China’s largest coal producer builds processing project on ChinaMongolia borderHOHHOT， April 4 — China Shenhua Energy Co.， Ltd.， the country’s largest coal producer， has planned a huge investment to build a coal processing project on China-Mongolia border to better use coal imports from the Republic of Mongolia.The government of Wulate Middle Banner (County)， north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， on Sunday confirmed that construction of Shenhua’s project with a planned investment of 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars) has started in Ganqimaodu Customs Processing Park.Ganqimaodu Customs is China’s major energy imports gateway with the Republic of Mongolia. It handled 7.71 million tonnes of coal imports last year. The imports of raw coal via the customs soared by 131.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to reach 1.6 million tonnes， according to the customs figures.The Wulate Middle Banner commission of development of reform said Shenhua’s project slated for the first phase production by 2012 would have a coal washing ability of 6 million tonnes a year， coking capacity of 2.4 million tonnes a year and an annual capacity of producing 4.8 million tonnes of methanol and 30，000 tonnes of tar， respectively. (Xinhua)China expands ban for importing food， farm produce from JapanBEIJING， April 9 — China has expanded a ban on imported food and farm produce from Japan， in both varieties and places of origin， amid growing fears of radiation contamination.The General Administration of Quality Supervision， Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement published on Friday said that starting from April 8， China banned imports of foodstuffs， edible farm produce， along with fodders from 12 areas in Japan， comparing only five Japanese counties being blacklisted on March 24.AQSIQ demanded that importers of food， edible farm produce and fodders from other Japanese areas should also provide documents issued by Japanese government agencies while applying for quality inspection and quarantine at customhouses across China.The required documents include certificates for radioactivity-free inspection and for places of origin.Chinese quality inspection and quarantine organizations were told to carry out radioactive tests over imported food， edible farm produce and fodders from Japan and to give go-ahead for those imports that are up to standards. Imports of the kinds from Japan failing to meet the standards should be stopped from entering Chinese market and be made known to the public.Different quality inspection and quarantine organizations should also run a registration as stipulated of all overseas exporters or agents for exporting food from Japan to China， said the statement.AQSIQ also asked importers of Japanese food products to establish a tracking system for imports and marketing， keeping for the record such details as name of the food， date of manufacture， shelf life， as well as buyers’ and exporters’ information for further contact.Importers of Japanese aquatic products must go through formalities for quarantine inspection in advance. They must also provide information such as place of origin and route of transportation.The Chinese quality regulator asked local authorities to intensify radiation checks on Japanese food and farm produce to prevent radiation-tainted imports from entering the domestic market of China. (Xinhua)Shanghai Electric wins 125 units of 2MW wind turbine deal from IndiaBEIJING， April 10 — Shanghai Electric had signed an agreement with KSK Energy of India to export 125 units of 2MW wind turbines to India， an executive of the Shanghaibased company， who declined to be named， said Sunday.This indicates that Shanghai Electric is marching into the world wind power market on a large scale， the executive said.So far， Shanghai Electric， one of China’s largest equipment manufacturers， had exported five MW-level wind turbines， with three to Britain and two to Thailand.Shanghai Electric’s priority is to produce thermal and nuclear power generating units， such as 1，000MW-level ultra super-critical thermal power units and 1，000MW-level nuclear power units， the executive said.To tap the emerging new energy business， Shanghai Electric set up a wind power equipment manufacturing branch in 2006. It is able to produce 1.25MW wind turbines with Germany’s Dewind technology， 2MW wind turbines with Germany’s Aerodyn technology， and independently designed 3.6MW offshore wind turbines.India is expected to become a major destination of the company’s export strategy， absorbing one half of its exports， including thermal power units and wind turbines. (Xinhua)Shanghai builds Asia’s largest dairy plantSHANGHAI， April 19 — Bright Food Group Co. Ltd， a leading food and dairy company in China， started building Asia’s largest diary factory with a daily processing capacity of 2，000 tonnes， in east China’s Shanghai on Monday.With an investment of 1.4 billion yuan (about 214.3 million U.S. dollars)， the factory is designed to process 2，000 tonnes daily of fresh milk， yogurt and other kinds of dairy products under the Bright Food Group Co. brand. Its annual capacity is expected to reach 600，000 tonnes， said company president Guo Benheng.The new factory will be put into operation in 2013. And its annual sales revenue is expected to reach 4.65 billion yuan(about 710.3 million U.S. dollars). (Xinhua)Samsung sees sales revenue growing in ChinaSamsung Electronics Co.