BizChina

Wal-Mart (WMT) has taken a stake in 360buy JingDong Mall, the leading China-based online seller of consumer electronics and communications gear, Reuters reports. The story says 360buy disclosed that it has received $500 million in funding from six strategic partners, including Wal-Mart. The size of the retail giant’s investment was not disclosed.

Among 360buy’s rivals: E-Commerce China Dangdang (DANG), which recently completed an IPO in the U.S., selling 17 million American depositary shares at $16; the shares now traded for $28 and change.

Wal-Mart itself no slouch when it comes to retailing in China: The company on its Web site says that as of August 5 it had 189 stores in 101 cities, creating over 50,000 jobs. The company also operates an online version of its Sam’s Club unit in China.

China’s biggest telecom equipment maker, Huawei Technologies, and one of its biggest Internet companies, Tencent, are teaming up to offer smartphones based on Google’s Android software preloaded with Tencent applications.

The phones, besides tapping the popularity of Tencent services including its QQ instant-messaging program, could also benefit from a low price compared to most Android phones: 1,000 yuan before any operator subsidy, or about $151, according to a Huawei spokeswoman.

The “HiQQ” phones will come with 19 Tencent applications, including its QQ chat program, a mobile browser and social-networking service Qzone. Tencent had 636.6 million active instant-messaging user accounts at the end of September. Many of its users talk to friends on QQ via mobile phone.

Volkswagen AG and PSA Peugeot Citroën SA are considering developing China-only brands with their local partners in the country, people familiar the situation said, joining a growing trend among foreign auto makers targeting surging demand for low-cost cars.

Volkswagen is in discussions with one of its two Chinese partners about the possibility of starting a new jointly run brand, a person close to the German auto maker said.

"The talks have been going on for some time, and they are in their final stage," the person said. He wouldn't say which of VW's partners, SAIC Motor Corp. or FAW Group Corp., it is discussing the matter with, or otherwise elaborate.

Separately, Timothy Zimmerman, a senior China-based executive at Peugeot, said parent company PSA Peugeot Citroen of France is looking into an opportunity to start an additional brand for China and is discussing it with partner Dongfeng Motor Group Co.

"We want to pursue this only if there is a place in the market for it, and if it is profitable," the Beijing-based executive said. He said PSA Peugeot Citroen and Dongfeng have launched a joint study group to look into the move.

For many, the term nuclear power still calls to mind Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Though both disasters occurred decades ago, the number of active reactors has been essentially frozen. Now, increasing power needs are ushering in a new era, with countries like China driving demand. The uranium market, stagnant since a steep drop in 2007, is picking up and companies tied to production and use of the material have been surging.

Investors had been further spooked by an explosive bubble in the uranium market, the metal used to fuel nuclear reactors. Spot prices, which had remained below $20 since Chernobyl, began an upward movement that in 2007 turned exponential. Fueled by financial speculation, prices went from about $70 a pound to over $135 by mid-year and then back down almost as quickly. Nick Carter of UxC Consulting explained that hedge funds and investors, buying into physical uranium, managed to inflate and pop a bubble which decimated investor confidence for years.

When, around mid June 2010, prices began to move up again, some feared it could be another bubble. The horrible correction suffered in 2007, though, seems to have put the market in its place. Fundamentals are the driving factor this time: supply is tight and demand is growing.

Nuclear power plant in Tianwan China