UPDATE 3-China Eastern, Japan Airlines team up to

tap Chinese tourism boom

Brenda Goh and Jamie Freed
Published 6:53 AM ET Thu, 2 Aug 2018Reuters

* First such deal between Chinese, Japanese carriers

* Pair aim to offer more connecting flights, lower prices

* Japan has been a major beneficiary of Chinese tourism boom

* Agreement comes at a time of diplomatic calm (Adds JAL comments on political

risk, equity investment)

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines Corp Ltd and

Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) on Thursday said they would form a joint venture (JV) to
capitalize on a boom in Chinese tourism, in the first such deal between a Chinese and
Japanese carrier.

The pair, which already have a codesharing agreement, said the venture will allow
them to coordinate flight times, offer more connecting flights, lower ticket prices and
share revenue on routes they both fly such as Tokyo-Shanghai.

They aim to begin operations in the first half of 2019 pending approval from
competition regulators.

"This partnership will generate more passenger traffic between the two countries and
open up commercial opportunities," said JAL Chairman Yoshiharu Ueki.

The tie-up comes at a time of relative calm between two countries whose relationship
has been historically strained. Six years ago, a territorial dispute sparked anti-
Japanese protests across China and a temporary drop in Chinese visitors to Japan.

Chinese tourism to South Korea and Taiwan has similarly fallen in recent years during
times of diplomatic crises.
"We understand we may have political risks in China," said a spokeswoman for JAL.
"We don't have any backup plans. But we believe we share any difficulties between
us - not only political but also others. We think that is joint business."

A joint venture in the airline industry refers to an agreement to coordinate aspects of

business such as scheduling and pricing. The JAL spokeswoman also said there
were no plans for the airlines to make equity investments in each other.

Corrine Png, chief executive of transport research firm Crucial Perspective, said
regulatory approval was likely based on today's diplomatic relations but there was a
risk of delay or cancellation if relations soured during the application process.

CHINESE TOURISM BOOM

China has been experiencing a boom in tourism in tandem with rising household
income. Neighboring Japan has been one of the main beneficiaries, with the Chinese
comprising the largest group of visitors to the country.

Last year, the number of Chinese visitors to Japan jumped 15 percent from a year
earlier, Japanese data showed. Only a third as many Japanese visited China in 2016,
latest data showed.

Will Horton, senior analyst at CAPA Centre for Aviation, said the China Eastern-JAL
joint venture made commercial sense but would not bring as big a financial benefit as
ventures involving long-haul flights where connections were more common.

"Short-haul JVs have limited impact across the network aside from when the two
airlines control a notable amount of capacity on a trunk route (such as Tokyo-
Shanghai). Then they can choke the consumer and then shake the change out,"
Horton said.

JAL is part of the oneworld airline alliance whereas China Eastern is a member of the
rival SkyTeam group. Cross-alliance deals have become increasingly common as
airlines seek financially beneficial bilateral tie-ups. (Reporting by Brenda Goh and
 SHANGHAI Newsroom; Additional Reporting by Jamie Freed in SINGAPORE; Editing
by Christopher Cushing)

Nissan and Renault announce a new joint-venture to

produce electric vehicles in China
Fred Lambert
- Aug. 29th 2017 10:00 am
Yet another major automaker, the Renault-Nissan Alliance, announces an effort
to produce electric vehicles in China following the country’s aggressive goals to
electrify its rapidly growing fleet.
They join a myriad of recent announcements from important automakers,
like GM, VW, Daimler, Toyota, and just last week, Ford.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance’s joint-venture is called eGT New Energy

Automotive Co and it’s in partnership with the Dongfeng Motor Group, a Chinese
automaker.

Renault will hold 25 percent of eGT, Nissan will hold 25 percent and Dongfeng
the remaining 50 percent.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault-Nissan

Alliance, commented on the announcement today:

“The establishment of the new joint venture with Dongfeng confirms our common
commitment to develop competitive electric vehicles for the Chinese market. We
are confident to meet the expectations of the Chinese customers and to
strengthen our global electric vehicle leadership position.”
Dongfeng’s factory in Shiyan, which has a production capacity of 120,000
vehicles per year, will support the new joint-venture, which they expect will start
new EVs under their brand and developed by the new joint-venture in 2019.
Electrek’s Take

As we previously reported, those recent announcements of joint-ventures from

major automakers to produce electric vehicles in China are motivated by the
country’s aggressive ZEV mandate. Automakers need zero-emission vehicles
(ZEVs) to represent 8% of new car sales as soon as 2018 and quickly ramp up to
12% by 2020.
 They want to keep their access to the world’s largest automotive market and
aside from killing the mandate, producing EVs in the country is going to be the
only way to keep it.

Despite their leadership in EVs around the world, the Renault-Nissan Alliance
was among the group of virtually all automakers (except for Tesla) who have
asked China to slow down their electric car mandate through their industry
lobbying group, but the government seems determined to go forward with its
plan.

The current dangerous levels of air pollution often reaching the country’s
megacities are certainly creating a sense of urgency that the auto industry’s
lobbying effort doesn’t seem to be able to beat.

