ROARING ON: The second line of the Xiangfan-Chongqing Railway begins operation on September 20. The 507-km line shortens travel time between the two cities to 8.5 hours from 12 hours (DENG LIANGKUI)

Steel Integration

The China Securities Regulatory Commission recently approved a share-swap program between three listed subsidiaries of the Hebei Iron and Steel Group (HBIS), the country's second largest steelmaker.

The program stipulates that Tangshan Iron and Steel Group Co. Ltd. will take over Handan Iron and Steel Group Co. Ltd. and Chengde Xinxin Vanadium and Titanium Co. Ltd. through a share swap.

The move will boost the three-way combination, marking a significant step for HBIS toward a unified listing of its prime steel-making assets, said the group in a statement.

Tapping Into China

The U.S. biological testing technology company Luminex recently opened its first China subsidiary in Shanghai, stating it would make China the center of its Asia-Pacific operations.

The parent company will invest more than $1 million in Luminex Shanghai Trading Co. Ltd., which will provide technical support and assist in marketing the company's products.

More than 6,000 research institutions and laboratories worldwide are using cancer, virus and other detection technologies provided by the company, but only about 100 are located in China. "We're hoping that number will be over 1,000 in the next few years," said Patrick Balthrop, President of the company.

Reasonable Payments

China has strengthened efforts to regulate salaries for executives in the country's 135 state-owned enterprises under Central Government administration (central SOEs).

Six government departments, including the Ministry of Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Finance, have jointly released a circular to improve the incentive system for top executive pays of central SOEs.

According to the circular, the annual compensation for SOE executives is composed of three parts: a basic salary, merit payment, and incentive earnings in the mid and long term.

It added that the merit payment of executives should be based on the enterprises' business performance. Efforts will also be made to monitor implementation of the regulations, it said.

Inflation Unlikely

The recent spikes in pork and egg prices are normal market adjustments, and will not trigger inflation, said Sun Zhengcai, Minister of Agriculture, at a press briefing on September 21.

Pork prices have recorded an accumulated 30-percent increase in the past 15 weeks, but Sun attributed it to a normal recovery from a market low. The current pork price is still 11.3 percent lower than a peak seen earlier this year, and the price of eggs has also slightly decreased since last year, Sun said.

An abundant supply of major agricultural products can be expected in the coming months, with any drastic increases in price unlikely, he added.

Boosting Nuclear Capacity

Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., China's top power equipment provider, plans to invest billions of yuan to expand its presence in the nuclear power equipment market, according to a recent report by China Daily.

The company started building the second phase of its nuclear power equipment manufacturing facilities in Shanghai in July, said the newspaper.

The new facilities will help boost its annual output of nuclear power generating units to between four and six sets in 2012 from the current 2.5 sets, said Xu Jianguo, Chairman of Board of Directors of the company.