BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland was scheduled to organize three buying teams to visit Taiwan for business talks and purchase of products and materials, Yao Jian, spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), said Wednesday.
The MOC, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology were endeavoring to organize three economic and trade facilitation teams to visit Taiwan at the end of May, in mid-June and early July to deepen the mainland-Taiwan economic and trade ties, Yao said in a Web site statement.
Yao did not specify how many mainland businesses would visit Taiwan and how much they planned to spend, but he said they would mainly focus on purchasing folk handicraft, processed food, daily necessities, machinery equipment and raw materials.
Li Shuilin, head of the Association of Economy and Trade Across the Taiwan Straits, a non-governmental mainland institution, would head the first team to visit Taiwan, with business people from home appliance, light industry and food processing firms in the delegation. The delegation would also carry out business talks in Taiwan, according to the statement.
BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares fell 0.94 percent Wednesday on profit-taking, erasing Tuesday's gains. The decline also followed an overnight drop on Wall Street.
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.94 percent, or 25.27 points, to 2,651.41.
The Shenzhen Component Index slid 0.53 percent, or 55.22 points, to 10,369.14.
Combined turnover contracted to 214.60 billion yuan (31.56 billion U.S. dollars) from 227.97 billion yuan on the previous trading day.
New energy firms gained for much of the day on talk that the government would unveil a support plan for the sector Thursday.
Donghua Energy, the Zhangjiagang-based liquefied oil storage company, rose 6.06 percent to 8.75 yuan. Shenzhen Topray Solar, a major solar consumer products manufacturer, gained 2.62 percent to 28.57 yuan.
However, new energy stocks were dragged down by profit-taking just 15 minutes before the markets closed, dealers said.
Airlines were broadly lower as the wholesale price of jet fuel rose 460 yuan to 4,450 yuan per ton as of Tuesday led by continuously rising crude oil prices.
Air China, the country's largest carrier, fell 1.38 percent to 6.41 yuan. China Southern Airlines retreated 2.38 percent to 5.34 yuan.
The State Council (cabinet) said Tuesday that the government would increase subsidies for consumers who replaced old models of vehicles and home appliances with new ones, as part of the effort to spur domestic spending and curb pollution.
Jinbei Vehicle Manufacturing, a major light truck maker, rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 4.09 yuan. Dongfeng Motor climbed 3.70 percent to 5.05 yuan.
Suning Appliance, a giant consumer appliance retailer, edged up 0.07 percent to 15.16 yuan.
Despite the declines, the market still had the fundamental conditions for gains as the government continued to announce new measures to boost consumption, Chengdu-based Beising Investment said in a report to clients.
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Petrobras, the national oil company of Brazil, announced Tuesday that it has concluded negotiations with China Development Bank (CDB) for a bilateral loan of 10 billion U.S. dollars.
The money will be used to finance Petrobras' investment plan, which includes the procurement of goods and services from China, the company said.
The interest rate of the loan will be below 6.5 percent, said Sergio Gabrielli, CEO of Petrobras, at a press conference held here Tuesday.
Without releasing details, the two sides agreed to increase actual crude oil exports from Brazil to China.
A long-term export agreement was also signed Tuesday between Petrobras and UNIPEC ASIA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), Asia's largest refiner by output.
It provides that Petrobras export 150,000 barrels of oil per day to China starting from 2009 and 200,000 barrels of oil per day from 2010 to 2019.
The price of oil exported to China will be decided based on the market, said Gabrielli.
Apart from the agreement, Petrobras and Sinopec signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) under which the two sides would cooperate in several areas such as exploration, refining, petrochemicals and the supply of related goods and services, said Petrobras.
Sinopec announced in February that it has signed a contract with Petrobras to import 3 million to 5 million tonnes of crude oil from the latter from February 2009 to January 2010 at market price.
Also in February, Sinopec and CDB signed an MOU with Petrobras regarding cooperation in the fields of oil and finance.
According to the memorandum, the annual trade volume between Sinopec and Petrobras will be raised from 3 million tonnes in 2008to between 10 million to 12.5 million tonnes before the end of 2010. Their future oil trading volume will reach 30 million tonnes.
