News@ChinabyNumbers

Chinese authorities blamed a faulty signal system for the subway collision in downtown Shanghai that injured about 260 people on Tuesday, just two months after a high-speed rail crash killed 50 passengers near Wenzhou, also reportedly due to signal failure.

About 20 people were seriously injured when one train rear-ended another in a tunnel near Shanghai's Yu Gardens area, though no fatalities were reported.

The operator of the relatively new Line 10, Shanghai Shentong Metro, said that equipment had failed about 40 minutes earlier, requiring trains to switch to manual operations, run at slower speeds and communicate by phone.

The crash involved different types of equipment than the July 23 crash in Wenzhou, but the incidents had one supplier in common: Casco Signal, a joint venture of France's Alstom SA and China Railway Signal & Communication. Casco and Alstom have both rejected involvement with the Wenzhou crash, saying that equipment was "not the root cause."

Casco said Tuesday that initial signs suggested a wider power outage, rather than signal failure, caused the Shanghai collision.

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he plans to introduce a bill next week to crack down on China's undervalued currency, despite concerns that could provoke further trade disputes and dampen global economic growth.

Under the bill, the US Commerce Department would treat undervalued currencies as a subsidy, thereby allowing companies to apply for countervailing duties against imports.

"I don't think there is anything more important [as a] jobs measure than China trade," Reid said Monday, adding that the measure had support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Opponents acknowledge that Reid probably has the votes to pass the legislation in the Senate, but say the House Republican leaders may prevent it from reaching President Obama's desk.

The value of the renminbi has risen about 3% this year, but Reid and other lawmakers argue the currency is still undervalued by as much as 25-40% against the US dollar, giving Chinese manufacturers an unfair price advantage.

Anshan Iron & Steel Group is planning to establish a steel processing plant in India to capitalize on growing demand in that country.

Ansteel, China's third-biggest steelmaker by output has been expanding abroad for some time, with investments in processing plants in Spain, Italy and the US.

The firm's president, Zhang Xiaogang, said that Ansteel had also considered plants in Africa, but decided against investing in the continent because of risk concerns. Zhang also said that the future of the firm's planned US investment has become rockier, thanks to resistance from US lawmakers, who allege that the firm poses national security risks.

Ansteel is also forming a domestic joint venture with European steel firm ThyssenKrup to build a plant in Chongqing which would manufacture high-end auto sheets.

Credit ratings agency S&P said that China's property developers face an "increasingly severe" credit outlook, which could force them to slash prices and accept higher capital costs.

The organization, which performed stress tests on the country's biggest property companies, said that while most could absorb a 10% drop in sales, a 30% fall could leave them in a liquidity bind.

S&P added that Greentown China Holdings, Hopson Development Holdings and SRE Group are the most at risk, because they are less able to refinance short-term debt.

Tight liquidity conditions could encourage property developers to turn to alternative - and usually more expensive - means of raising capital, such as offshore bonds or trust companies.

"The worst isn't over for China's real estate developers," the S&P analysts wrote in their report.

Social-networking site Renren Inc. plans to acquire the operator of video-sharing site 56.com for $80 million in cash.

Renren's shares rose slightly to $5.37 after US market close on Monday, but its value remains down 62% from the top end of its IPO range in May.

Renren has improved its bottom line in its two earnings announcements since it went public, reporting a slim profit and $1.15 billion in cash and cash equivalents in the second quarter. However, operating expenses have also ticked up since its listing, as the company continues investing heavily in research and development, including mobile technology.

The social-networking site agreed in August to merge its platform with Shanghai MSN Network Communications Technology, which operates Microsoft Corp's online business and chat program in China.

Beijing advised local police to use microblogs more frequently to "correct" rumors and misunderstandings.

Huang Ming, the vice minister of public security at the Ministry of Public Security, said on Monday that "all levels of public security organs should fully understand the importance of microblogs for public security," and that local police should create "new platforms to guide public opinion, further pay attention to hot topics people are talking about on the internet, and use correct, authoritative, transparent news to answer people's concerns in a timely way, clarify fact and clear up misunderstandings."

Beijing officials have sent conflicting messages as to how they view the microblogging services, ranging from warnings to attempts at co-opting the sites.

Local and central public security bureaus have already set up more than 4,000 official microblog accounts.