PetroChina eyes third west-east gas pipeline
THE country’s top oil and gas firm, PetroChina, was drafting plans for a third west-east pipeline to carry Russian and domestic gas to the country’s booming east, a company source said.
The plans were in a preliminary stage, with no on-site investigations yet carried out, but they envisaged a route from the Altai area to the Bohai bay area in China’s eastern region, the source said.
The listed unit of State-owned CNPC already operates the first flagship west-east pipeline connecting gas fields in the Xinjiang region with the financial hub of Shanghai.
Work is also about to start on a second pipeline, to carry Turkmen gas to the Pearl River Delta.
BOC unit announces stake in BEA
BANK of China (BOC) Hong Kong said it had bought 4.94 percent of rival Bank of East Asia (BEA) for 3.95 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$506.4 million).
The deal, aimed at diversifying Bank of China Hong Kong Group’s investment portfolio, would be financed entirely by the group’s internal resources, it said in a statement filed with the Hong Kong stock exchange late Monday.
Baosteel raises steel product prices
BAOSHAN Iron and Steel Co. said yesterday it was raising major steel product prices as much as 8 percent for the first quarter of 2008.
Baosteel is raising the price of its hot-rolled steel products by 300 yuan, or 8 percent, to 4,042 yuan a ton from the fourth quarter of 2007. It announced the price changes in a statement posted on its Web site. The company is also raising the price of cold-rolled steel products by 200 yuan, or 4 percent, to 4,796 yuan a ton, while hiking the prices of major hot-galvanizing steel by 6 percent.
Gome net up 34 percent on strong sales
GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd., China’s top electronics retailer, posted a 34 percent rise in nine-month earnings thanks to rising margins and revenues enhanced by exclusive product offerings.
The Beijing-based firm — which merged with rival Paradise Electronics in a US$680 million deal last year — posted a net profit of 753.2 million yuan (US$101.4 million) for the nine months ended September, up from 560.4 million yuan the same period last year.