¡¤Government will raise subsidies for auto replacements to 5 billion yuan this year. ¡¤Government willallocate 2 billion yuan to encourage home appliance upgrades. ¡¤CBRC said consumers will get loans without collateral for buying durable goods.
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China will increase subsidies for consumers who sell their cars and home appliances in order to purchase new ones, in an effort to spur domestic consumption and curb pollution, according to a cabinet meeting held Tuesday.
The government will raise subsidies for auto replacements from 1 billion yuan to 5 billion yuan this year, and allocate 2 billion Yuan to encourage home appliance upgrades, an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao said.
The move will further help stimulate domestic spending after the rebate program for auto and home appliance buyers in the rural areas greatly boosted rural consumption, said a statement from the meeting.
Consumers who trade-in their used mid- and small-sized truck and some types of mid-sized passenger cars for new ones will receive a subsidy.
Subsidies will also be given to consumers who sell automobiles that no longer meet the government's emission standard, but are still within life expectancy.
The subsidy will be no more than the purchase tax of the automobile.
A pilot program of home appliance replacement will start in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Changsha and provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, said the statement. No specific date was given.
Buyers will receive a subsidy worth 10 percent of the prices on five kinds of new appliances, namely, TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and computers.
Retail sales kept solid growth in China as the world's third largest economy turned to domestic consumption for growth after exports tumbled.
Retail sales rose 14.8 percent in April year on year to 934.32 billion yuan (136.8 billion U.S. dollars), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced last Wednesday.
The growth rate was 0.1 percentage point higher than in March.
From January to April, retail sales totaled 3.87 trillion Yuan, up 15 percent over the same period last year.
More than 1.15 million vehicles were sold last month in China, up 25 percent year on year, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on May 8.
Sales were boosted by government stimulus policies, Zhang Yunpeng, an analyst with Beijing-based Huarong securities told Xinhua last Wednesday. China in January halved the purchase tax on passenger cars to 5 percent for models with engine displacements of less than 1.6 liters.
As part of the government effort to boost consumption, China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on May 12 that the consumers will get loans without collateral for buying durable goods, including appliances and electronic products, and other private consumption such as travel and education.
China to create 3 mln jobs in light industry
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's Cabinet, Monday announced that it would endeavor to create 3 million new jobs in light industry in the coming three years by boosting domestic demand.
The State Council in February unveiled initial plans to boost light industry in a bid to buoy the economy together with the 4-trillion-yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package presented in November and nine other specific industry stimulus plans including petrochemicals, textiles and other sectors. Full story
China's oil processing capacity to increase by 18% by 2011
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China plans to raise its annual crude oil processing capacity to 405 million tonnes by 2011, the State Council, or the Cabinet, said on Monday in its restructuring and stimulus plans for the petrochemical industry.
That would represent an increase of about 18.4 percent over its processing volume last year, which topped 342.1 million tonnes, according to the January figures from the National Bureau of Statistics. Full story
China will meet economic growth target of 8%: senior economic planner
HONG KONG, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China will definitely be able to meet the target of achieving eight percent economic growth in 2009, a senior official of the country's top economic planning body said here Monday.
"Judging from the indicators of the first four months, I do believe it is highly possible to achieve an eight percent growth for the full year. In fact, I believe the target will definitely be met," said Xulin, head of the Department of Fiscal and Financial Affairs of the National Development and Reform Commission. Full story
On bumpy road, Chinese exporters tap into home market
GUANGZHOU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- At a sales booth in a special trade fair here in southern China, Zhou was complaining how hard it was to sell her products.
"We sell them at factory-gate prices, but buyers still bargain. That makes me mad," said Zhou, a Taiwanese senior manager of Poly Dragon Industrial, which is based in the booming city of Dongguan neighboring Guangzhou, capital of China's manufacturing base Guangdong Province. Full story
China allows consumer financing companies to boost consumption
BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- China will allow non-deposit-taking institutions both home and overseas to offer consumer loans to its citizens, a new measure to stimulate domestic consumption.
