Volkswagen AG said yesterday that it has appointed Alfred Rieck as president of its growing Skoda Auto A.S. unit in China (Skoda China) and executive vice president of Volkswagen Group China, effective today, Dow Jones reported.
Rieck has been the managing director in charge of the Skoda brand in Germany since 2006, the German auto maker said in a statement. Before that, he was a senior leader in charge of sales and marketing for Volkswagen's luxury cars.
Rieck's position as president of Skoda China is newly created, which also marks the official establishment of VW's "Skoda China" division.
Production in China of Skoda's flagship sedan, the Superb (Hao Rui) began June 11, Skoda said in an earlier statement. Skoda sales in mainland China and Hong Kong rose 57 percent to more than 56,000 units in the January-July period from a year earlier.
Skoda vehicles are made in China by Volkswagen's joint venture with SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. The venture also produces the Octavia and Fabia sedans.
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Top 5 News From ChinaKnowledge.comChina Mobile's parent may buy into ICBCChina's BYD, Chery Auto may build vehicle plants in BrazilChina plans to list some railway assets in HK: reportChina's GDP growth in Q2 likely to exceed 7%Ping An Trust, Guangzhou Zhongda set up health clinic JV
Jul. 6, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Italy's Fiat SpA and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd today will sign an agreement to set up a joint venture (JV) in Panyu District in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, Reuters reported, citing a Chinese official as saying.
The two companies had held talks about the JV and the agreement should be signed around 12 noon local time on Monday, said the official.
Fiat last month was close to a deal in China with Guangzhou Auto, said Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Previous reports said that the proposed JV will have a total investment of RMB 4.27 billion and will start operation in 2011. It will be capable of producing 140,000 vehicles and 220,000 engines annually.
A new version of Fiat's Linea, Bravo and Grande Punto models will be produced in the joint plant, an Italian business daily reported on Sunday.
Guangzhou Automobile aims to increase its production capacity to 1.30 million vehicles by 2010. The alliance with Fiat is expected to help the Chinese auto maker develop and promote its own brands.
A spokesman for Fiat said he could not confirm the report.
Top 5 News From ChinaKnowledge.comSuntech raised US$277 mln through ADS offeringBDA recognizes top 23 returned professionalsHang Seng Index opens 228 points higher on WedChina's power consumption down 4.03% in Jan-AprWuhan's real estate transaction volume 8,107 units in MayJun. 3, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Chinese stocks ended slightly higher in the morning trading session on Wednesday, with financial and real estate stocks cushioning the indices.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, edged up 0.87% or 23.66 points to close at 2,747.96 points in the morning session.
The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange increased 1.08% or 113.73 points to stand at 10,598.06 points.
Share prices of securities firms ended higher in the morning trading session. Haitong Securities Co, China's second largest broker in terms of assets, rose 2.47% to close at RMB 15.37. The Pacific Securities Co Ltd increased 1.57% to RMB 17.50. Northeast Securities Co Ltd rose 1.67% to RMB 27.96.
Bank stocks ended higher. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank jumped 7.66% to RMB 28.12. Shenzhen Development Bank swelled 6.49% to close at RMB 19.68. China Merchants Bank grew 4.77% to RMB 18.66. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world's largest lender by market value, rose 2.00% to RMB 4.59.
Property stocks also ended higher in the morning trading session. China Vanke Co Ltd, the country's largest publicly traded residential property developer, swelled 4.89% to RMB 10.72. Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd, China's second-largest developer by market value, grew 6.88% to RMB 24.85.
Gold firms were gainers. Zhongjin Gold Corp Ltd rose 4.22% to close at RMB 88.15. Shandong Gold Mining Co, China's second-largest listed gold miner, increased 2.02% to RMB 50.99. Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd rose 1.22% to RMB 9.94.
Top 5 News From ChinaKnowledge.comFar Eastern Bank to acquire AIG's Taiwan credit card businessChina Minsheng to issue 15 mln credit cards in next 3 yearsPetroChina to acquire 45% stake in Singapore PetroleumLottemart set to expand in ChinaHenderson Land starts selling 1st 20 flats at 8 Royal GreenMay. 25, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Chengdu B-ray Media Co Ltd has announced that it plans to acquire a 100% stake in online game company Chengdu Dreamwork Software, sources reported, citing an insider close to the situation.
