Foreign banks to issue UnionPay cards

THE president of China UnionPay Co. Ltd., the country’s only bank card payment network, said Thursday some foreign banks have been approved to issue UnionPay bank cards.

China UnionPay president Xu Luode didn’t identify the foreign banks, but said they were now in talks with UnionPay to work out the details of the cards. No foreign banks now issue China UnionPay cards.

Hanung Toys to acquire soft toys biz

INDIA’S Hanung Toys and Textiles, a manufacturer of stuffed toys, Thursday said it would acquire soft toys business of a Chinese firm for an undisclosed amount.

Hanung said in a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese company to acquire its soft toys business.

Expedia Corp. Travel sees rapid growth

ONLINE travel agency Expedia Inc.’s corporate travel unit expects growth in China’s corporate travel services market to speed up substantially from its current pace of 20 to 30 percent a year, said Jean-Pierre Remy, president of Expedia Corporate Travel.

Fewer than one in five companies in China currently use a travel management company, leaving room for explosive growth, he told reporters Thursday. He said Expedia, which entered China last November, was not a late comer to the market, where major rival American Express has had a head start of many years. China’s business travel market is worth US$10 billion, the world’s fourth-biggest, according to American Express.