http://mynews.mychinab2b.com Your Source for Latest B2B iNews Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:49:40 MST en http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/luxury-swiss-watches-clocking-up-record-sales-in-china/ ]]> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:49:40 MST admin Biz News 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/luxury-swiss-watches-clocking-up-record-sales-in-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/january-pmi-shows-chinas-economy-stabilizing-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-/
Their results, however, pointed to a stabilizing trend in the world's second-largest economy which remained a star performer last month amid slow economic growth worldwide, analysts said.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index, a comprehensive gauge of manufacturing activities weighted more towards large state-owned enterprises, sat at 50.5 in January, up 0.2 point from a month earlier, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said.

In comparison, the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, which is slanted more towards private and export-oriented companies, remained below 50 in January at 48.8, although it edged up a bit from December's 48.7.

In both surveys, a reading above 50 indicates expansion; below 50 means contraction.

"The rebound for a second month in the official PMI shows China's economy is stabilizing," said Zhang Liqun, an analyst appointed by the federation. "The improvement in new orders reflects a recovery in manufacturing thanks to healthy domestic demand."

Component indices showed that new orders rose 0.6 point from December to 50.4, while production gained 0.2 point to 53.6. Trading was weak as new export orders fell 1.7 points to 46.9 and imports shrank 2.2 points to 46.9 as well.

Chang Jian, an economist at Barclays Capital, said the official PMI increase should be treated with more optimism because it defied the seasonal decline in the month of the Chinese New Year.

"In our view, the upside surprise also suggests the stronger-than-expected momentum in December's data is not temporary or driven solely by seasonal factors," Chang said. "It reflects the effect of earlier selective monetary easing and proactive fiscal policy, and hence can be sustained."

For private and export-oriented manufacturers which still reported activities contraction, Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said it called for more aggressive easing measures to support their growth.

"Given the inflation is no longer a concern, China should launch more supportive policies for smaller manufacturers," Qu said. He added that once filtering through, the policy easing should ensure a soft-landing this year in China's economy.

"But first quarter is likely to be tough, with gross domestic product to be around 8 percent," Qu said.

China's economic growth stood at an annualized 9.2 percent last year, compared with 10.4 percent in 2010. But the pace moderated to 8.9 percent in the final quarter of last year, the slowest in two and a half years. ]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:09:27 MST admin Economy 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/january-pmi-shows-chinas-economy-stabilizing-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/economy-shanghai-boosts-innovation-restructuring/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:31:52 MST admin Shanghai 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/economy-shanghai-boosts-innovation-restructuring/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/liuzhou-warns-residents-as-tainted-water-belt-floats-closer-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-/
Cadmium pollutants were detected in the Liujiang River near Liuzhou City of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region yesterday afternoon, the city's environmental protection bureau said. Liuzhou City has a population of 3.7 million.

But test results published every two hours indicated that the pollution was not severe and no apparent harm had been done to the river's upper reaches, the city's major drinking water source, said Gan Jinglin, Liuzhou's environmental chief.

"The water is still up to national standards and is safe for drinking," said Gan.

But local authorities have warned residents not to fetch water from the polluted sections of the river.

The government has begun looking for alternative water sources, fearing the tainted belt may spread further.

Meanwhile, the city has opened sluices at four upstream hydrological stations, hoping to dilute the pollutants.

The local market watchdog has moved to ensure that prices for bottled water remain stable and supplies are sufficient in case the pollution prompts panic buying.

Guangxi Jinhe Mining Co. Ltd. has been held responsible for discharging waste and therefore polluting the Longjiang River, a tributary upstream of the Liujiang River in Hechi on January 15.

In Hechi, the pollution killed many fish and prompted panic buying of bottled water over the last week. Local fire authorities had put hundreds of tonnes neutralizers, made from dissolved aluminum chloride, into the Longjiang River to dissolve the contamination.

The cadmium level has been declining in the Longjiang River since yesterday, the local government said.

Cadmium, a chemical that is mostly found in industrial effluents, is carcinogenic. ]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:00:46 MST admin Food - Beverage 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/liuzhou-warns-residents-as-tainted-water-belt-floats-closer-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-davos-leaders-focusing-on-china/ Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:44:22 MST admin Economy 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/economy-davos-leaders-focusing-on-china/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/imf-cuts-world-growth-forecast-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/
The IMF chopped its 2012 forecast for global growth to 3.3 percent from 4 percent just three months ago, saying the outlook had deteriorated in most regions. It projected world growth would improve to 3.9 percent in 2013.

The Washington-based lender said economic activity was decelerating but not collapsing. But it warned that global growth would come in about 2 percentage points below its already soft forecast if European leaders allowed the crisis to fester.

For the first time since the debt turmoil erupted two years ago, the IMF said the 17-nation eurozone would likely slip into a mild recession in 2012, with a 0.5 percent contraction in output.

"The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere," the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report.

"The most immediate policy challenge is to restore confidence and put an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth while sustaining adjustment, containing deleveraging, and providing more liquidity and monetary accommodation," it added.

The IMF maintained its 1.8 percent growth forecast for the United States in 2012, but cut its projection for Japan to 1.7 percent from 2.3 percent in September.

It said economic activity in advanced economies would expand by 1.5 percent on average in 2012 and 2013, too sluggish to make a major dent in high unemployment rates.

The IMF said the US and other advanced economies would likely not escape unharmed if Europe's crisis escalated further.

The fund projected a sharp slowdown in the pace of growth in emerging and developing countries and urged them to focus policies to stimulate their economies. It now projects growth in emerging economies to reach 5.4 percent in 2012, down from the 6.1 percent it forecast in September.

It cut China's growth figure to 8.2 percent for 2012, down from 9.0 percent. Chinese growth should rebound to 8.8 percent in 2013, it added.

