State Grid Corp of China, the nation's largest electricity distributor, will sell 30 billion yuan of short-term bonds to fund expansion.

The company will sell the bonds on March 21, the company said in a statement yesterday. The power distributor didn't say how it will spend the proceeds.

Profit triples

Guangzhou Shipyard International Co, the only Hong Kong-listed shipbuilder, said profit last year more than tripled after increasing capacity and production.

Net income rose to 938.6 million yuan, or 1.8973 yuan a share, from 266.6 million yuan, or 0.539 yuan a share, a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday, citing international accounting standards.

Sales jumped 79 percent to 5.9 billion yuan.

LOCAL

Wage default

Migrant workers' wage default problems have been solved in Liaoning province, according to the provincial labor and social security department.

About 180 million yuan of outstanding wages has been paid out while default complaints have been decreasing by the year.

In an effort to guarantee migrant workers' rights, a security fund has been set up in 13 cities and 51 counties in the province.

Greening projects

Shanxi province will invest 2.25 billion yuan in its greening projects this year, says the provincial forestry department.

The major projects include environmental treatment and landscaping at branches of the Fenhe River and greening projects along the Shijiazhuang and Taiyuan expressways.

Forest acreage in the province is expected to reach 18 percent by 2010.

Afforestation venues

The Beijing municipal bureau of landscape and forestry has unveiled 28 volunteer tree-planting venues to improve the environment in the capital.

The venues cover 630 hectares with good soil condition, transport convenience and security guarantee. The largest venues are located near Miyun and Guanting reservoirs.

Drought-resistant trees, such as Chinese white poplars, weeping willows, locust and Chinese pines, will be the main varieties in these venues.

GRAPEVINE

Alibaba stake plan

Alibaba Group is in advanced negotiations with investors to fund the purchase of Yahoo! Inc's 39 percent stake in it, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

The move would give Alibaba's management more independence if Microsoft Corp acquires Yahoo!, the report said.

If Microsoft succeeds in its bid, Alibaba plans to exercise a clause in its 2005 agreement with Yahoo! that would allow it to buy the US company's stake, the report said.

Alibaba has hired Deutsche Bank AG and law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen Katz, it said.

BIZ UNUSUAL

Fruity barbecue

Barbecued meat with fruit flavors is catching on in China. Specially made fruity sauces are brushed on the meat before being grilled. These sauces include apple, strawberry and pawpaw flavors, among others.

One restaurateur says he offers barbecued meat with milk or yogurt, which is also very popular.

Raising boars

While pork prices rise steadily, Wang Hui, a female entrepreneur in Shanxi province, has devised a unique business model in raising boars.

When the boars are three months old, Wang sends them to the nearby forests and lets them adapt to their natural habitat. This not only makes the boars a lot tastier, but also cuts raising costs dramatically, according to Wang.

After processing, these boars are sold at around 150 yuan per kg. For 100 kg of boars, the net profit can reach up to 4,000 yuan.

Liquid gloves

A detergent factory has launched an amazing new product - liquid gloves. Applying this liquid before touching things like machine oil, paint and adhesive, which are difficult to remove, can protect hands effectively.

Tian Jiajiu, the factory director, says the liquid gloves are especially popular with car garages, decoration companies and the construction sector.

BIZ MOVES

Yum! appointment

The world's biggest catering company, Yum! Brands Inc, has named Su Jingshi as its vice-chairman. Despite the promotion, Su will continue in his previous role as president of Greater China operations.

Before joining Yum!, Su used to work for P G in Taiwan province and Germany.

HR director

Chrysler LLC has appointed Peng Weihua as its director of human resources in Asian operations.

Peng has 15 years of human resource management experience and used to be vice-president of human resources in Danadher Motion's China division. She has also worked for Pepsi-Cola and SCJohnson.

Gaming CEO

Alan Leung has been named CEO of Shanghai Holdfast Online Information Technology Co Ltd, one of the top three online gaming service suppliers in China.

Leung has extensive experience in the online gaming and entertainment industries.

Before working for Holdfast, he used to be the CEO of CY Foundation Group and Optic Communications Co Ltd.

(China Daily 03/20/2008 page15)