The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has gained U.S. approval to purchase an American bank, marking a watershed moment for Chinese lenders looking to gain a foothold in the U.S. ICBC’s purchase of the U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia (BEA) comes after months of scrutiny by U.S. authorities. It marks the first time the Federal Reserve (Fed) has allowed a Chinese institution to buy an American bank and industry lawyers said it would spur dealmaking by Chinese institutions, among the biggest banks in the world by market capitalization. It is also the first time the U.S. central bank has recognized Chinese regulation of banks as meeting a standard of “comprehensive, consolidated supervision”, the Financial Times reports. The Fed said that the decision was “specific to ICBC” but industry lawyers said it was a clear sign that the Fed was likely to approve acquisitions by other Chinese banks and future acquisitions by ICBC. In its finding, the Fed said that China’s largest banks use the world’s biggest accounting firms and that “there is no evidence that Chinese accounting methods or practices at the large Chinese banks, such as ICBC, are unreliable”. The U.S. central bank previously blocked the attempted acquisition by China Minsheng of UCB, a San Francisco-based lender that was ultimately closed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The Federal Reserve also granted bank holding company status for ICBC’s government shareholder, Central Huijin Investment, and that company’s parent, sovereign fund China Investment Corporation (CIC). The USD140 million acquisition of the 80% stake in Bank of East Asia’s U.S. arm gives ICBC 10 branches in California and three in New York, a toehold for U.S. growth.The regulator also approved applications by Bank of China (BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) to open U.S. branches, its website said.

Hainan Airlines has recently released a plan to improve its international airline network in North America. Currently, it operates a nonstop route between Beijing and Seattle as well as one from the capital to Toronto. Under its new plan, the airline will roll out more flight options and more diversified services. The airline will add more flights to the Beijing-Seattle route in 2012. From May 14 to June 9, there will be five daily round-trip flights each week, and the number will increase to seven from June 10 to October 27. Hainan Airlines will reschedule flights along the Beijing-Guangzhou and Beijing-Shanghai routes from February 1 to October 27, 2012. This will allow more daily connections between any two of the cities along the route, with Beijing as the central hub. Hainan Airlines and American Airlines recently signed an agreement that allows the two companies to share codes and provide better frequent-flier services. “By working with a powerful partner like Hainan Airlines, American Airlines will enlarge its airline network in China and enhance its market status,” according to a statement from American Airlines. “It will also make it convenient for American travelers to go to more of China’s cities within (Hainan Airlines’) wide network.” Hainan Airlines offers more than 400 domestic and international routes, covering almost 100 cities in Asia as well as cities in Europe, North America, Africa and Oceania, the China Daily reports.

On 29 February 2012, Primus, a leading manufacturer of industrial laundry equipment based in Gullegem, West Flanders, concluded the acquisition of Guangzhou Deli Washing Machine Co. A Chinese manufacturer of high-quality industrial washing machines, dryers and chest heated ironers, Deli is located in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. The company employs about 70 people and is active primarily on the Chinese market. The acquisition of Deli anticipates the strong growth that is projected for the hotel sector in China – including both business and holiday segments – over the next few years. In addition, significant growth is also expected in the construction of hospitals and rest homes. This strategic acquisition positions Primus to respond to China’s rapidly growing demand for industrial laundry equipment and to become a major niche player within the Chinese market. The Deli product range is complementary to the Primus range, yet it is the commercial aspect of the Chinese market that is of prime importance to Primus. With the group’s complete product range on offer, Primus aims to quickly develop its Chinese distribution network and its share of the wider Asia Pacific market.

To satisfy the market demands and offer more comfortable and convenient service, Hainan Airlines will increase its Brussels-Beijing flights to daily operation on 01 July 2012 in the summer season. Following is the schedule of Hainan Airlines’ direct flights to Beijing:

25 March 2012 – 30 June 2012: Day 2, 4, 5, 6, 7
01 July 2012- 27 October 2012: Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
28 October 2012 – 30 March 2013: Day 2, 4, 5, 6, 7

When passengers arrive in Beijing, they can be connected to Hong Kong with Hong Kong Airlines (two code: UO), Shanghai, Guangzhou and another 50 cities interlined with Hainan Airlines domestic flights.

Brussels-Beijing is operated with Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft. Business Class seats can be regarded as the world’s most spacious. The 180-degree fully-flat business class seat allows passengers to enjoy more comfort. Each Economy Class seat has a full-touch LCD TV, equipped with the Hainan Airlines-invented “Your Travel” entertainment system. Hainan Airlines is a world-wide 5 star airline and its safety record ranks in the top 5 world-wide.

To facilitate business trips to the Canton Trade Fair in Guangzhou, the biggest export and import trade fair in China, Hainan Airlines newly introduced additional flights from Beijing to Guangzhou, connecting smoothly with the Brussels-Beijing flight.