DEAL

Airbus sets up JV in Tianjin

The joint venture contract for the Airbus A320 final assembly line in Tianjin was signed in Beijing by Airbus and a consortium of Chinese companies in the Great Hall of the People. Visiting German minister of economics and technology Michael Glos and Airbus chief operating officer Fabrice Brégier attended the signature ceremony. Airbus will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture and the Chinese consortium will hold the remaining 49 percent. The Chinese consortium comprises Tianjin Free Trade Zone, which holds a 60 percent interest, and China Aviation Industry Corporation I and China Aviation Industry Corporation II, which each hold 20 percent. During the signing, 86 of the 150 A320 family aircraft ordered under an agreement signed between China Aviation Suppliers Import and Export Group Corporation (CASGC) and Airbus last October were allocated to six Chinese customers: Shenzhen Airlines (28 aircraft); Sichuan Airlines (18); CASGC (15); Hainan Airlines (13); with Spring Airline and Juneyao Airlines (six each). Nearly half of the 150 aircraft will be assembled and delivered in Tianjin.

LAUNCHES

ABN AMRO opens first local bank

ABN AMRO held an inauguration ceremony in Shanghai to establish its first locally incorporated entity, ABN AMRO (China) Co. The local company, based in Shanghai, will facilitate the bank's ambitious growth and expansion plans into RMB-denominated banking services in China. To support this growth, ABN AMRO has more than tripled its registered share capital to RMB4 billion (€380 million) from RMB1.3 billion (€125 million). The bank's local incorporation "marks a new milestone in the bank's 104-year history in China, said managing board member Piero Overmars at the ceremony. "The new entity provides us with a broader scope for development and will be a powerful impetus to further accelerate our growth in China."

New Heidelberg Cement plant

HeidelbergCement has commissioned the new Jingyang cement plant in the Chinese province of Shaanxi. The plant is situated near the provincial capital Xian, the primary market of the province, which has 36 million residents. Jingyang was established with a total investment of approximately €60 million in a greenfield development. It has a cement capacity of 2.3 million tonnes. Large, high-quality raw material deposits ensure long-term operation and further expansion possibilities for the plant, which currently has 300 employees. Jingyang's special feature is the planned construction of a plant generating its own power. The waste heat from the kiln will be used to generate electricity. It is estimated that the low-temperature power plant will cover more than a third of the electricity requirements. The system will be first of its kind in a cement plant in Shaanxi and the second in the HeidelbergCement Group.

APPOINTMENTS

Glaxo appoints head for new R&D centre

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) appointed Zang Jingwu to head a new research and development centre in Shanghai, China. His appointment, as senior vice president, took effect from June. GSK R&D China will focus on research on neurodegeneration with the objective of creating new medicines for such severe disorders as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. The centre will eventually direct the global discovery and development activities within its therapeutic area, from drug-target identification to late-stage clinical studies, while collaborating with research institutions elsewhere in China and other countries. Dr Zang, a neurologist and researcher in immunological and neurodegenerative disorders, will lead the scientific activities of the centre and the hiring of staff, which will begin immediately. It is anticipated that over the next decade GSK R&D China will grow to become one of the larger R&D facilities within GSK. Dr Zang will report directly to Moncef Slaoui, chairman of GSK R&D.