In the news: CGN Power plans IPO, CMAC sets up in HK and Shanghai opens IP office

CGN Power could raise US$3.16 billion HK IPO

This IPO of China's largest nuclear power plant operator is Hong Kong's largest since China Everbright Bank's US$3.2 billion IPO in December 2013. The state-owned company is also the first pure nuclear plant operator to list anywhere in the world since British Energy Group went public in 1996. Scheduled to list on December 10, the company plans to use the proceeds to build more plants and to buy a stake in a nuclear power station owned by its parent CGNPC. This would be the first nuclear energy company to be listed in Hong Kong and investors have already eagerly lined up as they speculate on the benefits the company will attain from the Chinese government's push for more nuclear plants and reduced reliance on coal. Green is where the money is.

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CMAC sets up in Hong Kong

The China Maritime Arbitration Commission opened its first offshore arbitration centre in Hong Kong on November 19. CMAC specialises in resolving foreign and domestic disputes regarding maritime, admiralty and logistics as well as other contractual and non-contractual disputes through arbitration. headquartered in Beijing, the Commission has three sub-offices in Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. Given Hong Kong's geographical position and commercial status in maritime, the city is well-suited to be CMAC's first international branch. The opening of another centre is good news at a time when arbitration centres are faced with rapidly increasing caseloads. Also, China and Hong Kong's reciprocal arrangement means enforcement won't be too big a problem.

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Shanghai sets up independent IP office

Shanghai's Pudong New District launched an independent IP office on November 16 that will unify the management and law enforcement of patents, trademarks and copyrights, which have so far been regulated by different departments. The office is the first of its kind in the country and is set to open on January 1 2015. The establishment is in line with the goal of making Pudong a one-stop shop for IP in the district and Shanghai into a science and technology hub. Although this is aimed at increasing efficiency by streamlining administration and judicial protection, there will no doubt be challenges for the new office. Does it have the manpower, resources and experience to achieve the level of efficiency desired

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China signs US$12 billion rail deal with Nigeria

The China Railway Construction Corporation's deal to build an 870-mile railroad along the Nigerian coast marks the largest single outbound contract in Chinese history. It will give the country's slowing manufacturing sector a boost as well as give Chinese firms a stronger foothold in Africa's biggest economy. China has sought to export its rail technology – just this month an SOE-led consortium won a US$3.7 billion bullet train contract in Mexico, which would have been the first of its kind in Latin America, but the deal was scrapped a week later due to a partial bidding process. China CNR Corp also secured a US$567 million contract with Massachusetts transport authorities for subway cars, a success for the country for tapping a market typically dominated by Western and Japanese firms. Perhaps the Nigerian deal can give China a portfolio boost

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