PROPERTY

Beijing housing 'robust'

The high-end residential market in Beijing maintained robust growth from June to August, according to a report released Thursday by housing consultancy DTZ/Cushman & Wakefield.

According to the report, the average transaction price for high-end units was 57,890 yuan ($9,088) per square meter, up 4.9 percent from the previous quarter, and the transaction area was 456,300 square meters, a month-on-month gain of 73.1 percent.

DEALS

M&A market expands

Chinese companies completed 221 merger and acquisition (M&A) deals in overseas markets in the first three quarters of this year, compared with 149 deals made in the same period last year, according to a report released on Thursday by Chicago-based multinational law firm Baker & McKenzie.

The total transaction value was $70.72 billion, compared with $44.80 billion a year earlier.

China has become the fourth-largest buyer in the US, up from sixth in 2014.

Its total M&A in the country included Tsinghua Unisplendour's $3.8 billion bid for a 15 percent stake in Western Digital, which if approved would become the single largest Chinese investment in a US company, the report said.

HEALTHCARE

Venture offers house calls

Alibaba Health Information Technology (Ali Health), a healthcare arm under Alibaba Group Holding, on Thursday announced a service allowing patients to see a doctor at home instead of going to a hospital.

In partnership with leading domestic car-hailing platform Didi Chuxing and a Shanghai-based medical care online-to-offlline platform called mingyizhudao.com, Ali Health said in a statement that a patient can call a doctor via Didi Chuxing, which will even send a car to bring the doctor to the patient.

The service is now free and only available on October 18-19 in four cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, the company noted.

E-COMMERCE

SingPost acquires US firm

Singapore Post plans to buy US-based e-commerce firm TradeGlobal for $168.6 million, the company said on Thursday, in a bid to expand its e-commerce business outside the region.

SingPost has agreed to acquire 96.3 percent of TradeGlobal Holdings, which offers e-commerce services for the fashion and beauty industries, from private equity firm Bregal Sagemount.

SingPost counts Chinese giant Alibaba Group Holding as its second-largest shareholder.