China's business press carried the following stories on Tuesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

First LNG shipment from Qatar reaches China – Beijing Business Today

The first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar – one of the four contracted vendors together with Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia – has reached Shenzhen on schedule, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced yesterday.

China and Qatar signed a long term procurement contract in Doha on June 23, in which Qatar will provide China with 2 million tons of LNG each year for 25 years.

With the mounting demand for clean energy in China, Chinese companies are picking up speeding in their overseas LNG purchase. PetroChina signed a deal with ExxonMobil this past August for Australian Gorgon's LNG in the next 20 years, while the contract signed between CNOOC and BP this past May gives CNOOC eligibility for the LNG of Australian Queensland in the same time frame.

Lotte to take over Times Retail in blitzkrieg – Caijing Magazine

Korean Lotte Shopping is expected to make a general offer of up to HK$4.9 billion for Times Retail's (01832.HK) 65 stores in Jiangsu and neighboring provinces.

Lotte will pay HK$5.6 for each share, buying 72.3 percent of Times Retail shares; this represents a 20 percent premium against Times's previous trading price.

Lotte entered the Chinese market in 2007. By acquiring Makro (which later became Lotte Mart), Lotte is now in possession of 10 retail outlets in Beijing, Tianjin and Qingdao; meanwhile, Times's assets include 53 hypermarkets and 12 supermarkets.

Allianz, Amex won't sell off ICBC shares – CBN

In a joint statement stressing their strategic partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), both Allianz SE and American Express Co. (Amex) say they will keep ICBC's H shares past a lockup on the holdings that expires today.

The shares in the lockup reach 3.216 billion and 638 million, held respectively by Allianz and American Express; the shares count for 50 percent of the original holdings. The two companies sold the other 50 percent on April 28, the expiration of the first lockup.

Previously, on October 11, ICBC said in its statement that Central Huijin Investment Co, Ltd. increased its holdings of ICBC, following a statement that state capital needs to have absolute control in major national banks.

Fujian's richest man sets up philanthropic foundation – Oriental Morning Post

Chen Fashu, the richest person in southeast China's Fujian Province, is not only transforming himself from an entrepreneur to a capital investor, but is also setting up his own philanthropic foundation, giving him the likeness of a ‘Chinese Bill Gates.'

His charity, Newhuadu Philanthropic Foundation, was established in Beijing today. As chairman of Newhuadu (002264.SZ), Chen donates 90 percent of his shares in circulation to the foundation, worth 8 billion yuan (US$1.17 billion).

Subsidy for scrap cars may have remarkable rise – Oriental Morning Post

Regulations by the China Ministry of Commerce (MOCOM) regarding subsidies for scrap cars are about to change, with the amount of financial support to rise.

The central government decided in May to expand the subsidy coverage for this year's scrap cars, increasing the funding from last year's 600 million yuan (US$87.98 million) to 5 billion yuan (US$733.14 million). MOCOM estimated that the number of scrap cars this year will reach 2.7 million.

In line with the present stipulation, each scrap car is eligible for a subsidy from 3000 to 6000 yuan (US$439.34 - $878.48).

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