Ford set to create a new joint venture to produce EVs

in China

Darrell Etherington@etherington / Aug 22, 2017

Automaker Ford will team up with local partner Anhui Zotye Automobile to create a new
joint venture in China aimed specifically at producing electric cars. The deal will see Ford
and its new partner sell the vehicle sunder a local brand, rather than with its “Ford” name,

and ultimately its aim is to produce even more electric vehicles for a market where there
is strong incentive to bring EVs to consumers.

This is the third joint venture Ford has set up with local Chinese automakers. It’s standard
practice for foreign car companies to partner with local Chinese vehicle producers, as a
way to avoid having to pay very high import taxes on vehicles made by exclusively
foreign-controlled concerns.

Ford has two JVs set up with other automakers including Changan Automobile
and Jiangling Motors, and normally that’s the upper limit for joint ventures allowed by
Chinese industry regulators. Recently, however, Beijing added an allotment for a third
joint deal, provided its focus is specifically electric vehicle manufacture.

China is doing a lot to boost electric car adoption in the country, including adjusting the
rules for automakers in terms of how much of their total output must be EVs. Zotye,
Ford’s new partner, is an electric car specialist, with a total of 16,000 EV sales so far in

2017. Overall, Ford is aiming to make sure that 70 percent of the cars its offers in China
are electric vehicles by 2025.

Ford’s not alone in building new JVs in China focused specifically on electric: Volkswagen
announced plans to create its own third venture with a Chinese partner earlier this year,
with production to begin in 2018.
Ayala Corp sets sights on Kia distributorship in
Philippines
ABS-CBN News
Posted at Feb 07 2018 10:05 AM | Updated as of Feb 07 2018 10:58 AM
MANILA - Ayala Corp said Wednesday one of its units was selected as the "preferred bidder"
for a Kia distributorship in the Philippines.

Should negotiations succeed, it will grow Ayala Corp's vehicle distribution business which
includes, Honda, Isuzu, Volkswagen and KTM motorcycles.

Ayala Corp said it received notice from Kia Motors Asia Regional headquarters that it was being
considered as a "preferred bidder to start negotiations."

"However, no definitive terms have been reached and we will make the appropriate disclosure of
any agreement reached," Ayala Corp told the stock exchange.

Kia cars in the Philippines are currently assembled and distributed by Columbian Autocar Corp.

Ayala Corp issued the statement after sports website spin.ph reported that the conglomerate was
set to acquire Kia Philippines and revive the Kia basketball team.

Ayala Corp's vehicle distribution business falls under its subsidiary, AC Industrials.

 Car makers 'cautious' on sales due to new taxes

Shares of Ayala Corp were down 2.43 percent in early trading, compared to a 1.58-percent
advance in the main index.

Ayala Corp is in talks to expand its automobile business even as taxes on cars and fuel were
increased last Jan. 1 under the first tranche of tax reforms.

Century partners with Mitsubishi for affordable

housing
ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 16 2018 01:42 PM | Updated as of May 16 2018 09:49 PM
MANILA - Century Properties on Wednesday said it partnered with Japan's Mitsubishi Corp to
establish a company for affordable housing in the Philippines.

Century will subscribe to 60 percent while Mitsubishi to 40 percent of the authorized capital
stock of the P5-billion joint venture, PHirst Park Homes, the Filipino developer told the stock
exchange.
PHirst Park aims to address the 6.6 million backlog in affordable housing units in the country. It
plans to launch 15 projects or 33,000 units in the next 5 years and will pursue projects in key
locations outside Metro Manila Century said.

"Our joint venture partnership with Mitsubishi Corporation solidifies Century’s plans of
diversification and strengthens its positioning not just in the affordable housing category, but in
the broader first home buyer market," said Century Properties chairman and CEO Jose Antonio.

Mistubishi is eyeing a long-term relationship with Century, not just one project, said its general
manager of ASEAN Urban Development Department, Hidetoshi Suzuki.

Robinsons Land taps Hong Kong partner for Pasig

project
ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 08 2018 10:21 AM
MANILA - Robinsons Land Corp said Tuesday it formed a P5.6 billion joint venture with Hong
Kong Land Group to build a residential enclave in Pasig City.

The Gokongwei-led developer will own 60 percent of the joint venture company, while the
remaining 40 percent will be held by Hong Kong Land, Robinsons Land told the told exchange.

The Philippine Competition Commission approved the deal last May 4, Robinsons Land said.

"This collaboration combines the experience, vision and financial capability of RLC and HKLG;
bringing together local expertise and international design that stand as landmarks in key Asian
cities," according to the disclosure.

 Robinsons Retail to acquire stake in Rustan Supercenters

 URC to acquire Australia’s 2nd largest salty snacks company

The Gokongweis' retail arm recently acquired Rustan Supercenters while its snack food business
is expanding in Southeast Asia and Australia.

Shares of Robinsons Land were up nearly 3 percent in early trading after the joint venture was
announced, compared to a 0.7-percent rise in the main index.

https://electrek.co/2017/08/29/nissan-renault-joint-venture-electric-vehicles-china/

https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/22/ford-set-to-create-a-new-joint-venture-to-produce-evs-in-
china/

https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/16/18/century-partners-with-mitsubishi-for-affordable-
housing
https://www.cnbc.com/joint-ventures/