China Quake Temporarily Paralyzes Industries

Beijing, China (AHN) - The deadly earthquake that struck China on Monday has paralyzed five power plants,telecommunications networks, disrupted flight schedules and halted production at several factories, local reports said.

But Dow Jones' China Bureau said the financial markets stayed open and reported no serious damage to big businesses or industrial operations.

According to Xinhua news agency, six transformer substations shut down and five power plants were disconnected from the power grid after the Sichuan quake. The state media cited reports from State Grid Corp., China's sole power distributor in all but five provinces.

Xinhua added that the international airport in Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital, was temporarily closed and all domestic flights were being diverted.China Eastern Airlines Corp. (CEA) likewise canceled all flights to Chengdu.

At the same time, China Mobile Ltd and China Unicom reported that mobile phone service was affected in Sichuan and northwestern Shaanxi province. State media said as many as 2,300 base stations in Sichuan province wee paralyzed due to power shutdowns and transmission failures.

Multinational companies with operations in China, on the other hand, are checking for potential damage.

U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co. temporarily suspended operations at a vehicle manufacturing plant in the municipality of Chongqing as a safety precaution, but employees returned to their posts after about 30 minutes, according to Dow Jones.

Kyodo News said Japanese car makers Isuzu Motors and Suzuki Motor Corp. also stopped production at Sichuan province factories as precaution.

Dow Jones adds that U.S. chip giant Intel Corp. has yet to determine the impact of the quake on its chip testing and assembly plant in Chengdu.