US-based transport and logistics company YRC Worldwide confirmed its acquisition of Shanghai Jiayu, a ground transport company, was underway, the 21st Century Business Herald reported. The two companies have come to a preliminary consensus, which will take effect after the deal has been approved by their respective boards and the relevant regulatory authorities in China. “Around 90% of our 800,000 clients need delivery services in China and Jiayu’s transport network will be a cornerstone of that,” said Bill Zollars, chairman of YRC. Privately-owned Shanghai Jiayu has 30,000 clients and more than 3,000 vehicles. YRC currently has about 200 vehicles in China.

Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co, which was bought by Best Buy for US$180 million (RMB1.4 billion last year), said it would spend US$39.4 million (RMB300 million) developing three new logistics bases to serve stores belonging to it and its parent in eastern China, the Nanjing-based Yangzi Waobao reported. The three logistics hubs will cover a combined 80,000 square meters in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, Nanjing, the provincial capital of Jiangsu, and Suzhou, which is also in Jiangsu province. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately and the hubs will be operational next year. The Chinese home appliance retailer slightly altered its outlet network and saw a two-digit growth in sales last year after its acquisition by Best Buy. The deal gave the US retailer access to Five Star’s 130 plus outlets across China, mainly in the east coast. Best Buy opened its first Chinese own-brand store in Shanghai last December and plans to open seven more in the city over the next 18 months before turning its attention to other Chinese cities.

The National People’s Congress – China’s top legislature – has for the second time reviewed a draft of a proposed anti-monopoly law, China Today reported. Under the proposed law, foreign purchases of Chinese firms or foreign investment in any other form must first be examined for their effect on national security. Statistics show foreign acquisitions and mergers accounted for around 20% of China’s total foreign direct investment in 2005, up from 5% before 2004 and11% in 2004. The draft was proposed after a number of foreign firms began purchasing domestic firms, including large state-owned enterprises, in recent years.

HSBC Holdings announced it would buy 53,000 square meters of grade A office space in the Shanghai International Financial Center in the Pudong Lujiazui financial area from Sun Hung Kai Properties, Tao Kung Pao reported. The building will serve as the London-based HSBC’s headquarters in China, and the bank also has the right to rename the building. In 1999, the bank spent US$33 million to buy 4,800 square meters in HSBC Tower, also located in Lujiazui financial area, which until now has been its biggest property acquisition in China.

PricewaterhouseCoopers will increase its number of employees in China by 3000 by 2011 to keep up with growth in the country’s listing and merger and acquisition deals, the China Business News reported. The accounting company, which currently has 8,000 employees, has recently appointed 40 new partners on the mainland and 15 in Hong Kong. PwC’s partners in China represent 5% of its partner pool worldwide and the percentage will double in five years, according to PWC’s global CEO, Samuel di Piazza.

China’s online social networking market is expected to grow from just RMB175 million last year to RMB1.2 billion by 2010.  With 11% of the market, Marry5.com is hoping to grow in step, and encroach on the market share of competitors. Ken Wu, the CEO of Marry5.com’s parent company Shenzhen Haotian Group, tells Amy Cheung of The China Perspective about the company’s expansion plans.