Briefs

China’s biggest server-maker Inspur Group Co Ltd aims to increase the contribution of its overseas revenue stream to 40 per cent of its total sales by 2020, as it scrambles to tap into opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.
Sun Pishu, chairman and CEO of Inspur, said the company would step up efforts to build cloud computing centres overseas to help promote regional connectivity in the Eurasian continent. It currently generates 20 per cent of its revenue from abroad.
“IT facilities have become the same important infrastructure as water, electricity and transportation,” Sun said.
“The Belt and Road Initiative is not only about connecting ports, railways and highways, but also to free up the flow of information and data and to enhance digital links among the economies,” Sun added.
The Shandong-based company’s IT products are available in 108 countries and regions. It has built more than 30 cloud computing centres in China and helps more than 110 local government organisations to boost their governance via cloud products.
To date, the Chinese IT conglomerate has held more than 500 overseas training programmes on big data, cloud computing and tax informatisation systems, which it said helped countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa and Vietnam train more than 10,000 technicians and officials.
Xiang Ligang, a telecom expert and CEO of telecom industry website cctime.com, said as Chinese heavyweights narrow the technology gap with Western counterparts, more companies will expand their overseas footprint in the future. – China Daily

REORGANISATION, MERGERS GATHER PACE IN COAL SECTOR

Mergers and reorganisation of China’s central coal enterprises are speeding up, amid the government’s effort to promote industry concentration and deepen supply-side structural reform.
China Poly Group Corp announced on Monday that it will transfer its coal business-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd-to China National Coal Group Corp, also known as Chinacoal, which is the second time that Chinacoal has consolidated coal assets.
Owning coal mines in Shanxi province and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Poly Energy currently has 11 coal mines and controls nearly 2.6 billion metric tons of coal resources.
Last year, the State Development and Investment Corp transferred its 30-per-cent share of Xinji Energy Co Ltd to Chinacoal, which made Chinacoal the biggest shareholder of Xinji Energy, which is engaged in the exploration, washing, processing and distribution of coal.
The Chinese government is trying to create two mega coal giants in the coal industry-Chinacoal and Shenhua Group Corp, whose annual production and sales volume are respectively more than 400 million tons, Securities Times reported on Thursday.
Shenhua has already reached the goal, while Chinacoal’s output is expected to be close to 200 million tons, after receiving Poly Energy’s assets, the report said. – China Daily

VIETJET TO LAUNCH NEW HANOI-YANGON ROUTE

Vietjet has announced its new international route from Hanoi to Yangon (Myanmar) with tickets priced from only VND205,000 ($9).
The new route takes off on August 31, looking to meet increasing travel demand of individuals, tourists and businessmen between Vietnam’s capital city and Burmese tourism hub.
The capital city is the second destination to be connected with Yangon following Ho Chi Minh City-Yangon service. With similar cultures, Vietnam and Myanmar are attracting investment for tourism and economic development. The new route is expected to meet the travel demand of tourists and businessmen with its competivive fares.