WORLD BUSINESS NEWS BY Handset retailer sees sales boost Page 17 BUSINESS

TUESDAY APRIL 3, 2007 13

MARKET (As of 9pm yesterday, Beijing time) Plans Index Last % Chg CNPC boosts offshore projects for more Shanghai Comp 3252.595 2.15 Shenzhen Comp 844.658 2.29 Oil fi rm to invest in Bohai Bay, area, especially the new Nanpu Sea by designing a submerged Shi was tight-lipped about Shanghai B 179.509 0.96 section,” Shi added. drilling platform with a the investment details of the pipelines Shenzhen B 528.917 0.94 PetroChina, CNPC’s listed maximum working depth of 3 projects, implying that the total South China Sea exploration arm, said recently it had km, Shi said. budget could be sizable. Xinhua/FTSE China A 11542.77 2.62 ENERGY Xinhua/FTSE China 25 15611.33 -0.15 discovered a “very rich” oilfi eld The deep-sea platform is a Meanwhile, China’s top By Wang Yu Xinhua FTSE 200 8210.47 2.51 and production in three years at Bohai Bay. An anonymous key project in the nation’s high- offshore oil company China by 2010,” Shi Lin, president source from the Ministry of profi le 863 Program — China’s National Offshore Oil Corp By Wan Zhihong Dow Jones 12354.35 0.00 of China National Petroleum Land and Resources said later most important hi-tech research (CNOOC), said yesterday it was NASDAQ 2421.64 0.00 China’s top oil company China Offshore Engineering Co that the daily output of the and development scheme. First- developing its own 3-km deep- FTSE 6326.8 0.30 National Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPOE), told China Daily oilfi eld, located in the Nanpu stage research for the platform water drilling platform. China plans to extend its oil Nikkei 17028.41 -1.50 (CNPC) will make a huge yesterday. CPOE is a subsidiary area of PetroChina’s Jidong will start this year, Shi said. Zhang Weiping, deputy chief and gas pipelines by nearly Frankfurt 6940.77 0.34 investment to tap offshore of CNPC. Oilfield at Bohai Bay, was CNPC will begin its feasibility economist of CNOOC, told China 60 percent by 2010 in order to Hang Seng 19809.7 0.04 reserves this year, with Bohai CNPC will design and likely to reach 200,800 barrels study and design work for two Daily that it would invest $600 meet rising demand for energy, Taipei 7884.99 0.01 Bay its priority. build a multi-purpose ocean in three years. The oilfield’s self-elevating drilling platforms million in the platform. according to the nation’s top Bangkok 679.62 0.88 “Based on the current engineering vessel with 350 reserves are expected to hit 2.2 this year to further its overseas CNOOC said earlier this year pipeline builder. Kuala Lumpur 1246.3 -0.05 situation, the Bohai Bay area tons of lifting capacity for its billion barrels, according to the offshore oil and gas exploration, it will invest about 10 million The oil and gas pipeline is our top priority. We plan Bohai Bay operation this year, Xinhua News Agency. according to Shi. The two yuan to set up a laboratory industry has experienced its Seoul 1459.53 0.48 to roll out an annual 4 to 5 according to Shi. Besides the Bohai Bay area, self-elevating platforms will platform in Bohai Bay by 2010 fastest growth since the Ninth Singapore 3246.31 0.47 million tons of oil equivalent “The vessel to be built will CNPC is preparing for deep-sea be mainly used for offshore to further develop its deep-sea Five-Year Plan period (1996- Manila 3229.6 0.81 from Bohai offshore exploration mainly focus on the Bohai Bay exploration of the South China exploration in Africa. drilling capability. 2000), said Tang Yali, vice- Jakarta 1849.384 1.01 president of the natural gas Mumbai 12455.37 -4.72 and pipeline company under Bloomberg PetroChina. “China’s oil and gas pipeline EXCHANGERATE Local bank industry has increased by 14 percent on average since 1996. Between 2000 and 2005, China Market exchange rates in RMB set by entities has built more pipelines than it the People’s Bank of China (April 2) did in all the preceding years,” Currency Unit Rate throw open he said. US dollar 100 773.06 China completed its first Euro 100 1031.3 their doors West-East gas pipeline in 2004. Japanese yen 100 6.5525 The pipeline, one of the biggest HK dollar 100 98.92 energy projects in the country, BANKING transmits natural gas from the Bank of China exchange rates in RMB Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Currency Unit Buying Selling BY Wang Zhenghua Region to the eastern coast. British pound 100 1519.96 1532.17 As for the second West-East HK dollar 100 98.75 99.12 gas pipeline, Tang said the US dollar 100 771.75 774.85 SHANGHAI: The locally preliminary study for the project incorporated entities of the is still being conducted. Swiss franc 100 633.65 638.74 world’s two largest banks were “The total investment for the Singapore dollar 100 507.63 511.71 ushered in with traditional lion pipeline is projected to cross Swedish krone 100 110.01 110.9 dance performances and drums 100 billion yuan,” he said, Danish krone 100 138.02 139.12 at their official launches in without giving the timetable Norwegian krone 100 126.22 127.24 China yesterday. for the project. Japanese yen 100 6.5352 6.5877 And as HSBC and Citigroup The fi nal route for the new Canadian dollar 100 666.47 671.82 opened their local operations, pipeline has not been decided, Australian dollar 100 627.1 632.14 two other foreign banks — said Tang, adding that it is Standard Chartered