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued, on its portal Web site Tuesday, management measures on the experiment of consumer financing companies to seek public opinions. Full story
BEIJING, May 19 -- The 2008 China Financial Market Development Report, issued by the People's Bank of China on May 4, pointed out that various stimulus packages launched by respective countries would influence supply and demand relation in international financial market. This may probably lead to a large scale withdrawal of capital from emerging markets. "If the inflowing offshore funds in China begin to outflow, it may probably result in a drastic adjustment in the stock market and bond market of China," said the report.
The warning of the Chinese central bank is based on the financial crises as it occurred in different countries as well as the appreciation of the US dollar since the later half of 2008. The dollar value moving up resulted from the flowback of large sums of money from international markets to the US after subprime mortgage crisis.
After the financial tsunami broke out in the US in 2008, it is not only the US financial institutions that brought back the capital invested overseas to make up the shortage of liquidity but capital in the global market also sought a safer place--the US market. Therefore, it is no surprise that foreign capital withdrew from emerging markets considering that capital from other parts of the world also flowed to the US.
Various recovery measures and economic stimulus packages, which are announced by the affected countries with the aim of saving a depressed economy, will also change the trend of capital flows in the international financial market.
On May 5, State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) in China solicited opinion from all social sectors on the issue of administration of domestic foreign exchange accounts of foreign institutions. SAFE stated that these accounts of some foreign institutions tend to be a hotbed of illegal practices because of the absence of unified regulations. SAFE will reinforce the management of these accounts in domestic non-offshore banking sectors.
I believe that there are several key points here. First, SAFE will regulate the opening and operation of foreign institutions' domestic foreign exchange accounts, in order to keep track of cross-border capital flows. Second, it wants to prevent these accounts from being used for money laundering. Third, it intends to prevent the large-scale illegal flow of cross-border capital in these accounts from adversely impacting China's financial market. Fourth, it wants to avoid these accounts becoming the main channel for the escape of international hot money.
In recent years, with the increasing opening up of China, more and more foreign institutions have opened foreign exchange accounts in domestic banks. The volume of business keeps increasing rapidly. According to incomplete statistics, such accounts opened by foreign institutions within China exceeded 100,000 at the end of 2008.
A few years ago, when RMB was appreciating fast and domestic asset prices increasing in leaps and bounds, a large number of foreign institutions frequently opened accounts in domestic banks. This made a huge a mount of international hot money rush into China. The total volume of international hot money in China at that time was estimated to be $500-600 billion equivalent to 5 trillion yuan. After the financial crisis broke out, due to the reflux of the US dollar and the depreciation of RMB, the net outflow of the balance of payments accounts in China is estimated to be between $20 billion to $200 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The trend of RMB exchange rate and the development of Chinese economy in the future will determine the direction of international hot money flow. Considering the fact that China's economy will recover earlier than other countries, if RMB exchange rate can be kept stable or even allowed to rise slightly, there is little chance of a massive outflow of international hot money from China, no matter how turbulent international financial markets are. If the flow of international hot money can be limited to a controllable range, we don't need to worry about it too much.
However, if China doesn't accelerate the pace of economic reform for dealing with key problems, China's economy will face many difficulties when the US and European economies revive after the crisis. By that time if the RMB is depreciated because of a slowdown of China's economic growth rate, it is possible that there would be huge amounts of international hot money outflow from China.
China should tighten the administration of the cross-border flow of capital. But it is unnecessary to strictly control the outflow of oversea capitals. The key to this issue is whether China's economy can keep sustained and steady growth.
The author is a researcher with the Institute of Finance and Banking under the Chinese Academy of Social Science
HONG KONG, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on Hong Kong Stock Exchange went up Monday with 184.95 points, or 1.93 percent, to close the day's trading at 9,607.29.
The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Jan. 5, 2009, tracks the overall performance of 43 major Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hang Seng China H-Financials Index moved up 264.55 points, or 2.12 percent, to close at 12,745.89.
The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index went up 51.23 points, or 1.63 percent, to close at 3,194.10.
Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 with the latest readjustment effective on March 9, 2009, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 132 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index moved up 20.01 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 3,567.48.
The index tracks the performance of 34 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.
HONG KONG, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks moved up 232.21 points, or 1.38 percent to close at 17,022.91 on Monday.
Turnover climbed to 66.38 billion HK dollars (8.57 billion U.S. dollars), from Friday's 58.06 billion HK dollars (7.50 billion U.S. dollars).
The index traded between 16,334.36 and 17,062.49.
The gain seen in the afternoon session was attributed to strength in property companies and Mainland's stock market, according to analysts who expected the blue-chip index to consolidate in the near term after the market's recent strong rally, though some said ample liquidity should lend the market support.
Property firms led Monday's gains on a positive outlook for the sector. New World Development advanced 6.9 percent to 12.76 HK dollars, Sino Land jumped 4.1 percent to 11.30 HK dollars, and Henderson Land was up 3.5 percent at 38.50 HK dollars.
JPMorgan Monday raised the Hang Seng Index 2009 year-end target to 19,800 from 16,600, and recommended investors to buy more property stocks.
However, Credit Suisse downgraded Hong Kong's property sector on Monday to Underweight from Market Weight, because a recent strong run up in property stocks has not been matched by fundamental improvements.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended up 0.3 percent at 2,652.78, rebounding from an early fall to 2,589.61, led by gains in coal and power companies, which supported the Hong Kong market.
Hong Kong's H-share index, which tracks the Hong Kong-listed shares of Mainland-registered firms, rose 1.9 percent to 9,792.24.
Hong Kong bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing rose 5.8 percent to 109.70 HK dollars on strong turnover.
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares reversed an early decline to closely slightly higher Monday, with a strong performance by coal stocks.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.28 percent, or 7.52 points, to 2,652.78. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.4 percent, or 40.82 points, to 10,314.04.
Combined turnover increased to 180.19 billion yuan (26.50 billion U.S. dollars) from Friday's 169.5 billion yuan.
Shares in Shanghai tumbled below the 2,600 mark in the morning, as financial and real estate stocks led the decline.
A strong rebound in coal stocks reversed the trend as investors took the view that rising oil prices might push up demand for coal, analysts said.
China Shenhua, the nation's biggest coal producer, rose 3.16 percent to 28.05 yuan. Datong Coal Industry gained 9.84 percent to 37.73 yuan.
China Yangtze Power rose 4.11 percent to 14.94 yuan after it announced a 107.5-billion-yuan-purchase of generation units at the Three Gorges Dam, its parent company and the world's largest hydropower project.
The State Council, or cabinet, announced a support plan Monday for the petrochemical industry. The cabinet urged oil producers and refiners to improve their product mix. It also vowed to improve the pricing mechanism for oil products and establish an oil product consumption tax that would be favorable for petrochemical companies.
It also pledged to build 20 oil refining bases, each with a capacity of 10 million tonnes.
However, the news came out after the market closed, too late to have an impact on Monday's trading.
PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, fell 1.52 percent to 12.97 yuan. Sinopec, Asia's biggest refiner, fell 1.23 percent to 10.46 yuan.
BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened slightly lower on Monday.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.48 percent to 2,632.57. The Shenzhen Component Index was down 0.61 percent to 10,211.02 at the opening.
BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- China has laid a solid ground to step up the development of the country's futures trading market, according to China Futures Association (CFA) here on Saturday.
The country has narrowed the gap with international futures market as its futures trading was less exposed to the impact of the global financial crisis, the CFA vice director Li Qiang said at a forum on the development of futures market.
China ranked second on international market in terms of commodity futures trading. "The futures prices of products such as copper, corn, soybean and wheat have seen a growing influence on the global price changes," Li said.
It was necessary for China to enhance futures trading development and use the market as a tool for risk management at a time of global economic downturn, according to Li, as futures prices often served as a barometer to indicate international commodity price changes.
At present, the country has 20 products on futures trading. Two products have been open for market trading since the year's beginning, including steel and early rice, with the launch of swine futures in expectation.
