Samsung Electronics has sued Huawei Technologies for patent infringements through multiple courts in China, escalating a legal conflict between the world’s No 1 and No 3 smartphone makers. Samsung accuses Huawei of infringing six of its patents. “Despite our best efforts to resolve this matter amicably, it has regrettably become necessary to take legal action in order to defend our intellectual property,” Samsung said in a statement. Samsung also sued a department store in Beijing and claimed CNY161 million in damages. Samsung asked the two defendants to stop production and sales of products infringing its patents, including Huawei’s Mate 8 and Honor smartphones. “In the absence of a negotiated settlement, litigation is often an efficient way to resolve” intellectual property rights disputes, Huawei said. Huawei sued Samsung in the United States and China in May, accusing its rival of infringement of patents for 4G cellular communications technology, operating systems and user interface software.

Shanghai saw a “better-than-expected” 6.7% economic growth year-on-year in the first half, driven by the fast developing services sector. The added value in the city’s services sector rose 11.6% to CNY917.57 billion, accounting for 70.8% of the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first six months, compared to a 15.3% decline of added value in the agricultural sector and a 3.3% fall in manufacturing. Industrial production fell 4.4% to CNY1.43 trillion. Retail sales rose 7.7% to CNY4.86 trillion, while online sales totaled CNY60 billion, up 17.8% from a year ago. The disposable income of urban residents rose 8.9% to CNY29,030 in the first half. Investment in fixed assets rose 7.9% year-on-year in the January-June period, below the 8.4% rise last year. Exports fell 2% to CNY562.5 billion and imports rose 0.9% to CNY747.1 billion. Shanghai has not set an official GDP target for the year, instead prioritizing boosting innovation, keeping unemployment below 4.5%, and investing 3% of GDP in green projects. Shanghai is planning a comprehensive upgrade so as to be competitive globally and on par with New York and London, according to its blueprint for development till 2040.

Shanghai will be the center of the Yangtze River Delta’s world-class cluster of cities. The new cluster comprises 26 cities, including Shanghai, and parts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. The three provinces and Shanghai form a region that enjoys the fastest economic growth in the country. With only 16.7% of the national population and 3.7% of the country’s land, the region contributed 21.19% of China’s GDP, according to the 2016 Shanghai Blue Book by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.The GDP per capita in the area surpassed USD10,000 in 2014, the Shanghai Daily reports.

A record 110 Chinese companies are in the latest Fortune Global 500 list, 13 of which made their debut, including China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, JD.com, Midea and Wanda. “We will see the continued rise of Chinese companies to capture that tremendous growth of the local economy,” said Adam Xu, Partner of Strategy&, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ strategy consulting business. Three of the top five companies on the list are from China. State Grid rose to second place from seventh last year, surpassing China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and Sinopec Group. State Grid, generating USD329.6 billion in sales last year, attributed its performance to successful investment strategies and research and development (R&D) input. Among the 13 debut Fortune Global 500 companies from China, JD.com ranks at 366, with revenue reaching USD28.85 billion last year. JD.com positions itself as a self-managing e-commerce giant. China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, which ranks 266, has grown into a leading global supplier of bullet trains and subway cars. State-owned companies (SOEs) topped the Chinese companies on the list, because the ranking is based on the companies’ revenue instead of their profitability, said Han Xiaoping, an independent energy analyst. China Vanke debuted on the list at 356, with annual revenue of USD29.33 billion, followed by Dalian Wanda Group at 385 and Evergrande Real Estate Group at 496, the China Daily reports.

Chinese lighting company MLS Co is the frontrunner to buy Osram Light’s light bulb and LED-lamp business. Osram may choose a winner for the asset as soon as this month. MLS is attempting to buy Osram’s asset as part of a consortium, and is in negotiations about the structure of the deal and the company’s intellectual property. The Chinese firm may pay less than €500 million. Osram is still in discussions with various interested parties. Osram is selling the general lamps business, which generates about 36% or €2 billion of the Munich-based company’s annual sales, to focus on research and development (R&D), products for the automotive industry and lighting solutions for buildings and cities. The world’s second largest lighting company has been under pressure as the demand for traditional lighting gives way to light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Osram’s largest shareholder, Siemens, has accused Osram’s management of destroying shareholder value by pursuing unprofitable projects, the China Daily reports.

The number of Chinese cities witnessing a rise in home prices fell for the second month in June. Prices of new homes rose last month in 55 cities of the 70 monitored by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), five fewer than in May. Prices fell in 10 cities and were flat in the remaining five. Hefei, capital of Anhui province, led with an increase of 4.9% compared with May, followed by Xiamen in Fujian province where prices increased 4.7% and Nanjing where they rose 4%. “The pace of price growth in new and pre-owned housing markets both decelerated last month, by 0.1 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, from May,” said Liu Jianwei, NBS Senior Statistician. “In particular, the average pace in first-tier cities still managed to quicken a little while those in second and third-tier cities continued to slow.” New home prices in the 70 major cities climbed 1.8% on average in June from a month earlier while prices of pre-owned houses gained an average of 1.2% from May. Shenzhen led the four gateway cities with a 2.6% month-on-month gain in new home prices, followed by Shanghai’s 2.4% rise, Beijing’s 2.3% and Guangzhou’s 1.8%. Year-on-year, new home prices rose in 57 cities in June, fell in 12 cities, and were flat in one. In the pre-owned market, prices rose in 52 cities in June from a year earlier, fell in 16 cities, and were flat in two, the Shanghai Daily reports.