Content about China

Gatwick Airport has signed a deal with Air China, which is seeking to expand its London network.

China’s national flag carrier will operate a non-stop service from Gatwick to Beijing International Airport four times a week. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft will depart Gatwick at 1300 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, arriving at Beijing airport at 0620 local time the following day. Return journeys will leave at 0135 and touch down at Gatwick at approximately 0550 the same day. Monday’s flight will start operating from the beginning of June.

China espouses the concept of balance and in this it has a natural partner in Nestlé, a company that is finding its established philosophy of shared value and localisation appreciated in the world’s fastest changing society.

Rolls-Royce has won a £24 million order to design and equip four offshore service vessels to be built by COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard in China.

The Rolls-Royce UT 771 CDL vessels will feature a fully integrated equipment system including highly efficient diesel electric propulsion, deck machinery, bulk handling equipment and automation and control systems.

The vessels will be equipped for transporting pipes, equipment and cargo to and from pipe-laying barges, oil drilling and production platforms, as well as for fire fighting.

Global demand for gold in 2011 rose to 4,067.1 tonnes, worth an estimated $205.5 billion—the first time global demand has exceeded $200 billion and the highest tonnage level since 1997, according to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends.

The main driver for the increase was annual demand in the investment sector, which hit 1,640.7 tonnes—up five per cent on the previous record set in 2010 and with a value of $82.9 billion.

American “retail treat” brand Dairy Queen opened its 500th franchise in China this week, and plans another hundred before the end of this year.

The 500th DQ restaurant is located in the Hu Dong finance district in Shanghai, and is operated by Shanghai Shida Catering Management Company, which already has more than 350 Dairy Queen sites throughout southern and eastern China.

The Mayans predicted that 2012 would bring the end of days. Let’s hope it doesn’t, but it’s sure to be a turbulent year, says Peter Leeds.

Whether the Mayans were right or not remains to be seen, but I am predicting a turbulent year in which major events will play out on the world stage that may forever alter our history. Based on analysis which I conduct for my financial newsletter, the following 12 points are what I'm expecting to see in 2012.

China Investment Corporation (CIC) has acquired an 8.68 per cent stake in Thames Water, the UK water and sewerage company.

The purchase is the Chinese sovereign wealth fund’s first in the UK, and comes after George Osborne's visit to China this week, where he urged China to invest in UK infrastructure projects.

The price CIC paid for the stake has not been disclosed.

CIC was set up in 2007 to make strategic investments using China’s £2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz reached record figures in 2011, Germany’s Daimler has announced.

Record sales in China and what the company termed “outstanding” development in the US contributed towards the figures reaching an all-time high. The brand also remains the strongest premium marque in Germany, the car maker said.

A total of 1,362,908 vehicles of the brands Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach were delivered to customers—around 77,000 units more than the previous record set in 2007 (1,285,900 units).

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner arrived yesterday in Beijing, marking its debut in mainland China.

The arrival of the all-new jet marks the start of a six-month worldwide ‘Dream Tour’.

The aircraft will be in China, one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation and travel markets, until December 11, with stops in Beijing, Guangzhou and Haikou.

The tour will give Chinese customers, partners, government officials and media the opportunity to experience the new jet first-hand, Boeing said.

Otto Energy has been producing oil from its assets in the Philippines for the last three years, and has fantastic prospects going forward: it is all about balance, say its senior executives.

Though multinational corporations are having success in emerging markets, it’s not necessarily because their global brands and products are besting local competition, according to new research from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Rather, those corporations are entering and succeeding in emerging markets by launching adapted products and acquiring local brands.

Timezone has a time honoured format but is ahead of the games industry in every important respect, offering value for each dollar the customer spends.