Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 April 2014

Chinese firm buys House of Fraser must visit

House of Fraser store House of Fraser says its staff and stores will not see any day-to-day impact UK department store chain House of Fraser has sold a majority stake in its business to Chinese conglomerate Sanpower in a £480m deal.


The acquisition - China's largest foreign retail investment - gives Sanpower an 89% share in the company.


Sanpower said it wanted to expand the "iconic heritage brand" oversees, especially in China.


House of Fraser called the deal an "extremely exciting chapter" in its 165-year history.

'Landmark transaction'

"This acquisition is a landmark transaction for a Chinese listed company," said Yuan Yafei, chairman of Sanpower Group.


"House of Fraser is a strong and iconic heritage brand in the UK and abroad, with exceptional fashion credentials.


"We have always been looking to invest in strong brands like House of Fraser, and take them to the next level of growth."


House of Fraser said it did not expect to see any day-to-day changes for the 7,300 staff and 12,000 concession employees working at its 60 shops.


The department store chain's executive chairman, Don McCarthy, who will step down once the deal is complete, said the deal would give House of Fraser a "strong platform" to develop oversees.

'Long future'

"Our announcement...opens an extremely exciting chapter in the story of House of Fraser," he added.


"I am extremely confident that the Group's business model...will accelerate and develop long into the future."


The acquisition, made via Sanpower's Nanjing Cenbest subsidiary, comes just a week after Sports Direct bought an 11% stake in House of Fraser.


It was seen by many as an attempt by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley to derail the Chinese deal.


But House of Fraser said on Saturday that should the transfer of those shares go through, the Newcastle United owner would not have the right to a position on the company's board.


The Sanpower deal also brings to an end House of Fraser's plans to list on the London Stock Exchange.


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Saturday, 29 March 2014

Chinese ships search new plane zone/must visit

 29 March 2014 Last updated at 12:46 Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on the latest debris sightings

Chinese ships are scouring a new search area of the Indian Ocean in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.


The two vessels are trying to find and retrieve a number of items spotted by planes on Friday.


Chinese aircraft also flew on Saturday over the area, north-east of the previous zone, and have spotted more objects, Xinhua state news agency said.


Beijing-bound flight MH370 disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March with 239 people on board.


Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01, and a navy vessel, Jinggangshan, which carries two helicopters, reached the new search area in the past few hours.

The BBC's Jon Donnison spent the day with Australian air crews looking for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,


Xinhua said the Jinggangshan was expected to focus on searching for debris, oil slicks and life jackets.


Eight aircraft are also taking part in the operation, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) Amsa said in its latest statement.


Later on Saturday one of them, a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft, spotted three orange, white and red objects floating in the ocean. Some were very small, and officials have cautioned that they may be sea junk.

Continue reading the main story

Did previous photos show plane debris?

Satellite images so far could show anything from lost shipping containers or drifting garbage to fragments of Flight MH370Among ocean experts, opinion differs over how much non-plane debris is in the areaSouthern Indian Ocean is one of world's least researched areasIn absence of better data, retrieving floating debris can help narrow search for "black box" recordersBut shortage of live satellite data, turbulence and passage of time since flight's disappearance hamper search for debrisOn Friday five search planes spotted multiple objects of various colours in the same area - about 1,100km (700 miles) north-east of the previous search zone.


Investigators will not know whether the objects are connected to the missing plane until they have been recovered by ships.


Bad weather has hampered the search efforts in recent days.


Saturday's conditions are expected to be favourable initially but to deteriorate later in the day.


Meanwhile Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says he has reassured the families of the missing passengers that the search for any survivors will continue.


Some relatives of the flight's 153 Chinese passengers have refused to accept the Malaysian account of events and have accused officials of withholding information.

Acting Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein: "If there is any lead or information that involves survivors, that has been our priority"


"No matter how remote the search, I am always hoping against hope that we will find survivors," Mr Hishammuddin told the latest news conference following a meeting with the families on Saturday.

Burning more fuel

The Australian and Malaysian governments said on Friday the search area had been changed following further analysis of radar data that showed the plane had been travelling faster, thus burning more fuel.


This would reduce the possible distance the aircraft travelled south into the Indian Ocean, officials said.


Search efforts had until Friday morning focused on an area some 2,500km (1,550 miles) to the south-west of the Australian city of Perth.

map showing search areas and debris spotted Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 starts search in new area The Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 has started searching the new area Relative of a Chinese passenger of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, smokes next to a message board dedicated to passengers, in Beijing, 29 March. Relatives of Chinese passengers have been anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones

Malaysian officials have concluded that, based on satellite data, the missing plane flew into the sea somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean. So far no trace of it has been found.

Continue reading the main story 8 March - Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight carrying 239 people disappearsPlane's transponder, which gives out location data, was switched off as it left Malaysian airspaceSatellite 'pings' indicate plane was still flying seven hours after satellite contact was lost24 March - Based on new calculations, Malaysian PM says "beyond reasonable doubt" that plane crashed in southern Indian Ocean with no survivorsVarious theories about what went wrong have been suggested - including the captain hijacking his own plane.


The speculation was fuelled by reports that files had been deleted on the pilot's home flight simulator.


However Mr Hishimmuddin said investigators who had looked at the equipment had turned up no new information.


"There is nothing sinister from the simulators but of course that will have to be confirmed by the chief of police,'' he said.


Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 vanished less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.


The airliner diverted off course and lost contact with air traffic controllers between Malaysian and Vietnamese air-traffic control areas.


The vast expanse of ocean has turned the search into a major challenge.


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