Fatburger Waddles in to China
Santa Monica-based burger chain operator Fog Cutter Capital Group is
set to open its first Fatburger restaurant in China, at the new
Venetian Macao resort – before heading for Hong Kong and the mainland.
Two Fatburger restaurants are set to open in Hong Kong in early 2008,
followed by Beijing in April 2008. The company plans to have 25 burger
joints in China by the end of 2010, all company-owned, including
multiple sites in Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzen, Beijing and Shanghai.
London vs Beijing for 2018 World Cup?
Having promulgated the scrapping of the continental rotation policy for
the location of the World Cup, which is held every four years, FIFA
president Sepp Blatter has opened the door for London to compete again
to host football’s premier tournament, following its failure to land
the 2006 finals. This could mean a head-to-head pitch with Beijing, as
the hosts of the next two Olympics Games compete to host the world’s
largest single sport event. China has long been touted as a potential
host of the 2018 World Cup, which, under FIFA’s rotation system would
have been earmarked for Asia. But now England may also join the bidding.
Shenhua Share Debut Impresses Everyone But Chairman
Shares in China Shenhua Energy jumped 87 per cent on the first day of
trading this week, following its successful Shanghai IPO, raising
questions about whether the list price was considerably undervalued.
The company’s chairman, Chen Biting, was not impressed, however. “It
was within expectations,” he said, “But I am a bit disappointed.”
Still, he can console himself with China’s largest initial public
offering that raised RMB66.58 bn in new capital. So far this year, IPOs
on China’s two exchanges, Shanghai and Shenzhen, have raised
RMB328.4bn. The figure for the full 2006 year was RMB273 bn. The
Shanghai exchange in particular is rising at breakneck speed, and is
trading at a price-earnings ratio of around 66 times.
Social Security On The Rise
China allocated 11.5 per cent of its annual fiscal expenditure to the
social security system and other social expenses last year, according
to state media. This reportedly represents an increase of 100 per cent
compared from 1998. Some RMB436.2 bn was allocated to social security
spending last year, says the new announcement, carefully timed for
maximum effect in advance of next week’s 17th National Congress of the
Communist Party of China in Beijing.
Last update : Saturday, 13 October 2007
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