BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The following are highlights of China's local business news from the past week.
MEITUAN EARNINGS
China's service-focused e-commerce giant Meituan Dianping reported revenue decrease and operating loss for the first quarter of 2020 amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
Its total revenue decreased by 12.6 percent year on year to 16.8 billion yuan (about 2.35 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March period, with operating loss expanding to 1.7 billion yuan.
SAM'S CLUB NEW STORE
Sam's Club, a Walmart-owned membership warehouse club, started construction of its flagship outlet in China.
Located in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao bonded area of the pilot free trade zone, the flagship store will be the largest independent building operated by Sam's Club in China and its third store in Shanghai. With a construction area of 70,000 square meters, the outlet is expected to open in 2021.
VOLKSWAGEN INVESTMENT
German carmaker Volkswagen announced plans to invest 2 billion euros (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars) in China to develop its electric vehicle business in the country.
SHANGHAI EXHIBITIONS
The National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, venue for the China International Import Expo (CIIE), is expected to begin hosting exhibitions starting from July 1 after several months of closure due to COVID-19.
"Amid the epidemic, the exhibition industry is one of the earliest sectors to suspend operation and the latest to restart," said Tang Guifa, president of the NECC.
TRIP.COM LOSS
Shanghai-based Trip.com Group Limited, a leading online travel agency in China, reported 1.5 billion yuan (about 211 million U.S. dollars) loss from operations in the first quarter of this year due to the impact of COVID-19.
The group reported net revenue of 4.7 billion yuan from January to March, dropping 42 percent from the same period last year, according to its financial report.
DIDI FINANCING
Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride-hailing service, said it has raised 500 million U.S. dollars for its autonomous vehicle business from an investment group led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank.
The investment will help advance the development and deployment of automated vehicles in Didi's ride-hailing fleets. Enditem