and Bank likely to connect the gas-rich Euro 100 1028.15 1036.41 of East Asia (BEA) — launched Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Macao pataca 100 96.62 96.98 their own local entities with Region in the west with South Philippine peso 100 15.93 16.06 slightly less fanfare at their China’s Guangdong Province. Thai baht 100 22.01 22.18 headquarters in Shanghai The pipeline is expected to yesterday. HSBC’s China Chairman Vincent Cheng (left) and China Chief Executive Offi cer Richard Yorke unveil the logo of HSBC Bank (China) have an annual capacity to Beyond the pomp and Co Ltd at a news conference in Shanghai yesterday. Gao Erqiang transmit 30 billion cubic meters BIZMONITOR ceremony and publicity of natural gas. campaigns, the four foreign “This is an historic milestone premier wealth management vice-chairman of BEA’s China possible. He said it would issue Natural gas output in China Average deal size of fi nancial institutions granted for the bank and will allow us service for our retail banking,” subsidiary, said yesterday. renminbi debit cards when the increased by 16.9 percent in IPO in 2006 business licenses to incorporate to continue to expand both said Vincent Cheng, chairman BEA is also in talks to ac- regulations allowed, but would 2006 over the previous year. 440 locally last week have been our geographic reach and the of HSBC Bank (China) Co Ltd quire a stake in several domes- not issue credit cards only at The year-on-year growth rate preparing to make a splash in product range we can offer and its parent fi rm. The service tic banks, said Chan, without the moment. in 2005 was 20.6 percent, the lucrative renminbi retail our customers,” Richard Yorke, mainly targets high-end cus- providing further details. Citigroup and its strategic according to the National 220 banking business. president and chief executive tomers by charging hundreds Now that the four foreign partner Shanghai Pudong De- Development and Reform Although the banks must offi cer of HSBC Bank (China) of yuan each month for those banks are on equal footing with velopment Bank have issued Commission (NDRC). still get final approval from Co Ltd, said yesterday. with less than a certain amount their local rivals, they plan to co-branded credit cards. China produced 58.6 billion United United the China Banking Regulatory HSBC, which has 14 branches in their accounts. offer a wider range of renminbi Standard Chartered said cubic meters of natural gas Kingdom States Commission (CBRC) to begin and 21 sub-branches in China, BEA plans to triple its services such as mortgages and its new entity was ready to last year. The nation has built Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers offering local currency deposit plans to add 30 outlets and em- outlets in China by 2010, credit cards. provide a whole range of over 80,000 km of oil and gas and loan services to individual ploy about 1,000 new staff this when its Chinese operations Richard Stanley, chairman banking services that it would pipelines, ranking sixth in Funds raised through initial Chinese customers, local year, and 1,000 more in 2008. are expected to contribute of Citibank (China) Co Ltd, be entitled to pursue under the world, according to Xue public offerings (IPOs) in the incorporation is seen as a “Given the limited outlets more than 35 percent to its net said yesterday the bank the mandate of the CBRC Zhenkui, president of China Chinese capital market last year milestone in their business and resources in China, we profi t globally, rising from 15.5 was seeking to underwrite — including renminbi banking Petroleum Pipeline Scientifi c exceeded that in the United development in China. will mainly focus on our percent now, Chan Kay-cheung, renminbi bonds as soon as services to local residents. Research Institute. States for the fi rst time, accord- ing to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. IPOs from the bourses in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong Acquisition to power Datang capacity and Taiwan reached a record high of $62 billion in 2006, beating the ELECTRICITY $48 billion from IPOs in the New to boost its generating capacity, 24.84 billion yuan in revenue, passed 622 gigawatts in 2006, York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and the price is reasonable,” up from 17.99 billion yuan in up 20.3 percent from 2005. and American Stock Exchange. By Wan Zhihong Datang Power said. 2005, said the statement. The electricity industry has “The two mega IPOs, Jinzhou East Power operates Last year, the company raised seen rapid developments in namely the Industrial and six 200-megawatt generators. 