<b>Snippets:</b> Brands under scrutiny

Household brands in China are bracing for the government’s version of public-service journalism — the annual programme on state-run TV that uses hidden cameras to highlight what the network calls companies’ unfair practices against consumers.

China Central Television’s March 15 broadcast for World Consumer Rights Day has targeted some of the world’s biggest companies in the past, including Apple Inc., McDonald’s Corp. and Volkswagen AG. The name-and-shame show not only attracts eyeballs, it also gets results —  Apple’s Tim Cook apologised in 2013 and McDonald’s retrained some workers in 2012.

Breakneck economic growth and rising incomes transformed China into an essential market with 1.4 billion people, and the government’s push for a consumption-driven economy fuelled an influx of foreign companies in the fast food, retailing and automotive industries. Of late, China has retaliated against Korean businesses after the government in Seoul allowed the deployment of a US missile-defence system that China said threatens regional security.

Chinese authorities, citing alleged safety violations, suspended operations of 55 stores owned by Lotte Group.