China begins testing locally developed bullet trains: People's Daily

JUL 1, 201512:51 PM

[SHANGHAI] China began testing the first bullet train completely made from locally produced parts this week, the official People's Daily newspaper said on Wednesday, as part of a big government-led push to export railway technology.

China is competing with Germany's Siemens AG, Canada's Bombardier Inc and Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd for global rail contracts - the same companies that helped it build a high-speed rail network that is now the world's longest at 16,000 kilometres.

China is also home to the world's largest train maker by sales, CRRC Corp Ltd , which was formed when the government merged its two biggest train makers in June. "The new train, with our full intellectual property rights, will facilitate our efforts to export China's railway products and technologies," the newspaper quoted He Huawu, chief engineer of railway operator China Railway Corp, as saying.

Foreign firms currently supply some of the parts that go into Chinese-made bullet trains, such as traction systems, analysts say.

The Chinese prototypes that are made from all-local parts have an operational speed of 350 km/hour and a top speed of 400 km/hour and, if successful, the trains will gradually replace older models currently in use, the paper added.

Earlier this year, a US$3.75 billion tender that was initially won by a Chinese consortium to build tracks and supply bullet trains to Mexico was scrapped by the Mexican government.

REUTERS

 
 

Oil eases after Greece misses IMF payment 

JUL 1, 20152:54 PM

[SINGAPORE] Oil prices eased in Asian trading on Wednesday after Greece missed a 1.5-billion-euro (US$1.7-billion) payment to the International Monetary Fund.

In mid-afternoon trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was 85 cents lower at US$58.62 while Brent crude was down 78 cents at US$62.81.

"The Greece debt crisis may have stoked concerns of a contagion effect to the eurozone, which means that we could see a drop in demand for oil on potentially weaker growth," said Bernard Aw, a market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore.

Nicholas Teo, an analyst at CMC Markets, said a stronger US dollar may have contributed to the retreat of oil prices.

Traders are also watching out for the release of US oil inventory numbers, he said.

The missed payment made cash-strapped Greece the only developed country ever to fall into default with the global crisis lender. It underscored the failure of more than five months of efforts to rescue the economy and prevent it from dropping out of the eurozone.

Oil prices had rebounded on Tuesday as Iran and six major powers extended a deadline for reaching a nuclear deal, deferring the entry of more Iranian oil into an oversupplied global market.

AFP

      

France to seek deal with Greece before referendum "if possible"

France will still try to reach a goal with Greece before a referendum on Sunday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Wednesday, hours before euro zone finance ministers hold their second conference call in two days to discuss Greece. 

PHOTO: AFP

JUL 1, 20152:31 PM

[PARIS] France will still try to reach a goal with Greece before a referendum on Sunday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said on Wednesday, hours before euro zone finance ministers hold their second conference call in two days to discuss Greece. "Our aim is to find an agreement, before the referendum if possible," Michel Sapin told RTL radio. "Our aim is to see until the last minute whether it's possible to find a deal that paves the way for a return to stability in Greece and would reassure Europe and the world," he said.

It is unclear how much the Wednesday call could achieve. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out further negotiations until after Sunday's referendum.

Mr Sapin said it was incredibly complicated to find a deal and that smaller EU countries which had gone through painful reforms had taken the toughest approach towards Greece.

He said that a no vote in Greece would risk causing a Greek exit from the euro zone but added: "Even if the no wins, France's role would be to do everything to keep (Greece) in the euro zone".