， Ltd.， the largest electronics company in South Korea by sales volume， said on that its sales revenue from the Chinese market reached $39.6 billion last year and it will focus on smartphones， tablet PCs and 3D TVs this year.According to the company， China accounted for about 29 percent of its global sales revenue last year.Samsung expects sales growth to increase by adjusting its strategies and increasing cooperation with local companies， according to key executives.“Samsung will cooperate with Chinese partners to win in the mobile devices market，” Samsung’s President for Visual Display Business Yoon Boo-Keun said. “We will put greater emphasis on China’s smartphone and tablet PC market this year.”The world’s No 5 electronic and semi-conductor company by market value told China Daily that it will launch its latest Galaxy-series tablet PCs and smartphones in the country by June.“Samsung will launch these products simultaneously in the Chinese market and other countries， differentiating us from other companies that launch products in China later，”Yoon said.The popular iPhone 4 handset and the tablet PC iPad， manufactured by Apple Inc， arrived six months in the Chinese market after they were launched in other countries last year.According to an analyst from the US-based research company IDC， Samsung’s smartphones and tablet PCs will provide strong competition for Apple products.“The iPhone will still be the most popular handset， but Samsung’s popularity will increase and exceed many other companies，” said Wang Jiping， a senior analyst from IDC.Samsung launched its smartphones in 2009. According to the company’s financial report， smartphones and TVs were the company’s core products in 2009 and 2010.Samsung’s touchscreen phones and smartphones achieved about a 20 percent market share worldwide， while the company occupied top position in the 3D TV market last year.“China’s PC and traditional TV markets have slowed down， so it is a good strategy to shift to the mobile-device market，” Wang said.He expects smartphone shipments to China to increase to 62 million units this year， compared with 36 million units in 2010， and sales of tablet PCs to reach 4.3 million units.However， it is “too early to establish its market position”， Wang said.The company sold 10 million units of smartphone Galaxy S within six months， while it sold 2 million units of Galaxy tablet PCs in the first two months after the launch.The company said it will have closer cooperation with local companies， including Sina Corp and Tom.com Corp， to develop applications for its Samsung App store， which has received 100 million downloads already. (China Daily)China， India turn to South Africa for coalChina and India， Asia’s two fastest-growing economies， are seeking to invest in coal assets in South Africa.The countries are set on diversifying supplies after disruptions in output from Australia and Indonesia， said Universal Coal Ltd.“China gets most of its coal from Australia， but because of the floods in Queensland， you’ll need time and money to rebuild that，” said Tony Harwood， chairman of the Sydney-listed developer of South African coal mines. “A new major market for coal from South Africa is India.”Floods in Australia’s Queensland state shut mines and damaged infrastructure including ports and railroads， sending coal prices to a two-year high.India competes with China for supplies of coal， which is used for more than half of its power-generation capacity.Mining companies in India， China and South Korea are in separate talks with Universal Coal for take-off agreements or investment， Harwood said in an interview at the Asian Mining Congress in Singapore.India last year became the largest market for exports from South Africa， traditionally the main source of high-quality coal needed by power plants in western Europe.Chinese investors are shifting their focus from Australia to higher-risk destinations including Africa， said Paul Murphy， head of Asia-Pacific Mining Metals at Ernst Young， last month.Ind ia’s coa l deficit may triple over the next five to seven years， a local unit of Moody’s Investors Service said in a report in February.South Africa can supplement Indonesian supplies because of its relative proximity to India， Harwood said.Rains have also crimped coal output in Colombia and Indonesia， pushing up power-station coal prices at Australia’s Newcastle port， an Asian benchmark， by about 26 percent over the past six months to US$122 a ton. The cost reached US$138.50 a ton in the week ended Jan 14， the highest since September 2008.Indonesia， the world’s largest exporter of power-plant coal， is considering restrictions on mineral exports to safeguard its economy.India’s coal imports may rise to 600 million tons in 2030 from 2010’s 85 million tons， according to the Kolkata-based Mjunction Services Ltd， a web-based commodity trader， in a February presentation.China purchased a record 165 million tons of coal in 2010 from countries including Australia and Indonesia， data from Chinese customs show. Imports from Australia dropped 24 percent in January from a year earlier. (Xinhua)
