Shares of Indian gold lenders up on central bank rule change
Shares of India’s gold-based finance companies soared on Thursday after the central bank eased rules on amounts they could loan in return for gold deposits. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday allowed non-banking finance companies to lend up to 75 percent of the value of gold jewellery deposited with them, increased from 60 percent. “It has been decided to raise the loan-to-value ratio to up to 75 percent for loans against the collateral of gold jewellery from the present limit of 60 percent with immediate effect,” the RBI statement said on its website. India, which rivals China as the world’s biggest gold consumer, has been attempting to reduce gold demand to narrow its current account deficit, including by hiking bullion import duties.
China’s LightInTheBox acquires Ador, the Seattle-based social commerce site formerly known as Lockerz.
LightInTheBoxBox (NYSE:LITB), the China-based e-commerce and sourcing company, has acquired Ador, the Seattle-based social e-commerce startup, for an undisclosed sum. Both parties have confirmed the acquisition …
Read More →Toymakers target ‘kidults’ at high-tech Hong Kong fair
Never mind girls and boys — adults who refuse to grow up are being increasingly targeted by a toy industry promoting adolescence as a lifestyle choice, say industry watchers. Among the “Smart-Tech” toys at this week’s Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair — one of the largest of its kind in the world — were smartphone-operated flying machines equipped with cameras and rotor blades that clearly had so-called “kidults” in mind — particularly male ones. “‘Kidults’ are not defined by age, they are defined by attitude,” said Kenes Cheung, business development manager for Hong Kong-based manufacturer E-Supply International, which produces Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled vehicles boasting infra-red and night vision for the likes of Toys “R” Us. “We’re seeing a lot more products for the older player who has a smartphone,” said Christopher Byrne, content director of timetoplaymag.com, a toy industry website.
TVB stops transmitting stations leased to China Mobile
The company announced that they will stop leasing their transmitting stations to China Mobile, which was acquired by HKTV late last year
Read More →China demolishes landmark inn once hailed as symbol of change
When they introduced market reforms that would shake the world, China’s rulers celebrated a tiny privately owned Beijing hotel that survived decades of state planning as an example to the nation. The hotel reportedly endured as Beijing’s only private business even during the worst excesses of Mao Zedong’s rule, when capitalists were often vilified, but was torn down in late December to make way for a government-backed modernisation project. “Until we were demolished, the government always protected us,” said Qiao Shuzhi, 63, the son of the inn’s founder, who supported China’s Communist Party when it was still an underground movement. His father Qiao Tianmin was granted a “Special Business Operation Licence” in 1953 by Beijing’s chief of police, seemingly as a reward for his service to the communists as China fought against Japan.
China has world’s most outbound tourists
Nearly 100 million Chinese tourists visited foreign countries last year, and they are likely to extend their lead as the world’s biggest-spending travellers, state media reported Thursday. A total of 97 million Chinese tourists left the country in 2013, up 14 million from the previous year, the state-run China Daily reported, citing official data from China’s National Tourism Administration. China’s economy has boomed over the past decade, expanding the ranks of its middle-class who are hungry for foreign travel after the country’s decades of isolation in the last century. European Union and Asian countries have moved to ease visa application procedures for Chinese tourists in recent years, keen to cash in on their big-spending habits.
Qiu Li returns Home for third time
The China-born Singapore international was not retained by Balestier Khalsa at the end of the 2013 season and will play for Lee Lim Saeng again in the new campaign
Read More →Ferrer claws through to Auckland semis
Top seed David Ferrer snuffed out a determined challenge from fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Auckland Open. American John Isner, seeded third, also advanced into the final four, along with Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun and Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. World number three Ferrer, who is seeking a record fifth title in the warm-up event for this month’s Australian Open, looked to be cruising to victory as he took the first set 6-3, then broke Garcia-Lopez in the first game of the second. I’m very tired now,” said the 31-year-old, who will meet Lu in the semis after the Taiwanese world number 62 defeated American Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4.
China to work with Ghana on illegal mining: FM
China’s foreign minister on Wednesday said Beijing was tackling illegal gold mining in Ghana, after hundreds of his compatriots were arrested and sent home for extracting the mineral without permission. Wang Yi, on a four-nation tour of Africa, told reporters after meeting his Ghanaian counterpart Hannah Tetteh in Accra that China took the issue “very seriously”. “The Chinese government will encourage reputable and equitable finance companies to come to Ghana to be involved in the resource sector and we hope the government of Ghana will provide the support and facilitation to these companies,” he added. Illegal mining in Ghana, particularly of gold, has become a major issue and also raised concerns about water pollution and environmental damage.
Hong Kong reports first H7N9 case of the year
Hong Kong health authorities on Wednesday confirmed the territory’s third human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, the city’s first of 2014. A 65-year-old man has been infected with the virus and is in a critical condition, Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection controller Leung Ting-hung told reporters at a press conference late Wednesday. Leung also said that the patient may have “passed through” the entrance of a government building complex containing a wet market in Hong Kong. An 80-year-old man died on Boxing Day after he was infected with H7N9, Hong Kong’s first death from the virus.
