Briefs | Record pollution fine for Beijing McDonald’s supplier

Record pollution fine for Beijing McDonald’s supplier

A french fry supplier to the McDonald’s restaurant chain in China has been issued Beijing’s biggest-ever pollution fine for releasing dirty wastewater, state media reported. The official Xinhua News Agency said late Wednesday that Beijing environmental officials levied a record fine of 3.8 million yuan, or more than USD650,000, against Beijing Simplot Food Processing Co. Ltd. The company is a joint venture between McDonald’s, the U.S.-owned J.R. Simplot Co. and the Beijing Agricultural, Industrial and Commerce General Co. Xinhua reported that last November inspectors found waste water discharged by the company contained organic compound levels higher than that allowed. The report said Beijing Simplot was upgrading its sewage treatment facilities at the time of the discharge. Beijing officials didn’t answer phone calls yesterday. Chinese officials have announced a crackdown on polluters across the country that has included tougher regulations as well as new rules clarifying who can file lawsuits against polluters.

Mainland stocks in HK fall to pare best month since 2011

Chinese stocks trading in Hong Kong fell for a third day, with raw-material companies sliding before today’s manufacturing data and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. slumping after reporting weak profit growth. Jiangxi Copper Co. plunged 2.3 percent. ICBC, the biggest lender, declined 1.9 percent after posting the lowest first-quarter earnings growth since listing in 2006. Official manufacturing data will probably show a reading of 50 in April, down from the previous month’s 50.1, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Shanghai property index surged to a record high after the nation’s leading economic planner said it saw positive signs in the property market. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index in Hong Kong slid for a third day, losing 1.2 percent to 14,431.11 at the close. The H-shares gauge climbed 17 percent this month, capping the best month since October 2011. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8 percent, dragged down by energy and metal shares and paring gains in April to 19 percent. “The A-share bull run will likely weaken going forward,” Morgan Stanley strategist Jonathan Garner wrote in a report. “Valuations are climbing higher, while earnings are drifting lower.”