Boss of state-owned conglomerate facing prosecution for graft 

Former chairman of China Resources (Holdings) Ltd., Song Lin

The former boss of one of China’s biggest state-owned conglomerates has become the latest senior figure snared in a wide-ranging anti-corruption crackdown.
Song Lin, former chairman of China Resources (Holdings) Ltd., was expelled Friday from the ruling Communist Party and turned over to prosecutors, the party’s discipline agency announced. It said he is accused of embezzlement, adultery and taking bribes.
China Resources has 450,000 employees and owns China’s biggest beer brewer and supermarket operator as well as businesses in electric power, finance and real estate. The company reported profit of USD6.7 billion last year and $145 billion in assets.
Song was fired last year in the midst of an anti-corruption campaign that has snared a former member of the ruling party’s inner circle, Zhou Yongkang, and executives at oil and other state-owned companies.
The crackdown was launched by President Xi Jinping after he came to power in mid-2013. He has promised to pursue senior officials as well as lower-level violators.
An aide to former President Jiang Zemin, former generals and the head of the national volleyball program also have been detained.
Investigators believe Song took bribes in exchange for promotions and business decisions, spent company money on playing golf and committed other “serious violations of political discipline,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said. It said the proceeds of illegal acts would be seized. AP

Beijing fines Nissan venture in anti-monopoly case

A Nissan joint venture has been fined 123 million yuan (USD19.3 million) by Chinese regulators on price-fixing charges in a long-running probe of the auto industry that has snared global automakers.
Dongfeng Nissan Auto Sales Co. violated anti-monopoly law by improperly enforcing minimum prices, according to the economic planning agency of the southern province of Guangdong. The company is a joint venture between Nissan Motor Co. and Dongfeng Motor Co., one of China’s biggest automakers.
Other foreign auto brands including Mercedes Benz and Chrysler have been fined for similar infractions after customers complained they charged excessively high prices for vehicles and replacement parts.
Setting minimum retail prices is common in other countries but Chinese regulators reject it as a violation of free market competition.
Business groups say the secretive and abrupt way the investigations are conducted is alienating foreign companies. Regulators deny foreign companies are treated unfairly.
Anti-monopoly regulators also have investigated technology suppliers and dairies over the past two years in an apparent effort to force down prices.
In February, U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. was fined 6 billion yuan ($975 million) on charges it abused its dominance in wireless technology to charge “unfairly high” licensing fees. AP