Shipping index increase 1 per cent
THE composite index for China's export containers increased by 1 per cent to reach 1,189.38 points yesterday, indicating a promising container market.
NW no-stop Detroit profits
NORTHWEST Airlines (NW) said its new non-stop flight to Detroit is already making money although it has only been running for just over two months.
General Motors appoints new leaders
LAWRENCE B. Zahner, president of the General Motors China Group since October 1998, was recently named general manager of manufacturing for the Asia-Pacific Region.
Loan offer to start Kodak outlets
INDUSTRIAL and Commercial Bank of China, Shanghai Branch, will provide up to three years of mortgage loans for people who wish to start Kodak Express outlets.
Bank loans to restore Suzhou Creek
CONTRACTS were signed last week by the China Development Bank (CDB), one of the major State policy banks in China, and local Shanghai Suzhouhe Construction Co, to provide 500 million yuan ($60 million) in loans for the restoration of the Suzhou River.
Strict checks by city to curb poor quality liquor
AS of June, 4,747 bottles of poor-quality liquor and 1,840 bottles imitating famous brands had been confiscated at a highway checkpoint in Qingpu District in the west of Shanghai, a gateway to East China's Jiangsu Province, according to Pan Guoqing, in charge of the checkpoint.
Third big bank may go public
BANK listings may be common on the world equity markets, but they are new in China and arouse huge enthusiasm.
Office buildings in central city near full
GRADE "A" Office buildings on Huaihai Road and Nanjing Road West have become the most sought-after in Shanghai.
Mycity struggles to get into the black
YANG Fang, a local journalist, first accessed Mycity.com four months ago, and she was immediately hooked.
TV sales same after price rise
By Xu Xiaomin
PRICE increases in nine brands of domestic TV sets have had little effect on sales, according to statistics from a number of local stores. There has been no fluctuation in TV sales at the Electrical Household Appliance store of the Shanghai Trade Centre, one of the biggest stores selling electrical appliances, where about 1,400 to 1,500 TV sets are sold on holidays. "Consumers have become indifferent to price adjustments which happen nearly every year," said Niu Huafeng, deputy manager of the sales department of the centre. On June 9, nine domestic giants specializing in producing TV sets including Konka, Jinxing, West Lake and TCL held a meeting in Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province. They agreed to raise the prices of nine makes of TVs by about 3 to 5 per cent, meaning price increases of between 60 and 400 yuan ($7.3 to 48). They also decided to set a minimum price for some colour TV sets to put an end to spiralling price cuts resulting from price wars. China now has more factories producing TVs than the total number located in developed countries. Over-production has forced the market price down over the past few years to the detriment of producers. But insiders are speculating the price hike was designed to make price cuts possible during next peak sales season. "I don't think rises in price of domestic products already comparatively cheap will have much impact on the market," said Niu. In Shanghai, imported TV sets dominate the large screen market while domestic products control the market in 25-to-29-inch TV sets. "Sony never engages in price wars or in pegging the price in accordance with competitors," said Wang Bin, an officer of Sony's Shanghai branch. "The price is only one of many things that attracts customers to our goods." As for the price agreement, "I doubt it will be long-lived," said Huang Jianping, deputy manager of Electrical Household Appliances of Shanghai Trade Centre. In 1997, over 30 producers of VCD players reached a price agreement intended to end the price war in the market. But the agreement was only adhered to for a few months. Similar price agreements among kinescope producers and refrigerator giants have all been quickly shelved. "Brokers of such agreements will easily go back on their word," said Qi Xiaozhai, deputy director of Shanghai Commercial Information Centre. "Only with the development of a market-oriented economy will the market be properly regulated. Intervention on the part of producers and artificial pricing are never effective."
Copyright 2000 by Shanghai Star. All rights reserved.