Business Digest, December 20, 2012
The mainland has started work on 22 major investment projects in the western provinces this year worth 577.8 billion yuan (HK$718.4 billion) to boost economic development in the country's vast hinterland, the National Development and Reform Commission said. The government has made it a national strategy to narrow the region's wealth gap with the prosperous coastal provinces. Reuters
Chongqing Iron & Steel says the Chongqing government is granting it 500 million yuan in compensation for the forced relocation of its plant to help protect the city's environment. The firm's parent, Chongqing Iron & Steel (Group), has undertaken to help it obtain at least 1.5 billion yuan from the government to offset the operating losses incurred during the relocation. Eric Ng
Galaxy Entertainment, the Macau casino operator, plans to invest between HK$40 billion and HK$50 billion in the newest phase of a resort on Macau's Cotai strip, spokeswoman Yoko Ku said. The Phase 3 project, construction of which will begin near the end of next year, with a completion target date in 2016, will cover about 10 million square feet and will more than double the size of its existing resort. Bloomberg
Rating agency Standard & Poor's raised Greece's sovereign credit rating to B-minus with a stable outlook from selective default. "The upgrade reflects our view of the strong determination of European Economic and Monetary Union member states to preserve Greek membership in the euro zone," it said. Reuters