HONG KONG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on Hong Kong Stock Exchange went up Friday with 158.76 points, or 1.68 percent higher, to close the day's trading at 9,607.29.
The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Jan. 5, 2009, tracks the overall performance of 43 major Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hang Seng China H-Financials Index moved up 215.56 points, or 1.76 percent, to close at 12,481.34.
The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index went up 45.61 points, or 1.47 percent, to close at 3,142.87.
Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 with the latest readjustment effective on March 9, 2009, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 132 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index moved up 13.82 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 3,547.47.
The index tracks the performance of 34 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.
HONG KONG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks advanced 249.01 points, or 1.51 percent to close at 16,790.7 on Friday.
Boosted by overnight rally on Wall Street, the benchmark Hang Seng Index opened higher in the morning and fluctuated in the positive territory throughout the trading.
The bounce of Hong Kong stocks was believed to have mitigated losses in previous sessions this week, when share prices tumbled after robust gains in seven consecutive days.
The day high was 16,953.41 and the day low stood at 16,736.18.
Turnover shriveled to 58.06 billion HK dollars (7.50 billion U.S. dollars), from Thursday's 63.65 billion HK dollars (8.22 billion U.S. dollars).
Index heavyweight HSBC outperformed by rising 3.1 percent to 64. 3 HK dollars and the sole market operator HKEx was up 1.7 percent to 103.7 HK dollars.
Hong Kong-listed Chinese financial companies all registered increase in share prices. The country's biggest lender ICBC surged3.6 percent to 4.65 HK dollars; China Construction Bank (CCB), which has been under close scrutinize among investors after the Bank of America sold large numbers of CCB shares, rose 1.9 percent to 4.79 HK dollars. Insurer Ping An advanced 1.6 percent to 49.35 HK dollars and its arch rival China Life was up 0.9 percent to 27.55 HK dollars.
Oil-related stocks were all higher, with Sinopec up 1.0 percent to 8.09 HK dollars, CNOOC up 2.0 percent to 9.98 HK dollars and ChinaPetrol up 1.7 percent to 6.1 HK dollars.
Local property stocks grabbed a fair share of Friday's market rally. Cheung Kong, the business conglomerate headed by Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing, closed 1.4 percent higher at 83.15 HK dollars, while SHK Properties, the leading residential developer in Hong Kong, gained 1.3 percent to 81.6 HK dollars.
Despite price rise in most blue chips, market observers believe downward pressure still hangs over the market, citing falling investment figures in the Chinese mainland and sharp deterioration of GDP in the first quarter in Hong Kong.
China's Ministry of Commerce announced Friday that the amount of direct foreign direct investment into China fell 21 percent year on year in the first four months, signaling that a recovery isn't yet firmly in place in the world third largest economy.
The Hong Kong SAR government said it would downgrade annual growth estimation for 2009 as exports and unemployment continue to worsen in the Asian financial hub. (7.743 HK dollars = 1 U.S. dollar)
China's foreign direct investment (FDI) growth in the past one year. (Source: China Daily) Photo Gallery
BEIJING, May 15 -- The nation will remain one of the main recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) this year despite a sharp year-on-year decline in April, analysts have said.
Last month's FDI was $5.89 billion, down 22.51 percent from a year earlier, Dow Jones reported Thursday. The Ministry of Commerce refused to confirm the report but experts said the figure would not be far off the mark.
Due largely to the global financial crisis, FDI has contracted for seventh months in a row, and the decline in April is markedly sharper than March, when it fell 9.5 percent.
Analysts said the April figure is not as bad as it appears if the high reference point a year ago is taken into consideration.
Most analysts remain optimistic about the outlook for inward capital flows, saying momentum will start to pick up later this year as the global economy recovers.
"We were worried about overheating earlier last year," said Lu Jinyong, a professor at University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. "But the business environment has changed quite dramatically since. Year-on-year comparisons do not make as much sense now."
In April 2008, actual FDI surged 70 percent from the same period the previous year to total $7.6 billion. Much of it, some experts argue, was so-called hot money trying to profit from the expected appreciation of the yuan against the US dollar.
