New auto technologies attract many visitors during the fourth Northeast Asia Investment and
Trade Expo in Changchun, capital of northeast China?s Jilin Province, from September 2 to 6

Strategic Stake in Drax

China's central bank bought a 0.7-percent stake in Yorkshire's Drax Group, which operates Britain's largest coal-fired power station, according to a report in the British newspaper Daily Telegraph on September 2. A Drax spokesman confirmed the deal and welcomed all long-term shareholders.

The People's Bank of China acquired the stake after a year of constant effort, and did so quietly because the holding fell below the 3-percent disclosure threshold of the London Stock Exchange. The stake is estimated to be worth about $32.22 million.

Buying the stake was a low-key move of the central bank, different from the high-profile stakes the China Investment Corp. had in investment bank Morgan Stanley Group Inc. and private equity firm The Blackstone Group L.P.

New Overseas Plant

Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.'s eighth overseas factory in Malaysia has started its assembly operations and reached mass production capacity, Yin Tongyao, the company's president, said at a news conference when the plant's first CKD MPV Eastar automobile was completed on September 2.

The plant is a joint venture between Chery and Malaysia's Alado Corp. All the parts for the Eastar car are made in China and assembled in Malaysia. Yin also said the company would introduce more new models in Malaysia soon.

Chery has seven other factories in six foreign countries-Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia and Uruguay.

Steel Giant Unveiled

A steel giant with an annual production capacity of 30 million tons will emerge in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on September 3.

The new group is a joint venture between Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, China's fourth largest steelmaker based in Hubei Province, and the Guangxi State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Wuhan Iron and Steel Group has supplied most of the cash for the new company and owns an 80-percent stake. The Guangxi regional administration of state-owned assets holds a 20-percent stake, in the form of all the net assets of its Liuzhou Iron and Steel Group.