Launch



DHL to launch Qingdao-Hangzhou-Hong Kong cargo flights

German logistics company DHL announced that it would launch cargo flights between Qingdao, Shandong province, and Hong Kong via Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, starting from February 2006. Express commodities leaving the Qingdao Liuting International Airport totaled 40,000 items monthly and the volume imported via the airport reached approximately 8,000 items, according to customs figures.

ABB establishes traction transformer JV in northern China

Swedish-Swiss power and automation technology group ABB announced the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture with Datong Electronic Locomotive Co Ltd (DELC) based in Datong, northern China's Shanxi province. ABB and its partner DELC will invest a total of US$15 million in the new venture, Datong ABB Traction Transformer Co Ltd, which will engage in the production, sales and service of traction transformers for rolling stock manufacturers in China. "The new joint venture is a key milestone for the ABB global leading presence in the traction transformers business. It contributes significantly to the growth of ABB in the railway business," said Jean-Luc Favre, Managing Director of ABB's Product Line Traction Transformers. The new facility, ABB's 25th subsidiary in China, is expected to start production in August 2006.Opening

Shanghai Volkswagen opens factory outlet

Shanghai Volkswagen, a joint venture between Germany's Volkswagen AG and Shanghai Automobile Industrial Corp (SAIC), opened a factory outlet in Shanghai to reduce its stockpile, Shanghai Daily reported. The new outlet is located in Anting International. Auto City, offering preferential prices on vehicles that have remained unsold for six months. The new outlet also targets buyers with special color preferences. According to the newspaper, the company expects to sell 600 to 1,000 of these units in 2006.Others

Philips boosts TCL stake

Philips Electronics will boost its stake in TCL by about US$25 million, raising its ownership from 2.46 percent to 7.46 percent, The Wall Street Journal reported. The announcement comes as the Shenzhen-listed television and mobile-phone maker transforms its nontradable shares into tradable form. Philips will purchase 129.3 million currently nontradable shares from TCL's largest shareholder, state-owned firm Huizhou Municipal Investment Holding, at US$0.20 a share. The share-overhaul program would raise the actual per share price to US$0.23.

Standard Chartered approved as market maker for China interbank yuan trade

Standard Chartered announced that it received approval from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) for its Shanghai branch to act as interbank foreign exchange market maker. "We are very honored Standard Chartered Bank has been selected as one of the interbank RMB Market Makers. We believe our participation will reinforce our position as a leader in Asia's largest emerging market and enable us to provide better service to our clients," said Katherine Tsang, CEO of Standard Chartered China. HSBC and Citibank also issued statements that they had been approved as market makers.

Fortis tightens grip on Haitong Securities

Fortis Investments, part of the Belgo-Dutch Fortis banking group, lifted its stake in Hai-tong Securities from 33 percent to the legal maximum of 49 percent, Financial Times re-ported. It follows Invesco as only the second foreign partner to lift its stake in a strongly performing fund management joint venture following a loosening of rules in December 2004. Industry experts said Fortis had scored a victory by persuading its partner to stick to the original option agreement. The deal would be likely to put further pressure on for-eign rivals, which have been trying to lift their stakes amid disagreement with local partners over valuations. Local partners claim the orig-inal option agreements no longer reflect the success of certain businesses.

Member focus: BASF-YPC factory tour in Nanjing

BASF-YPC Co Ltd is a 50-50 joint venture between BASF and Sinopec, based in Nanjing. Dr Bernd Blumenberg, President of BASF-YPC Company, answers our questions.

BASF-YPC Co Ltd in Nanjing is modeled on the "Verbund" concept. Can you tell us more about this?

Verbund - a German word meaning integrated network - is part of BASF's corporate philosophy. BASF's Verbund traces its roots to the integrated system of production at the company's original site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where networked production structures were developed as long ago as the end of the 19th century. Today, Verbund is no longer limited to pipes and product flows. Through Verbund, BASF-YPC pools its strengths to achieve optimum solutions for customers, partners, society and the environment. This integration of production, energy and waste flows, logistics and infrastructure and, above all, thinking in networked structures are trademarks of BASF.In BASF's Production Verbund, value-adding chains are created by linking production plants: The products and by-products from one plant are used as raw materials in another one. Plants both use and provide materials simultaneously. BASF's Production Verbund makes it possible to use a few raw materials to manufacture several dozen basic materials, and in turn hundreds of intermediates that are used as the basis for the 8,000 different commercial products in BASF's portfolio. Because the individual plants are linked, raw materials and other substances reach their destination quickly and reliably. BASF's unique Verbund strategy allows for efficient use of energy and resources, as well as the reduction of emissions and waste.There is a strong partnership between BASF and Sinopec in the case of the project in Nanjing. The former brings in technology, management know-how and an international network, while Sinopec contributes through local knowledge, guaranteed petrochemicals, raw materials supply and technical expertise.

What are the risks that can occur in a big chemical plant like BASF-YPC ?

Safe production is the priority for all BASF production facilities. To achieve this goal, BASF-YPC Co Ltd. adheres to "Sustainable Development" and pays high attention to production safety and environmental protection. o The construction of Integrated Petrochemical Site (IPS) strictly follows the Chinese laws, regulations and standards on environmental protection while complying with the environmental protection standard of the World Bank.o The design of each plant goes through the HSE audit and review organized by China authorities and relevant BASF organizations to ensure the safety of the plants. Each plant has to pass the pre-startup safety review according to HSE documentation system. o Emergency response system is well established. The employees have solid knowledge about hazards, emergency response procedure and skills to handle emergency.

The German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) published the study in November 2005, saying that especially in the field of safety standards, the company plays an exemplary role in China. o However, transportation of chemical goods is currently our biggest concern. Comparatively speaking, safety features of the vehicles and ships, transportation management, transportation safety awareness, and even driving behavior in China lag behind those in Europe.

What is the key to the success of such an investment: A total of US$2.9 billion, on a 220-hectare site, producing 1.7 million metric tons of high-quality chemicals and polymers per year?

Employees are the key to success. Without the hard work of our employees, we would not have achieved commercial start-up by mid 2005 as scheduled. As a leader of this capable team, I will strive to bring out the best from them by forming the best team in the industry - one of the strategic pillars of BASF 2015.