"Given the high base last year, China should neither feel too surprised nor dejected by the recent FDI figures," said Dong Xian'an, macro-economic analyst with Southwest Securities, a major domestic securities brokerage. "There is other data showing that the economy is bottoming out. And that's the big picture.
"The economy's contraction is likely to relax in the second half of the year, and it is very likely that FDI inflows will recover and start to increase at the turn of the year," Dong said.
Su Chang, a macroeconomic analyst with China Economic Business Monitor, forecast that as the global situation becomes more stable, China's FDI performance will improve in the next few months.
Lu estimated that China's FDI will be around $80 billion, not too drastic a drop from last year's $92.4 billion.
Even with an expected FDI decrease, "China will be one of the few bright spots in the world," Lu said.
According to a white paper on American business in China released last month by the American Chamber of Commerce, 22 percent of American companies said China was their No 1 global investment destination. Between 75 and 78 percent ranked the country as one of their top three investment destinations every year since 2004.
BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares rose 0.2 percent Friday, lifted by an overnight rebound on Wall Street, which recovered from a loss of more than 2 percent the previous trading day.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 5.38 points to close at 2,645.26. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 0.21 percent, or 21.08 points, to 10,273.23.
Combined turnover shrank to 169.5 billion yuan (24.85 U.S. dollars) from 191.2 billion yuan Thursday.
Gainers outnumbered losers by 448 to 321 in Shanghai and 410 to235 in Shenzhen.
The three plans unveiled by the State Council, or the Cabinet, this week to support industry growth helped hold market confidence. The plans are aimed at stimulating development of machinery manufacturing, nonferrous metals and bio-industry.
Medical-related stocks continued to rise for a second day on a 62.8-billion-yuan central plan to support the development of bio-industry aimed at achieving breakthroughs in key technologies, such as transgenic products and new drug development.
Shares for southwestern Chongqing-based Holley Pharmaceuticals rose by the 10 percent daily limit to 5.45 yuan. Shenzhen Neptunus Bioengineering closed at 7.48 yuan, up 10 percent.
The market was also backed by the rise in some heavyweights. Shares for PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, edged up 0.46 percent to 13.17 percent. China Coal Energy was up 2.32 percent to 11.91 yuan.
SHANGHAI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Friday said China needs to modify market regulations to turn Shanghai into a global financial center.
"(We) should make clear and improve from time to time our rules of the game when developing a global financial center," Zhou told a financial forum in Shanghai.
He said the rules, including the legal system and those on accounting, corporate governance and initial public offering, should be modified for global acceptance.
China plans to make Shanghai a global financial center by 2020 that matches the country's economic strength and the international status of its currency, the State Council, or Cabinet, said on April 29.
To achieve the goal, the authorities should also improve infrastructure and information environment and modify rules on tax, market access and talent recruitment, Zhou said.
"The ratio could fall following government measures to boost domestic demand, but it will continue to be high globally for a long period of time," he said. "With the huge savings and the government encouragement for overseas investment, we have all the conditions to speed up the development of various investment funds."
He noted that the authorities will encourage the funds to take bigger risks as they are more risk averse compared with their overseas counterparts.
Shanghai can draw experience from Hong Kong and work with the major financial center in Asia to reach its target, Zhou told the second Lujiazui Forum.
The official said Shanghai, like major brands in the country, needs to stick to the principles of globalization in becoming a global financial center.
In 2006, China's voting power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was raised to 3.66 percent from about two percent. The United States has 16.77 percent of the voting power, giving it the veto power.
"There should be more clear adjustment in the next round of cash injection into the IMF before 2011," he said.
Many economists believed that China would be the first nation to recover from the global downturn, allowing the fast growing economy to play bigger role in the post-downturn world finance affairs.
Zhou said a bigger voice, however, comes with challenges. He said that there is yet no consensus among experts and officials.
"But one thing, I believe, is clear," he said. "With the development of China's economy and finance, we need an international financial center."
Wu Xiaoqiu, a professor of finance at the Renmin University of China, said in late April that the global financial crisis brought to China more opportunities than risks.
