China Daily Hong Kong Edition –02 Mar
More policies to support cross-border use of renminbi     
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-03/02/content_16268637.htm
China is likely to issue more supportive measures to encourage cross-border use of the yuan amid growing global demand for the currency, said an industry insider.
Such measures include a larger quota for renminbi qualified foreign institutional investors, fewer restrictions under the capital account, and more freedom for global yuan investments by individuals, said Cheng Jun, general manager of the Corporate Banking Unit of Bank of China.
“We are still not sure of the timetable and details of such policies, but we think this will be the next step taken by the central bank,” said Cheng.
Cheng’s estimates were based on the strong growth momentum of international use of the yuan.
In 2012, cross-border settlement in yuan rose 41.4 percent year-on-year, to 2.94 trillion yuan ($472 billion) according to the People’s Bank of China, the central bank.
“Demand for the Chinese currency is robust,” Cheng said, adding that BOC’s RMB business will continue to focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

South China Morning Post –04 Mar
Stelux in sight of China turnaround on Boyu vision  
Stelux Holdings, a Hong Kong-based retailer of mid-priced spectacles and watches, said its co-operation with the private equity firm Boyu Capital creates operating synergies that will help it to turn around its China business within three years, aided by online sales and relocation to second-tier cities.
Joseph Wong, chairman and chief executive of Stelux, which operates the Optical 88 and City Chain stores, said: “Boyu Capital offers industry expertise and seasoned managers in the competitive middle-class industry on the mainland, creating more synergies than its investment in our company.”
Boyu Capital, a private equity firm specialising in China investment founded by former Ping An president Louis Cheung and Mary Ma, invested in the retailer through a subscription for HK$371 million of convertible bonds in November.
Stelux appointed Ma, a former chief financial officer at Lenovo and executive at US-based Texas Pacific Group, and Boyu’s Alex Wongas non-executive directors responsible for its expansion plan on the mainland. Joseph Wong said he believed that Ma and Alex Wong would control costs with the aim of breaking even in the financial year 2015.
Joseph Wong, 52, who took the helm at Stelux in October 2011, said the two parties had been in private discussion since April last year and subsequently appointed an external consulting firm to lay out new strategy in China, where it will roll out an online shopping site in September this year, and shift its retail network into second-tier cities.

IT Tech Now –02 Mar
Samsung Wallet similar to Passbook?
Samsung 也正投入iOS「Passbook」般的電子票券功能？
http://www.technow.com.hk/samsung-ios-passbook/
根據気になる、記になる… 網站轉述9 to 5 Mac 消息，稍早Samsung 發表的「Samsung Wallet」功能，由於被認為與Apple iOS 作業系統「Passbook」相像，因而成為新聞話題。
發表當時的影片實況如下，大致上介面近似「Passbook」概念，功能上亦能提供活動、會員、優惠、交通工具搭乘等票券的管理，不過這項功能是否會正式釋出，現階段則尚不明朗。

Oriental Daily News –02 Mar
Alibaba launches virtual credit card
阿里推「虛擬信用卡」
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/finance/20130302/00202_044.html
阿里巴巴在拓展金融業務方面又有新動作，繼之前針對小企業的「阿里小貸」後，阿里近日亦着手透過支付寶，為淘寶網的內地用戶提供類似虛擬信用卡的「信用支付」服務，用戶只需透過阿里金融提供的信用額度，便可獲先購物後付費的安排。而在阿里早前宣布建立金融業務事業群的背景下，今次的部署更受市場關注。
阿里周四宣布，為淘寶的網上商戶開通由阿里金融提供的「信用支付」功能，使用有「信用支付」的交易收費約為交易金額的1%，其收費率與目前廣為使用的信用卡電子支付相若，而阿里金融在推廣期間，將收費調低至交易金額的0.8%。
最長38天免息期
據內地消息指出，在為商戶開通「信用支付」功能後，淘寶的消費者最快會於下周開始，於支付寶平台使用有關服務。而據淘寶向商戶提供的資料，經核定的淘寶消費者，可透過阿里金融提供最長38天的免息期信用額度進行網上購物，而有關服務將於試點區域推出，再視具體情況擴大應用範圍。
阿里金融部署推出的「信用支付」，與網上零售巨人eBay透過旗下PayPal，在美國提供的「Bill Me Later」支按付功能非常類似，兩者在性質上接近虛擬信用卡。「信用支付」的推出，將使阿里金融的服務範圍，擴展至大眾用戶層面，惟當中會否涉及新規管申請，相信會引來關注。
Ta Kung Pao –04 Mar
Alibaba develops credit card payment products
阿里開發信用支付產品
http://paper.takungpao.com/html/2013-03/02/content_23_3.htm
中國最大電子商務企業阿里巴巴集團近期將面向旗下支付寶的用戶，提供首個消費金融產品「信用支付」。支付寶用戶（包括商家和消費者）將根據不同評級，獲得相應授信支付的功能。
按計劃，這一產品將首先在試點區域的無線端投入使用，並且將首先選擇一些區域試點，然後再視具體情況向更大的範圍推動。不過阿里金融並未披露上線時間表。
功能與普通信用卡相似
據悉，該信用支付產品目前正在進行上線測試前最後的對接和籌備工作。借助信用支付這一產品，支付寶用戶在淘寶等平台進行購物時，可以使用阿里金融提供的信用支付額度，功能與普通信用卡基本一致。最近一段時間，阿里金融正在將信用支付功能接入淘寶和天貓等平台的商家體系，每個簽約商家將為此支付1%的服務費（目前享受八折優惠）。