Coal producers see better profits

Coal producers in China have reported impressive profits for the first half of this year. Of China's 37 listed coal companies, more than half have estimated half-year profits to double in the first half of the year from a year ago. In its semi-annual report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Henan Shenhuo Coal and Power Co Ltd said the company's net profits excluding non-recurring gains and losses increased more than 11 folds year-on-year to 576 million yuan ($86 million) due to a rise in prices. Meanwhile, China Shenhua Energy Co, the country's largest coal miner, announced earlier that its first-half profit jumped 147 percent from the same period last year to 24.3 billion yuan. The company attributed the huge rise to higher coal prices.

Banking sector to see stable growth

China's banking sector is expected to grow steadily during the 2017-18 period with a lower non-performing asset ratio. The commercial banks' assets are likely to grow by 10 percent a year, China Banking Association said in its annual report. The money supply will gradually expand, but problems including weak growth of interest rate differentials and rising credit costs might threaten net profits. Commercial banks lent more money to small and micro businesses and in individual housing loans in 2016, and much less to industries suffering from overcapacity, according to Pan Guangwei, executive vice head of the CBA. In 2017, commercial banks are expected to make adjustments to better serve the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development and Yangtze River Economic Belt plans.

COMPANIES AND MARKETS

Construction group enters Xiongan

A construction investment group owned by the Hebei provincial government, which has a registered capital of 10 billion yuan ($1.49 billion), has set up an office in the Xiongan New Area, according to the website of the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. The Chinese government had announced the setting up of the Xiongan New Area in April. With a base in the area, the company can invest overseas, the website said.

Direct flight links Sanya, Jakarta

Direct flights have begun between Sanya, a tourist destination in South China's Hainan province, and Jakarta in Indonesia. Flight JT2871 leaves Jakarta every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 6:55 pm local time and arrives in Sanya at 11:50 pm. The return flight departs from Sanya at 1 am and arrives in Jakarta at 6 am local time. The flight is jointly operated by a local airline company in Hainan and Indonesia's Lion Air. Operations already started on Saturday night. Indonesia is the sixth ASEAN country connected with Sanya by air. There are plans to connect Sanya with Laos and Myanmar.

Little Swan reports revenue surge in H1

Wuxi Little Swan Co Ltd, a major washing machine manufacturer in China, saw its revenue and net profit surge in the first half of 2017, partly due to innovation and higher quality. Business revenue jumped 32.4 percent year-on-year to 10.57 billion yuan ($1.57 billion) in the first half of this year, according to a report the company filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Net profits climbed 26 percent year-on-year to 730 million yuan, registering a gross profit rate of 25.6 percent, said the company. Earnings per share was 1.16 yuan, up 26.09 percent year-on-year. The company, based in East China's Jiangsu province, attributed its strong performance to the "deepening business transformation, strengthened R&D and innovation, higher quality, and growing overseas market."

Shanghai GM recalls minivans

Shanghai General Motors has started recalling 6,451 GL8 minivans in China due to problems with the vehicles' electronic steering software, China's top quality watchdog has said. The recall, starting on Aug 4, involves 2017 Buick GL8 vehicles made between June 6 and Dec 6, 2016, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in a statement on its website. Due to a problem with the electronic steering support calibration software, the electronic steering support system could report fault code, and the system could fail under some extreme circumstances, it said. Shanghai GM, a joint venture between General Motors Co of the United States and SAIC Motor of China, will upgrade the software to eliminate the potential safety hazard, said the statement.

Translation service for tourists abroad

Teaming up with Chinese search engine Baidu, online travel agency Ctrip has launched a new translation service for Chinese tourists abroad. With the help of Baidu's optical character recognition technology, tourists can translate English content into Chinese by taking a picture through the Ctrip app, Ctrip said in a statement. The service is easier to use and more accurate than inputting characters, it said. According to a report by the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, over 62 million Chinese citizens traveled abroad in the first half of 2017, up 5 percent year-on-year. About 58 percent of the tourists are travelling independently and 42 percent are on group tours. The language barrier is one of the main reasons that tourists choose group tours, said Ctrip. It said more efficient translation services will help more people to travel abroad.

AROUND THE WORLD

Mitsubishi, Audi recall cars

Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam and Audi Vietnam have decided to recall 4,218 Mitsubishi cars with technical faults and 33 Audi Q3 autos with brake light malfunctions, local media reported on Monday. Among the 4,218 Mitsubishi cars, there are 3,275 Pajero Sport vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2016, and 943 Outlander Sport produced in the 2014-2016 period, newspaper Dau Tu (Investment) quoted the Vietnam Register as reporting. The Mitsubishi recall is expected to last two years. According to Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam, the supporting hinge of the back door can be rusted due to being incompletely painted, and can then be broken. The worst-case scenario is that the door can drop at any time, or the broken hinge can cause damage to people nearby.

Economy expands steadily in Q2

Indonesia's economy expanded steadily in the second quarter as consumption remained subdued and exports growth slowed. The national statistics bureau announced on Monday that the Southeast Asia's biggest economy grew 5.01 percent from April to June on a yearly basis, equal with that in the first three months. Household consumption, which accounts for about 57 percent of the GDP growth, expanded slightly 4.95 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, compared with 4.94 percent at the previous quarter, head of the bureau Kecuk Suhariyanto said. Export was down 3.5 percent at the second quarter, compared with that in the first quarter, said Suhariyanto. Indonesia has attempted to accelerate economic growth to create jobs in the country with a population of over 250 million. For this year, the government expects 5.2 percent GDP growth, higher than that of 5.02 percent last year.

Value of Australia's exports grows

Strong growth in the export of goods and services has resulted in an A$49.1 billion ($39.1 billion) turnaround in the value of trade exports in 2016-17, the nation's trade minister announced. In an official media release, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said Australia's export market experienced an A$12.4 billion surplus for 2016-17, up from a deficit of A$36.7 billion in 2015-16. "The result reflects the Turnbull government's commitment to free trade, which continues to underpin Australia's enviable economic prosperity and high standard of living," Ciobo said.