3.34 billion yuan in a Shanghai past years, with the proportion Commercial Bank of China Datang International Power The total assets of the company initial public offering. It plans of coal-fired power plants (ICBC) and Bank of China Generation Co Ltd, the stood at 1.68 billion yuan by the to expand its capacity in areas rising in tandem, according to (BOC), contributed signifi cantly second-largest Chinese power end of 2006. including Guangdong Province the China Electricity Council. to the superb performance,” generator listed in Hong Kong, Shares of Datang Power and the Inner Mongolia Coal-fi red plants now account said Edmond Chan, capital will buy a power company to on the Hong Kong stock ex- Autonomous Region. for over 77 percent of the total market services group partner boost its capacity. change climbed 5.68 percent China’s electricity giants installed generating capacity. at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Datang will pay 1.82 billion to HK$7.82. The company’s apart from Datang Power China is accelerating efforts In 2006, there were 140 IPOs yuan to buy a Hong Kong shares in Shanghai rose 9.99 have also sped up work on to close small coal-fi red units in China, with the average deal company that owns 55 percent percent to 13.54 yuan. new facilities. China Huaneng run on outdated technology size hitting $440 million, up from of Jinzhou East Power, the Net profi t of Datang Power Group, the nation’s largest that use excessive energy. The $260 million in 2005. The fi gure Beijing-based company said in in 2006 was 2.7 billion yuan, power producer, plans 325.1 nation is also trying to adjust was higher than the average deal a statement to the Hong Kong up from 2.36 billion yuan the billion kilowatt-hours in 2007, its power mix, hoping that clean size of $220 million in the US and stock exchange yesterday. previous year, the company said with new installed capacity energy such as hydropower and $130 million in the UK. “Compared with building new in a statement to the Shanghai reaching 10,000 megawatts. nuclear power will make up 35 The aggregated market power-generating facilities, the Stock Exchange yesterday. China’s total installed elec- percent of the total electricity capitalisation in the Chinese deal is an easy way for Datang Its main business earned tricity-generating capacity sur- supply by 2010. A Datang International booth at a Beijing exhibition. Sha Lang capital market at the end of 2006 amounted to $3,455 billion, an increase of 79 percent over the previous year. The annual trading value last year nearly doubled to $2,969 billion, with an active Digitization hobbled by cable operators’ monopoly foreign buying interest in shares listed in Hong Kong. “We are expecting more dual By Li Weitao of the State Administration TOTHE resisted in bigger cities such million yuan for free set-top digital TV subscription. listings of Chinese companies on of Radio, Film and Television POINT as Beijing. The reason is plain: box distribution. But that’s It’s now impossible to deploy the Hong Kong stock exchange (SARFT), complained at the CCBN free boxes could be a big still not enough to persuade it a second cable connection in and the Shanghai or Shenzhen he 15th China Content that cable TV operators generate not a commercial success, spending for Beijing Gehua to aggressively promote digital residential areas, but IPTV, stock exchange in the near Broadcasting Network a much lower ARPU (average in the near future given that CATV Network, the dominant TV services. which broadcasts TV programs future. Some of these listings T(CCBN) exhibition, which revenue per user) compared to the digitization here is not a cable TV provider in the city So far, there are few sub- via Internet, could offer a good might happen at the same time, concluded on Sunday in Beijing, telecom service operators. market-driven push. which is now a listed fi rm. scribers of Gehua’s pilot digital alternative. while others might seek to list was a big draw as new technolo- Mobile operators generate As almost all cable operators As many users are against TV services and it seems the If IPTV services, usually in one market before another,” gies and applications such as a monthly ARPU of 60-100 are affi liated to the government, a dramatic rise in monthly operator will hardly be able provided by telecom operators, said Chan. digital broadcasting and mo- yuan while the same for cable the SARFT has been forcing subscription fees and Gehua has to provide digital services to catches on, cable TV operators The ICBC was the first bile TVs attracted hundreds of operators is usually less than operators to switch to digital established a monopoly, the Beijing most Beijing residents during would be forced to digitize in company listed concurrently in thousands of visitors. 20 yuan. broadcasting. It has been pro- operator would hardly be willing the Olympics next year. order to woo consumers. And, Hong Kong and Shanghai. By But there’s little for cable op- This is why the SARFT has moting a model under which to take risks in a rapid switch to There is no competition that too without subsidies or the end of 2006, there were 37 erators to cheer about. Many, been aggressively pushing dig- operators distribute free set-top digital TV service since reaping between cable operators in directives from regulators. companies dually listed on the especially county-level opera- ital broadcasting service to help boxes to boost subscriptions. returns on such an investment China, with usually only one Hong Kong stock exchange and tors, still rely on government operators increase the ARPU. That model has been a could take a long time. operator in every city. Breaking To comment or alert us to a story, the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock subsidies to stay afl oat. But digital TV can hardly success in Qingdao, a small Gehua last year received this monopoly would be the e-mail [email protected] exchange. Zhang Haitao, deputy director be a success in China, at least coastal city, but has been government subsidies of 40 most effective solution to boost