BEIJING — China's five listed insurance companies reported strong month-on-month growth in premium income in March as work resumptions accelerate across the country following basic containment of the novel coronavirus outbreak.The five listed insurers, including China Life Insurance Co. and the People's Insurance Company Group of China (PICC), saw combined premium income expand 92.4 percent on a monthly basis, Securities Daily reported.In breakdown, premium income of China Life surged 131.3 percent in March from the previous month, while that of PICC went up 115.48 percent.
BEIJING -- Profits of China's three top mobile operators totaled around 32.5 billion yuan (about $4.59 billion) in the first quarter of 2020, with rising 5G subscribers.Facing challenges posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak, China Unicom said it has made use of new technologies like big data, artificial intelligence and 5G to support precise epidemic control, smart public administration and the resumption of work and production.China Telecom actively grasped the new informatization demand generated during the epidemic, said the company, with revenue growth generated from smart family applications and cloud services.
World-leading food and beverage giant Nestlé on Tuesday launched NESQINO – a series of healthy drinks made from 100 percent natural ingredients to tap into the health-food market and attract health-conscious consumers.The product has been developed by Nestlé Dairy Research & Development in less than 18 months, emphasizing healthy and balanced ingredients and aiming to differentiate itself from diet meal replacements.Its target consumers are aged 25-35 and interested in healthy lifestyles.
Alibaba Cloud announced last week that it would invest 200 billion yuan ($28 billion) in the research and development of core technologies such as cloud operating system, servers, chips and networks within three years.Alibaba Cloud is the technology and public cloud platform underpinning Alibaba's ecosystem, which ranges from e-commerce and payment to logistics and supply chain management solutions.
China Vanke Co, one of China's largest property developers, reported continuous increase of profit in the first quarter of 2020 and its contracted sales almost doubled in March, showing a steady recovery from the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak.The profit of the Shenzhen-based real estate company in the first three months climbed 11.5 percent to 1.25 billion yuan.Property bellwethers have been the first to the track of recovery since last month. Besides Vanke, sales volume of another leading property player Evergrande also recorded remarkable rise of 38.7 percent over February.
The construction of its steel convention and exposition center was officially kicked off on Monday in Shanghai, China Baowu Steel Group announced.The project calls for restructuring and renovating the site of an old blast furnace in Shanghai's Baoshan district into a modern convention and exposition center. It is scheduled to complete construction and start operation by October, according to Wang Jiming, president of Baoland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Baowu that focus on industrial property development and operation.
Sinopec Southwest China Petroleum Bureau, a subsidy under China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, or Sinopec — the world's largest refiner — has produced more than 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas so far this year.Daily natural gas production has exceeded 20 million cubic meters, a record year-on-year increase of 11 percent that could ensure 40 million households' daily consumption, the company said on Monday.The bureau vows to further explore oil and gas resources. The daily gas production of Weirongshale gas field in southern Sichuan has increased to 1.9 million cubic meters, up from 1.2 million cubic meters at the beginning of this year.Annual production is expected to reach 1 to 1.5 billion cubic meters this year, the bureau said.
Wang Xiang, president of Xiaomi Corp, said the company's experience in the China market shows consumers have a sustained demand for smartphones. Wang said the Chinese smartphone market is recovering faster than the company expected.
Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest personal computer maker, also said that as people stay at home for work and study, demand for PCs, tablets and displays is increasing. The growing demand for mobile games also provides plenty of opportunities.Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo, said the company has a full product lineup and good relations with software providers. This helps it further become a one-stop supplier.
Huawei said that amid the coronavirus epidemic, remote work and learning are gaining traction, which have fueled demand for its personal computers, tablets and other devices. The company's sales volume for these devices has seen five to six times the growth of a year earlier.Huawei also expects its consumer business group, which includes smartphones, tablets, smartwatches and others, to see growth in China this year.
Starbucks on Monday announced a strategic partnership with the leading investment firm Sequoia Capital China to tap into China's growing technological landscape, and to further digitalize its retail experiences and optimize operations.Through the partnership, Starbucks will make strategic co-investments with Sequoia Capital China, and commercial partnerships with next-generation food and retail technology companies to propel Starbucks digital innovation in China.