BBMG shares rocket

Chinese firm BBMG Corporation experienced a surge in its share price – jumping as much as 45.5% during trading in Hong Kong – after President Xi Jinping announced plans to create a modern urban district in Hebei province in a bid to combat pollution and congestion.

Named as the Xiongan New Area, it will cover 100 km² and, according to Mr Xi, should stand as a “demonstration area for innovative development,” providing a model for the construction of densely-populated spaces.

Located 100 km southwest of Beijing, the new area will also help to shift functions from Beijing as the government moves offices outside the capital.

The state news agency Xinhua reported that the plans are intended to advance the development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and will be expanded to cover an area of 2,000 km² in the long term – nearly three times the area covered by New York City.

Mr Xi’s plans follow in the wake of his predecessors Deng Xiaoping, who established the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, and Jiang Zemin, to whom the Shanghai Pudong New Area owes its existence.

BBMG has described itself as the largest manufacturer and supplier of cement in the region covering Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.