In the post-crisis period, Shanghai would join New York and London to be the world's three major financial centers, Wu said.
Zhou said that to some experts, the international financial centers, like New York and London, could be hard hit in the global financial crisis. But the centers, he added, could be very helpful for economic growth, resources optimization and financial innovation.
BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank has asked lenders to ensure credit goes into the real economy, saying that risk control and credit expansion were equally important.
"We can't rule out the possibility that some money has flowed into the stock market, a situation that deserves close government monitoring," Guo Tianyong, professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said Friday.
He also said that at present, money velocity in China -- the rate at which money in circulation was used to buy goods and services -- was slow. He said this perhaps indicated that some of the money might not have gone into the real economy, but had instead flowed from the banking system directly into the stock market.
The request was posted in a notice on the People's Bank of China (PBOC) website Thursday. The country's credit boom this year reflected the relatively easy monetary policy and helped reduce deflationary expectations and boost confidence to ensure stable economic growth, according to a joint meeting of the PBOC and the China Banking Regulatory Commission held Wednesday.
The meeting also stressed banks should better scrutinize risk and ensure that money flowed into the real economy to meet the capital demand of industrial restructuring. Banks should continue to improve credit structure and capital adequacy.
Chinese banks lent 5.17 trillion yuan (760.29 billion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of the year, exceeding the 5 trillion yuan full-year target set early this year.
Liu Yuhui, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua Monday that new bank loans could reach about9 trillion yuan this year.
The PBOC said in its quarterly monetary report on May 6 that China's economy had done "better than expected" in the first quarter and pledged to maintain "ample" liquidity in the financial system to ensure economic recovery.
TIANJIN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-based Nasdaq OMX Group Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tianjin, the largest coastal city in northern China, on cooperation to help local Chinese businesses to go public abroad.
Under the accord, the American group will provide financing and information services -- in market research, corporate management and investment analysis in particular -- for listed companies from Tianjin.
Nasdaq pays great attention to the Chinese market, which promises wide development prospects, according to Robert H. McCooey, Jr., who is in charge of newly listed companies and capital market with the American group.
He said now there were 97 Chinese firms listed on Nasdaq. Among108 companies listed on the bourse last year, 22 came from China. China boasts the second largest number of Nasdaq-listed companies next only to the United States, he said.
As the world's largest stock exchange, Nasdaq OMX Group, with more than 3,800 companies listed, provides trading and related technical services for companies around the globe. It has set up representative offices in Beijing and Hong Kong.
People walk past an index board displayed in Hong Kong, China, May 14, 2009. Hong Kong stocks retreated 3.04 percent, or 517.93 points to close at 16,541.69 on Thursday.(Xinhua/Wong Pun Keung) Photo Gallery
HONG KONG, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks retreated 3.04 percent, or 517.93 points to close at 16,541.69 on Thursday, tracking U.S. market falls overnight prompted by declining retail sales.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened 2.52 percent lower in the morning and soon dived as much as 3 percent, led by falls of heavyweights including the HSBC and China Mobile.
The index touched the day high of 16,630.33 before shedding more points to the day low of 16,422.28.
Turnover was 63.65 billion HK dollars (8.22 billion U.S. dollars).
The Hong Kong market tumble came after U.S. stocks plunged overnight over a weak-than-expected retail sale released by the U.S. Commerce Department.
Analysts said the 0.4-percent drop in retail sales in April in the world largest economy, which indicated that a recovery may not be "just around the corner," further dented market confidence.
Among the 42 constituents of the Hang Seng Index, only two stocks registered growth. Tencent, China's leading instant message service provider, rose 9.8 percent to 79.9 HK dollars after it reported a 94-percent rise in first quarter profit. Tencent touched the record of 82 HK dollars earlier during Thursday's trading.
Another gainer is China Unicom, up 0.23 percent to 8.85 HK dollars.
HSBC contributed to market tumble by decreasing 4.2 percent to 62.35 HK dollars and ChinaMobile lost 4.2 percent to 73.15 HK dollars after resuming trading. The sole market operator HKEx plunged 7.1 percent to 102 HK dollars as more financial institutions turned downbeat about its earning prospects.