B-ray Media signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Qiu Xin, Chairman and CEO of Dreamwork on Mar. 31, 2009. Under the MOU, B-ray Media will buy out Dreamwork for a price based on asset evaluation, according to the announcement.
Reportedly, Dreamwork said it would consider "attractive" offers that would not harm the company, and that the assessment work is underway.
B-ray Media said the acquisition, if successful, will further optimize the company's industrial structure, enhance its competence and maintain stable and healthy development.
Dreamwork is one of the country's influential game development and operation companies and its products are used on more than 20 domestic game platforms. It reaped sales revenue of RMB 95.4 million in 2008.
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Sep. 18, 2009 (China Knowledge) - China XD Electric Co Ltd, a state-owned company based in Xian, announced yesterday that it will issue RMB 800 million in 3-year notes on the interbank market on Sep. 24.
The company said in a statement that this batch of notes will be issued at face value and that the coupon rate will be determined during the process of book building.
The notes will become tradable on Sep. 25. Proceeds from the issuance will be used to replenish the firm's working capital and repay bank loans, according to the company.
China Lianhe Credit Rating Co has rated the notes and the issuer as AA+ and AA+, respectively.
China International Capital Corp Ltd and China CITIC Bank have been assigned as the main underwriters for the sale.
Top 5 News From ChinaKnowledge.comFMR raises stake in ZTEChina's urban employees see wages rise 12.9% in H1China Development Bank launches first overseas branch in HKDalian Friendship to raise RMB 800 mln for 2 property projectsCIC selects Morgan Stanley, Blackstone for investment
Jul. 31, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Lifan Group, one of China's largest motorcycle makers, is expanding into car production and plans to launch an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange this year to raise up to RMB 3 billion, said sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
The Chongqing-based company, which is partly owned by an American International Group Inc affiliate, has hired Guotai Junan Securities to advise on the A-share IPO, said one of the sources.
Another source familiar with the matter said that Lifan wants to raise at least RMB 1 billion, and may increase that target to RMB 3 billion if the stock market remains strong.
The sources said that the company is preparing for the new share offering and will soon submit a formal application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the nation's securities watchdog.
Shanghai, August 25 (Gasgoo.com) U.S. auto giant Chrysler Group has not signed a deal yet with Fiat's Chinese partner Guangzhou Auto to produce Jeeps in China, a Chrysler spokesman said today, in response to the media report of such an agreement, Reuters said.
"There's a lot of interest in the Chinese market, but up to now there's been no deal of this kind signed," the spokesman said.
Italian news agency ANSA reported that Chrysler had signed the deal for Jeeps, quoting Chinese publication Time Weekly. Chinese media said on August 20 that the Jeep Compass will be the first model to be made in the Changsha plant of the new Guangzhou-Fiat joint venture.
BEIJING, Sept 3 - Chinese electric bicycle maker Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co Ltd expects its sales to grow nearly 20 percent this year, and is aiming for a public offering in 2011.
Although consumer spending has slowed, Xinri's sales would likely rise to 1.9 million units this year from 1.6 million in 2008, because of an increase in popularity of the electric vehicles, its deputy general manager, Gavin Hu, told Reuters.
"The electric bicycle, which is energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and economical, has been gaining popularity everywhere, especially in China," Hu said in an interview.
Xinri, which posted sales of 3 billion yuan ($439.2 million) in 2008, also exports to Canada, Japan and other countries in Asia and Europe.
In order to meet a growing demand for the relatively new vehicle, Xinri, which purchases batteries from BYD Co Ltd , is planning to build two more plants to further boost production.
"The target we set ourselves is to sell 5 million units in 2013," Hu said.
The company, founded in 1999, now has more than 3,000 employees and operates two plants, in Wuxi and Tianjin, with over 5,000 shops across the country.
More than 1,000 companies compete in China's highly fragmented electric bicycle industry. Total sales of the electric vehicles rose to 21 million in China last year, according to data from an industry group, China Bicycle Association.
The Wuxi, Jiangsu-based firm has met representatives from more than 40 investment banks to discuss its potential initial public offering (IPO) in the Small and Medium Enterprise Board in Shenzhen, Hu said.
"There is a higher premium in the SME board as people generally consider that smaller firms enjoy stronger growth potential," he said.
Hu declined to give a figure on the size of the share offering, only saying it is still under negotiation.
"If there is a need, we will consider an IPO on a large scale," he said. ($1=6.830 Yuan)
