Monday____July 24

Bricks-and-mortar retail sector makes comeback

China has seen a strong consumption trend in the first half of this year, with the bricks-and-mortar retail sector making a comeback, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Total retail sales reached $2.54 trillion between January and June, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, making consumption the major driver of China's economy, accounting for 63.4 percent of economic growth, said Gao Feng, the ministry's spokesman.

According to the ministry, the retail sector has regained its momentum, with sales at major specialty and department stores increasing by 5.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively over the past six months.

Franchise outlets and convenience stores have shown stronger performance than others with 8.6 percent and 7.2 percent growth in sales respectively. (Photo 1)

Taxi-hailing giant Grab gets $2b investment

Grab, the leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform in Southeast Asia, announced that China's Didi Chuxing and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp will invest up to $2 billion to lead Grab's current financing round.

Grab anticipates that it will raise an additional $500 million, bringing the total to $2.5 billion in this round from existing and new investors.

According to Grab, DiDi and SoftBank will continue to support Grab's vision of helping consumers in Southeast Asia access safe transportation and financial products while creating employment opportunities.

Grab said it is by far the most dominant on-demand transportation platform in the region with a market share of 95 percent in third-party taxi-hailing and 71 percent in private vehicle hailing.

Tuesday____July 25

Most births this year were parents' second child

More than half of the births in China during the first five months of the year involved a second child - or even additional ones - more than a year after the second-child policy was introduced in 2016, according to China's health authority.

The number of births at Chinese hospitals between January and May was 7.4 million, an increase of 7.8 percent over the same period last year, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Of all births in the first five months, 57.7 percent were at least the second child of their parents, an increase of 8.5 percentage points over the same period last year, he said.

The total number of births at hospitals in China last year was about 18.5 million, the highest since 2000, according to the commission.

Property firms seek financing from overseas

Chinese real estate firms have turned to the overseas market to seek financing as tougher regulations have made it more difficult for them to raise funds at home.

At least five property companies have announced moves to issue notes or bonds worth more than $2 billion in total in the overseas market since the beginning of July, according to latest statistics from the Centaline Property Research Center.

The moves came as domestic financing by real estate developers shrank, following tightened market regulation aimed at curbing asset bubbles and preventing financial risks.

Property firms raised $26.1 billion through bond and note issuance in the first half of this year, a 74 percent plunge year-on-year, according to Centaline Property.

"Authorities have strengthened control over various sources of funding for developers," said Le Jiadong, analyst at GF Securities. "Major financing channels have been narrowed across the board." (Photo 2)

Wednesday____July 26

Fast monorail prototype unveiled

A prototype of a mounted monorail train with a maximum operating speed of 43 miles per hour, the fastest of its kind in China, has been unveiled.

Driven by a high-efficiency magnet motor, the experimental train runs along an overhead monorail.

It has been developed by Chinese car rail manufacturer CRRC Qingdao Sifang.

Liu Yuwen, deputy head of the company's technology center, said the train can comprise three or five cars, with a passenger capacity of 300 to 510 people.

The company is undertaking China's first overhead monorail project in Hancheng, Shaanxi province. The construction of the line, which is designed to stretch 34 miles, began in November. (Photo 3)

Edible lipstick will be made from rare earths

Lipsticks you would love to taste will be produced by a company in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Zhongke Century Technology Co Ltd plans to start manufacturing cosmetic products made from nontoxic colorant from rare earth materials by the end of this year.

The research and development work for the product has been done at the Baotou Rare Earth R D Center, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"This is the world's first lipstick that is dyed by a coloring agent made from rare earths, which contain no toxic elements," said Wang Ming at the center.

Colorants are produced from rare earths and sulfides under mild conditions, without using hydrogen sulfides and other toxic substances.

Thursday____July 27

TCM center will be built in Dubai

A traditional Chinese medicine center will be built in Dubai that will target Chinese and local residents in the Middle East.

The program was jointly launched by the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, the Xie He Medical Center, which is the only comprehensive Chinese hospital in Dubai, and Shenzhen-based Neptunus Group.

The plan is that in three to five years, 30 to 50 clinics will be built around the center, according to a statement issued by the three.

About 300,000 Chinese people live in Dubai. Facing increasing demand for TCM, the Xie He Medical Center needs technical and financial support from China, said Chen Xinyu, head of the First Hospital, which will provide skilled staff and technical support for the program.

"With the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, TCM has more market potential in Dubai than in the US and European countries," said Zhang Yidan, an analyst specializing in the medical industry at Beijing-based research company Analysys.

JD.com, Walmart to expand strategic links

E-commerce retailer JD.com and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, one of the world's biggest retailers by revenue, said that they will expand a strategic partnership to further integrate their platforms, supply chains and customer resources in China.

The two companies, which established their strategic alliance a year ago, said they want to combine the strengths of Walmart and JD to generate new e-commerce and retail initiatives. The statement said the cooperation is helping boost the popularity of US-made products in China and allows shoppers to directly buy goods from Walmart stores on the JD.com platform.

Walmart launched five stores on JD's platforms, including Walmart's flagship store, Walmart global shop on JD Worldwide, Sam's Club flagship store, Sam's Club flagship store on JD Worldwide, and ASDA flagship store on JD Worldwide.

Friday____July 28

Medical researchers develop drug to kill Zika virus

Chinese medical experts have developed Z2, an antiviral peptide that can kill the Zika virus, according to an article in the journal Nature Communications.

There is no vaccine or drug that can effectively prevent infection. But the Z2 peptide can combine with surface proteins of the virus to make it inactive.

The new drug has been shown to kill the Zika virus in rats and can prevent pregnant rats from passing on the virus. Experts said that the agent could become a new drug for preventing the virus, as it is also safe for high risk groups, including the pregnant.

Z2 was developed by a research team at the School of Basic Medical Sciences at Fudan University, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center as well as the Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology under the Academy of Military Medical Sciences.

Mobike starts bike sharing in Italy

Mobike Technology Co Ltd, a major Chinese bike-sharing company, has expanded into Italy to compete with its rival, Ofo Inc, outside of China.

The move marks the company's first major push into the Europe after launching services in the UK, Japan and Singapore.

Mobike said it will first launch several hundred bikes in high-demand areas as a trial operation in the Tuscan capital of Florence. Residents can experience the bike with a promotional rate of 0.3 euro per 30 minutes.

The Beijing-based company also plans to launch its service in Milan, the largest metropolitan area of Italy. About 4,000 bikes will be launched in August in each of the two cities.