Profit-taking in oil-related stocks pushed the sector lower, with Sinopec down 4.6 percent to 8.01 HK dollars, PetrolChina down4.2 percent to 6 HK dollars and CNOOC shedding 4.3 percent to 9.78HK dollars.
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Chinese banks suffered loss of different degrees. China Construction Bank fell 1.9 percent to 4.7HK dollars, ICBC down 2.4 percent to 4.49 HK dollars and the Bank of China down 2.1 percent to 2.85 HK dollars. (7.742 HK dollars is equivalent to 1 U.S. dollar)
Investors chat at a securities exchange in Shanghai, China, May 14, 2009. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 2,639.89 points Thursday, down 23.88 points, or 0.9 percent, from the previous close. (Xinhua/Pei Xin) Photo Gallery
BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares dipped 0.9 percent Thursday, following a global market downfall triggered by unfavorable economic data in the United States.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 23.88 points to close at 2,639.89. The Shenzhen Component Index edged down 0.41 percent, or 42.22 points, to 10,252.15.
Wall Street dropped sharply in early trading Wednesday after retail sales unexpectedly decreased in April for a second month.
Weak blue chips pulled down the market. PetroChina declined 1.35 percent to 13.11 yuan (1.93 U.S. dollars), and Sinopec lost 2.21 percent to 10.6 yuan.
Financial shares led the fall. China Merchants Bank slid 2.93 percent to 17.23 yuan, and China Ping An declined 2.75 percent to 40.37 yuan.
As China's government released a plan Wednesday to stimulate bio-industry, medical-related stocks bucked trend, with Zhangzhou Tian-Mu-Shan Pharmaceutical Enterprise Co. and Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients Corp. rising by the daily limit of 10 percent to 8.56 yuan and 24.08 yuan respectively.
According to the plan, China will support 11 national research programs with at least 62.8 billion yuan in 18 months to achieve breakthroughs in key technology development that included transgenic products, new drug development, and the treatment of major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis.
The information technology sector gained 1.34 percent, as the programs also included an advanced new-generation broadband wireless mobile communications network, and high-end central processing units and software.
Combined turnover shrank to 191.2 billion yuan (28.11 U.S. dollars) from 222.89 billion yuan (32.63 billion U.S. dollars) Tuesday.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 443 to 409 in Shanghai. Gainers outnumbered losers by 367 to 365 in Shenzhen.
An investor sits at a securities exchange in Shanghai, China, May 14, 2009. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 2,639.89 points Thursday, down 23.88 points, or 0.9 percent, from the previous close. (Xinhua/Pei Xin) Photo Gallery
HONG KONG, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing saw a 49 percent year-on-year drop in the profit attributable to shareholders in the first quarter of this year, to 834.2 million HK dollars (107.75 million U.S. dollars), the only stock market operator in Hong Kong announced on Wednesday.
According to first quarter results, HKEx recorded income of 1.34 billion HK dollars (173.08 million U.S. dollars), down 41 percent on a year earlier, while operating expenses fell 7 percent to 354.4 million HK dollars (45.78 million U.S. dollars). The profit attributable to shareholders was 834.2 million HK dollars, with basic earnings per share at 78 cents.
The average daily turnover value on the Stock Exchange was 44.7 billion HK dollars, 55 percent lower than the same period last year. The average daily number of derivatives contracts traded on the Futures Exchange and stock options contracts traded on the Stock Exchange also dropped 5 percent and 27 percent to 195,499 and 194,279.
HKEx Chairman Ronald Arculli said the persistence of negative market sentiment had a significant impact on both the primary and secondary markets in the first quarter.
The plunge in global consumption was magnified by worsening unemployment and tighter credit conditions which caused aggressive business retrenchment in most economies.
"Despite the difficulties ahead, HKEx continues to work hard to ensure it operates a quality market built on a solid financial infrastructure with sound products and services to bolster confidence in our marketplace."
Posts
