ChinaRealNews

Xiamen Airlines buys two B737-800 full-flight simulators from CAE

2008-02-29 Fuzhou

Xiamen Airlines has signed contracts with CAE to buy two B737-800 full-flight simulators, valued at RMB150 million at list prices. The simulators are expected to be put into use in July 2009. The contract signing means that Xiamen Airlines can train the pilots at its own simulator training base from July 2009 and further improve its aviation safety. By 2015, Xiamen Airlines will expand its fleet by more than 130 aircraft, mostly Boeing 737-800s.

The World’s Largest Automobile Ro-Ro Ship Arrives in Guangzhou

2008-02-29 Guangzhou

The world’s largest automobile ro-ro ship recently arrived in the Xinsha Port automobile terminal in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, for the first time and more than 210 imported cars were offloaded from the ship there. After that, over 1,100 cars made by Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd were loaded onto the ship. This marks the first auto export and import deals after the Chinese Spring Festival. The custom in Xinsha offered fast clearance services for the deals.

Sinopec’s investment in Singapore becomes focus of attention

2008-02-29 Beijing

An annual report on investments in Singapore recently released by the Singapore Economic Development Board shows that, during 2007, China-based enterprises increased their investments in the county, of which a production line set up by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec Corp.) (NYSE:SNP) became the focus of attention.
During the year, Sinopec’s lubricant oil production line was put in place, marking the beginning of local production of the company’s lubricant oil in Singapore. The product, developed with China’s aerospace technologies, is aimed at meeting local demand for lubricant oil. Song Yunchang, general manager of Lubricant Company, Sinopec Corp. said that the investment will enable Sinopec to provide more convenient services to its clients with Singapore’s unique position as an oil trading hub.
In addition, the Asia-Pacific Research and Development Center of Tsinghua Tongfang Co., Ltd, a renowned high-tech company in China, and Tsinghua Tongfang’s strategic investment in Singapore-based Technovator International became a focus of attention as well.
These Chinese invested projects reflect acceleration of internationalization processes at Chinese companies and institutions. 

Spring tea prices in Zhejiang to rise by 10% to 20% due to heavy snowstorm

2008-02-29 Hangzhou

Tea picking in Zhejiang province will definitely be postponed to late March due to a recent heavy snowstorm and prices for spring tea leaves there are expected to rise by 10 to 20 percent this year as production volume of the leaves will also been reduced by the storm. Fortunately, the storm is expected to have little impact on the production volume of West Lake Longjing Tea in the Grade A Protected Area.

Solving frontline workers’ low salary problem with legal means

2008-02-29 Beijing

The regulation on wages will become another hot topic following the implementation of the Labor Contract Law. Although the regulation is currently in draft stage, it is expected to be released within the year, as the Chinese government is working on solving frontline workers’ low salary problems with legal means. According to Sun Baoshu, vice director of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of China, the core of the regulation on wages is built on the basis of a normal salary rise mechanism , and aims to deal with current problems such as low salaries, slow pay rises and unpaid salaries for frontline workers.

A.P. Moller - Maersk

2008-02-29 Beijing

During the period between 30 January and 1 February 2008, Maersk raised more than RMB 200,000 to aggressively participate into China’s disaster relief work. In addition, Maersk, together with Netease, donated RMB 90,000 to buy disaster-relief materials. Talking about the actions, Yan Ci, senior director in charge of government relations and public affairs at Maersk said that Maersk has long been participating in a variety of charity activities in China, and that to be an excellent corporate citizen in the Greater China area is the promise that the company has been abiding by since the establishment of its representative offices in China.

Number of DongGuan factories still increases

2008-02-29 Guangzhou

Liu Zhigeng, Communist Party chief of DongGuan, Guangdong province said in a meeting that it is not true that over 500 Taiwan-owned enterprises in DongGuan have moved from the city. A few firms have indeed transferred their production facilities in the city due to the rising costs of land and manpower as well as short supply of electricity, but it is normal for 200 to 300 shoe factories to shut down every year in the city, which now has nearly 4400 such factories.

MasterCard survey: consumer sentiment in Taiwan falls to lowest level

2008-02-29 Taibei

Consumer sentiment in Taiwan fell to its lowest level in five years among the 13 Asian markets surveyed, according to a survey recently released by MasterCard Worldwide on consumer confidence. Taiwan's consumer confidence index is the lowest that we've seen, reflecting pessimism especially in terms of prospects for employment, quality of living and the economy in the first half of 2008, said Tina Chiang, a senior vice president who oversees MasterCard Worldwide's operations in the greater China region.

Hong Kong Tourism Board eyes female tourists in mainland China during Olympics

2008-02-29 Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Tourism Board said recently that it will launch the “women’s month” campaign tailored for female tourists in mainland China on or around March 8, in a move to attract them to Hong Kong during the Olympic Games, as research shows women are less affected by the event than males. In addition, the board is currently holding discussions with Visa to work out an awarding solution to attract more tourists to Hong Kong.

“Tobacco Control” Written into Development Plan for Women and Children

2008-02-29 Beijing

On February 27, the working committee for women and children of Shenzhen held a conference, saying that implementation of education on tobacco control and elimination of tobacco advertisements have been written into the newly revised development plan for women and children for the first time. The revised plan stipulates that merchants are prohibited from selling cigarette products to women in pregnancy.