A branch of Lloyd's TSB in London. A Chinese insurance company is reportedly buying the home of the Lloyd's insurance market. Provided to China Daily

Deals

Chinese insurer to buy Lloyd's building

A leading Chinese insurer has agreed to buy the landmark Lloyd's building in London for 260 million pounds ($388 million). This is believed to be the first large-scale property investment by a Chinese insurance company in London.

The building, home to the world's leading insurance market, was owned by German asset management fund Commerz Real.

Although Commerz Real did not identify the Chinese buyer, it is believed that Ping An Insurance (Group) Co of China Ltd, China's second-largest life insurer by policyholders, is the buyer.

Industry

Multinationals face increased scrutiny

Multinational companies belonging to the food, dairy and pharmaceutical sectors are likely to face more government scrutiny into their operations in China.

In the latest such instance, the State Administration for Industry & Commerce is believed to be investigating the Switzerland-headquartered food processing and packaging firm Tetra Pak International SA for possible abuse of market dominance.

The SAIC has asked more than 20 of its regional agencies to investigate the allegations, Zhang Mao, who heads the market regulator, said. It is also investigating 23 cases of possible monopoly violations.

Tetra Pak China said in a statement that it has received requests from the SAIC and will provide relevant information about its operations in China.

The National Development and Reform Commission had earlier said it would investigate Nestle of Switzerland, its unit Wyeth and other foreign companies for allegedly violating market competition laws by manipulating retailers to sell infant formula at inflated prices.

Technology

Microsoft Ventures set for first deal in China

The investment arm of global IT major Microsoft, which entered China recently, has said it will complete its first acquisition in the country soon.

Microsoft Ventures, launched last month by Microsoft, aims to provide support to start-ups through "mentorship, technology guidance, seed funding, joint selling opportunities and other benefits", said Rahul Sood, general manager of the company.

Lin Weiqian, China president of Microsoft Ventures, said the newly established company integrates the BizSpark program and the Bing Fund seed investment initiative under one umbrella to make things as easy as possible for entrepreneurs.

"We are close to completing our first acquisition in China," Lin said in Beijing earlier this month.

Auto

Dongfeng JV opens third plant in city

The joint venture between Dongfeng Motor Corp and French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has decided to open its third manufacturing unit in Wuhan, Hubei province. With a designed capacity of 300,000 units, the new plant will increase the total output of the Sino-French joint venture to 750,000 units a year. The first model being produced in the new unit will be the new Elysee.

Volkswagen adds more models to recall

Volkswagen China started to recall 3,863 imported vehicles under its namesake marque and its luxury brand Audi on July 3 because of the same direct-shift gearbox defects that caused a large-scale recall of more than 380,000 vehicles in April, according to a notice from the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The recall includes some Scirocco, Golf Variant, Audi A1 and Audi A3 models made in 2011.

Data

Economic growth seen sliding further

Economic growth in China is expected to further slide from a 13-year low as credit tightening policies and overcapacity continue to weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

GDP growth is estimated at 7.5 percent in the second quarter, compared with 7.7 percent for January-March period, according to a forecast by analysts.

An economic slowdown may prompt the government to introduce more changes after the Chinese economy last year expanded at the slowest pace since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

China Daily - Agencies

( China Daily European Weekly 07/12/2013 page18)