Over 5,000 FDI firms set up in Guangzhou

More than 5,376 foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises were set up in Guangzhou in 2018, the city Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co Ltd, better known as Poly Real Estate, posted a 20.33 percent growth in annual net profit last year. In its preliminary earnings estimate filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Poly Real Estate, one of the country’s major real estate developers, said its net income attributed to the shareholders reached 18.8 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) in 2018. Its total business revenue reached 193.6 billion yuan, up 32.31 percent yearon-year. For the whole year, Poly Real Estate reported sales of 27.66 million square meters in floor area and sales value of 404.82 billion yuan, up 23.36 percent and 30.91 percent, respectively. Mars Inc, a global manufacturer of confectionery, pet food and other food products, has signed an agreement to set up a pet food plant in North China’s Tianjin, local authorities said on Tuesday. Mars Inc and the management committee of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area signed an investment cooperation agreement on a pet food plant project last week. The investment for the project is over $100 million, with registered capital of $40 million, according to the management committee. Internet entertainment service provider Netflix announced on Tuesday it is raising prices all of its subscription plans, a move that sent its stock price surging more than 6 percent. Netflix increased the price of its most popular standard plan from $10.99 to $12.99. The subscription plan allows users to watch HD videos on two different screens at the same and have access to unlimited movies and TV shows. Price of the platform’s basic plan rose $1 to be $8.99 a month while the premium plan rose to $15.99. The pricing takes effect immediately for new subscribers and existing users will have to pay the hiked prices in a few months. AROUND THE WORLD