China Corporate News: Apple Said to Use Baidu Search on iPhone in China; Saic Sales Up 21% in May

Apple Said to Use Baidu Search on iPhone in China
Apple Inc (Nasdaq: APPL) plans to add Baidu Inc's (Nasdaq: BIDU) search engine on the iPhones in China, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. A deal with Baidu, which handles 80% of China's Internet search queries, matches a plan by Apple to gain a bigger toehold in the world's largest mobile phone market.

Vimicro Partners with Fuzhou Govt
Vimicro International Corporation (Nasdaq: VIMC), a Chinese PC-camera processor and IP-based surveillance solution provider, said it has signed a strategic framework agreement with the government of Fuzhou, Fujian's provincial capital, to jointly develop, produce, and market surveillance video and audio coding-based security products. Raymond Zhang, the company's chief technology officer, will head all business and development of Fuzhou Vimicro, the joint venture.

Saic Sales Up 21% in May
Saic Motor Co (SHA: 600104), China's biggest carmaker by output as well as General Motor Co (NYSE: GM) and Volkswagen AG's Chinese partner, said its sales rose 20.9% from a year earlier to 367,991 vehicles in May, stoked by demand for its minivans. Between January and May, it sold 1.88 million vehicles, up 11.3% from the same period a year ago.

Conch Cement Casts Shadow Over 1H Earnings
Anhui Conch Cement Co (SHA: 600585, HKG: 0914), China's biggest cement producer by output, expected its net profit for 1H 2012 to plunge 50% due to lackluster demand and falling prices. Conch Cement's net profit was ¥5.99 billion in 1H 2011 and slumped 43.6% year on year to ¥1.25 billion in Q1 2012.

Gemdale Property Sales Jump 70% in May
Gemdale Corp (SHA: 600383), a Shenzhen-based property developer, said it sold 248,000m2 in floor space fetching ¥3.04 billion in May, up 70.5% and 46.3% respectively from a year earlier. Between January and May, it sold 842,000m2 valued at ¥9.9 billion, up 55.9% and 30.9% year on year respectively.

Silan Microelectronics to Raise ¥880m for Chengdu Project
Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Co (SHA: 600460) said it plans to sell additional shares with 10 designated investors raising ¥880 million to fund a project in Chengdu. The cost of the project is estimated to total ¥1 billion and to be recouped in 5.46 to 7.82 years.

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