Car sales slide in peak period
CAR makers in Shanghai saw sedan sales slip depressingly in a period usually good for the car industry.
Triumph to expand in China
TRIUMPH International, one of the world's most successful fashion marketing companies, will expand its production in China, according to Guenther Spiesshofer, president of Triumph International.
Shell to invest in natural gas
POLLUTION is costing China billions of US dollars each year in damage to agriculture, forestry and health, Brian Anderson, chairman of the Shell Group of Companies in Northeast Asia, told an audience at the China Oil and Gas Summit 2000 held recently in Shanghai.
State bonds get off to a flying start
PEOPLE'S Bank of China (PBOC) Shanghai branch said government bonds, brought out on March 1, are selling well.
LG expands TV tube production
THE LG Electronics Group of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has announced recently it will invest 2.3 billion yuan ($277.8 million) in expanding two colour TV tube production lines in one of its companies in Central China's Hunan Province.
Diamond sales stay strong
By Xu Xiaomin
DIAMOND sales picked up last year after a slump in 1998 earning $686 million in 1999, De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited (DBCM) announced. Total net earnings, which include retained earnings of associates, were 54 per cent higher at $952 million. Diamond stocks on December 31, 1999 decreased by 18 per cent to $3.957 billion compared with $4.816 billion on December 31, 1998. Long and medium-term liabilities decreased by $751 million to $615 million, and net current assets increased by $193 million to $265 million, resulting in a favourable balance of $944 million. The retail market performed strongly in 1999 achieving the highest growth rate of the decade, reflecting both the improved economic environment and the success of the De Beers Millennium marketing programmes. Globally, retail sales increased by about 11 per cent. A number of factors contributed to this recovery, including the continued strength of the US retail market, some returning confidence in the South East Asian markets, the anticipation of increased sales with the advent of a new millennium and the consequent re-stocking of the trade pipeline following severe stock depletion in the second half of 1997 and throughout 1998. The improved mood in the market has continued into 2000. Barring any significant downturn in economic activity, particularly in the United States, the CSO hopes to meet the sales target set for the year of at least the same sales as for 1999.
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