominated by oil duopoly PetroChina and state-owned Sinopec， increasingly favors expanding the business on its own， leaving scope only for partners equipped with big supply resources.“It has all the elements needed for a successful case for approval，” said Victor Shum of energy consultancy Purvin Gertz.“It has a petrochemical element as China is a huge importer of basic petrochemicals. It’s located in the fast growing south with high demand for fuels. And it has credible crude supply lined up with a major OPEC partner.”The project， potentially one of China’s largest foreign investments， would be 50-50 owned by Sinopec Group， parent of top Asian refiner Sinopec Corp.“NDRC gave the approval last week，” said one Chinese industry official with direct knowledge of the government’s decision， referring to the top economic planning body， the National Development Reform Commission. The announcement should be soon， the source said. (Shanghai Daily)Japanese NPO to raise RMB 10 mln for desert green belt in N ChinaA Japanese non-profit organization—Greenlife Organization—will raise 10 million yuan (US$1.5 million ) over nine years to help farmers in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region plant a green belt along the edge of a desert.Yi Jiefang， director of the organization， told Xinhua on March 10 that it had completed the necessary paperwork with local authorities in Bayan Nur City to raise the money and add 667 hectares of greenery on the edge of the Ulan Buh Desert.The desert spanning over 1 million hectares in the western part of Inner Mongolia is not only a source of sand storms that hit the nation’s capital Beijing in spring， but also 60 million tonnes of sand from it ends up the in Yellow River each year.Yi said the green belt project would help stop the desert’s sand moving southwards.Greenlife Organization established in 2003 has been committed to tree planting in Inner Mongolia since 2004. Its donations have helped plant 1.1 million trees on 667 hectares of sandy land in Kunlun Banner in eastern Inner Mongolia. (Xinhua)China’s direct investment reaches $2.57 bln to ASEAN countries over past yearChina’s direct investment to Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries stood around US$2.57 billion since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area came into force one year ago， said an official with China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) here on March 2.Over the past year， tariffs on trade between China and ASEAN countries have been sharply reduced. Now 90 percent of goods traded between both sides enjoy zero duties， said Sun Yuanjiang， deputy director from the MOC’s international trade and economic affairs department.In 2010， direct investment from ASEAN countries to China reached US$6.32 billion， an increase of 35.2 percent.In 2010， trade volume between China and ASEAN countries reached US$292.8 billion， an increase of 37.5 percent year on year. China has become the biggest trade partner and the first export destination for ASEAN countries.ASEAN countries have also become a major source of investment for China， said Sun at an international East Asia free trade area seminar held in Maanshan， east China’s Anhui Province.“The implementation of China- ASEAN free trade area agreement has played an active role in pushing forward the integration of regional economy of East Asia，” said Sun.(Xinhua)Central gov’t backs HK to become offshore RMB centerThe central government supports Hong Kong in building into an offshore RMB center， said a Chinese senior official on March 6.The central government also supports Hong Kong in strengthening its competitiveness and consolidating its position as an international center of finance， trading and shipping， Xu Xianping， vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission， said at a press conference.Becoming an offshore RMB center matters a lot to Hong Kong’s status as an global finance center， said Li Lihui， president of the Bank of China， on the sidelines of the on-going parliamentary session.Since Hong Kong is the springboard for many mainland companies to go global and overseas businesses to the Chinese mainland， Hong Kong’s possible status as the RMB center will benefit handsomely both Hong Kong and companies at home and abroad， he said. (Xinhua)Nepal remains top trade partner of China’s TibetNepal continued to be Tibet’s top trade partner with bilateral trade up 90.2 percent year on year in January to US$59.67 million， the local customs of the autonomous region in southwest China said on Feb.27.In January， Tibet generated US$87.66 million in foreign trade， a 39.6-percent year-on-year rise， and trade with Nepal accounted for 68.1 percent. The monthly total included US$81.72 million of exports， up 57.8 percent.Last year， bilateral trade between Tibet and Nepal stood at US$542 million， up 65 percent over the previous year. Nepal has remained the top trade partner of Tibet since 2001.Tibet generated 836 million U.S. dollars in foreign trade in 2010， up 107.9 percent year on year. The growth rate was more than 200 percent higher than the national average of 34.7 percent. (Xinhua)Far Eastern Group aims to expand on Chinese mainlandTaiwan’s Far Eastern Group may buy as many as three cement companies on the Chinese mainland as it expands into the retailing， materials and chemicals industries in the world’s second-largest economy， Far Eastern Group Chairman Douglas Hsu said in March.Far Eastern Department Stores Co， the group’s retail unit， plans to add two to three stores a year on the Chinese mainland， and textiles arm Far Eastern New Century Corp will double capacity to make materials used in plastic bottles and fabrics， said Hsu， who is chairman of both companies.Far Eastern， which says it’s Taiwan’s third-largest indus- trial group， has US$500 million of investments planned for the mainland as it seeks to tap its growing demand. Cooperation with China Mobile Ltd and an economic accord between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland will help the company gain access to consumers in the world’s most populous country， he said.The addition of one department store this year will take Far Eastern’s Chinese mainland retail presence to 14 outlets， Hsu said. Its floor space on the mainland will expand 40 percent this year， he said.Acquisitions in the Chinese mainland’s cement industry， where the company is ranked 13th， will help Far Eastern achieve its goal of being among the top 10 suppliers within five years， Hsu said without identifying the targets.Taipei-based unit Asia Cement Corp and Hong Konglisted affiliate Asia Cement China Holdings Corp have identified “quite a few” possible targets， with as many as three being likely acquisitions， he said.“It’s very important for them to buy cement makers in order to grab the growth opportunity，” said Kevin Lin， who rates Asia Cement \"neutral\" at Fubon Financial Holding Co. in Taipei. “In the next three to five years， retail and banking will provide Far Eastern Group larger growth opportunities.”Far Eastern Department Stores will also increase its Taiwan floor space by 84 percent， Hsu said. New locations will include entertainment and lifestyle outlets besides retail stores.“We are evolving. Pure big stores are now being revised to include larger areas， for the simple reason that I think the single pure-store type of thing needs to be reconsidered，” Hsu said. “Because people， with their wealth， want entertainment and more besides just a store.”The group， which operates Pacific SOGO and Far Eastern-branded department stores as well as Geant Hypermarkets， plans to become Taiwan’s largest department store operator by turnover in 2012， overtaking privately held Shin Kong Mitsukoshi， Hsu said.Separately， Far Eastern International Bank has held talks with Japanese， South Korean and North American investors seeking to buy a stake in the Taipei-based bank as a stepping stone onto the Chinese mainland， President Eli Hong said in a separate interview on Wednesday， without identifying the companies.Far Eastern， which is not willing to sell the whole bank， may allow an acquirer to take as much as a 15 percent stake， which would include a board seat， Hong said.“We do not need to go in for a nationwide arrangement， all we need is probably to hit one of the so-called big cities and be able to operate in a 10 or 20 million sector，” Hsu said of its Chinese mainland plans. Hsu is vice-chairman of the bank.Far EasTone Telecommunications Co， Taiwan’s thirdlargest phone operator， of which Hsu is chairman， hopes to proceed with a NT$17.8 billion ($600 million) investment by China Mobile， the world’s biggest phone carrier by market value.The deal will give the Chinese mainland operator a 12 percent stake， Hsu said. Taiwan regulations currently prohibit investment in local phone operators by mainland investors.(China Daily)