Ford China sales shoot up 35%
FORD said over the weekend that its China auto sales in November rose by 35 percent compared with the sales recorded last year, led by sales in the midsized-car segment, including the Fiesta and Focus models. The company sold 56,829 vehicles in November.
For the first 11 months of the year, Ford sold 525,100 units in China, a year-on-year increase of 39percent. The Ford Focus sustained popularity in the competitive midsized-car segment, with 17,139 units sold in November, an increase of 34 percent from a year ago. Sales of the Ford Fiesta went up 60 percent against the sales during the same 11-month period in 2009.
Huawei sets up security center in Britain
CHINA S top telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies said yesterday that it had established a security center in Britain to allow its products and software to be examined and tested.
Huawei, which has seen its plans for global expansion crimped by national security concerns by foreign governments, hopes that its Cyber Security Evaluation Center, which opened last month in Britain s Banbury, will allay those fears.
The security center will test hardware and software to ensure its ability to withstand cyber security threats. Shenzhen-based Huawei and cross-town rival ZTE Corp. faced turbulent business headwinds earlier this year when India blocked imports of Chinese telecommunications equipment, citing national security concerns. The ban was lifted after the companies complied with a new set of rules. Both companies were also kept out of a large Sprint Nextel Corp. contract because of U.S. national security concerns.
Coal prices fall for first time in 3 months
POWER-STATION coal prices at Qinhuangdao port, a Chinese benchmark, fell for the first time in three months after stockpiles of the fuel surged and the government called for stability in the cost of commodities.
Coal with an energy value of 5,500 kilocalories per kilogram slipped 0.6 percent from a week earlier to between 795 yuan (US$120) and 810 yuan a ton yesterday, according to data from the China Coal Transport and Distribution Association. That s the first decline since Sept. 8.