For fast-growing emerging Asia as a whole, the IMF reduced its growth outlook for 2012 to 7.3 percent from 8 percent.

The IMF said global oil prices would only ease slightly in 2012 despite slowing world growth. ]]> Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:48:12 MST admin Biz News 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Biz News/imf-cuts-world-growth-forecast-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Investments/cic-buys-minority-stake-in-thames-water-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/
China Investment Corp said in a statement yesterday that it acquired an 8.68 percent stake in Thames Water through a wholly-owned unit. But CIC did not provide a value for the deal.

The CIC transaction followed a visit to Beijing earlier this week by George Osborne, the UK's finance minister, who is seeking Chinese investments in his country's infrastructure sector.

"It is a vote of confidence in Britain as a place to invest and do business. This (CIC) investment is good news for both the British and Chinese economies," Osborne was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The deal marks the second recent foreign acquisition of a stake in Thames Water, the UK's largest water and wastewater service provider, after the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought 9.9 percent in Kemble Water Holdings, the parent of the utility.

CIC executives previously said it was keen to invest in infrastructure of Western countries. The lingering European sovereign debt crisis has made assets there attractive to investors all over the world.

Thames Water says it services 8.8 million customers across London and the Thames Valley and handles sewage for an area with 14 million customers.

CIC faced criticism over the performance of investments made just as the 2008 global crisis was developing.

But its performance has improved since, and the fund said that it made an 11.7 percent return in 2010, the latest year for which results have been reported. ]]> Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:11:16 MST admin Investments 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Investments/cic-buys-minority-stake-in-thames-water-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Transportation/transportation-low-and-medium-speed-maglev-train-finishes-production-in-hunan/
Liu said China is one of a few countries that have applied maglev technology. ]]> Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:59:29 MST admin Transportation 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Transportation/transportation-low-and-medium-speed-maglev-train-finishes-production-in-hunan/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Finance/fdi-registers-another-drop-in-dec-%7C-economy-%7C-chinadaily-com-cn/
BEIJING - Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China registered the sharpest year-on-year decline in December since August 2009, when the country was hit by the global financial crisis, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Officials and analysts attributed the slowdown to a fragile recovery for the world economy and increasing labor costs.

Yet they still believed China will maintain stable FDI growth in the future as the country continues to open up its market and improve its investment environment.

FDI in China declined by 12.73 percent in December from the year before, the second month in a row that had seen such a decrease, the ministry said.

In 2011, the country's total amount of FDI reached a new high of $116 billion but its growth rate slowed to 9.72 percent from 17.4 percent in 2010, according to the ministry.

Investment from the United States decreased by 26.1 percent in 2011 to $3 billion, while that from the European Union decreased by 3.65 percent to $6.3 billion, the ministry said.

"China's FDI increase in 2011 was one of the lowest in recent years," said Shen Danyang, a ministry spokesman.

He said the slowdown was mainly the result of a sluggish economic recovery in the US, the European Union and other developed economies, which has prompted investors to hold back.

In the meantime, foreign direct investment in the Chinese service industry outstripped the manufacturing industry for the first time, making up 47.6 percent of the total investment recorded in 2011, the ministry said.

"Pushed by a stronger yuan, China's labor costs have been increasing in recent years," said Lu Zhengwei, an economist with the Industrial Bank Co Ltd.

"This may squeeze the manufacturers' profits and pose difficulties to attracting FDI to the manufacturing sector."

Nevertheless, analysts said China still has the potential to retain its position as the most attractive place to invest in.

Huo Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank of the Ministry of Commerce, said the country should continue opening up its service industry to foreign investors.

China has improved its FDI structure with more investments flowing into the service industry. A more open service industry, along with improving investment opportunities in the western parts of China, will help the country maintain stable FDI growth, Huo said.

The value of China's outbound investment in 2011 stood at $60 billion, an increase of 1.8 percent from the year before - much lower than the growth rate of 36.3 percent recorded for 2010, the ministry said.

Pressed by the dismal world economy, countries have increasingly begun to take protective measures against investments by China's State-owned enterprises, Shen said, citing a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Investment outflows to the European Union jumped by 94.1 percent in 2011 to hit $4.3 billion and those to Africa increased by 58.9 percent from 2010 to hit $1.7 billion, according to the ministry.

Huo said the eurozone's debt crisis might provide an opportunity to bring about more cooperation among Chinese and European companies.

"The world has now reached a consensus: If we are to overcome the current global economic stasis, we must cooperate," Huo said.

This will provide an opportunity for Chinese companies to invest abroad, especially in the European Union, he said. ]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:00:35 MST admin Finance 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Finance/fdi-registers-another-drop-in-dec-%7C-economy-%7C-chinadaily-com-cn/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/industrial-output-growth-set-to-slow-down-through-2015-%7C-economy-%7C-chinadaily-com-cn/
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said the deceleration was a sign that the central government would focus on quality rather than speed during the next four years.

"The plan requires a proper balance of quality and quantity in industrial development and a greater emphasis on innovation, technological improvement and energy conservation," the ministry said.

Industry experts agreed with that assessment.

Yuan Lei, deputy director of the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told National Business Daily that 8 percent was a very low goal. Even during the financial crisis, industrial production growth didn't dip below 6 percent.

Yuan noted that the target was lower than that set for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2005-10) period. "The reason is the country has decided to undertake an industrial transformation. If the aim is too high, local governments may pay more attention to speed rather than quality," Yuan said.

Under the plan, which aims to shift the foundation of industrial growth from labor-oriented to value-added, research and development spending by large companies is expected to account for about 1 percent of their sales during the period.

The proportion will be at least 3 percent for major industrial enterprises, while the number of patents held by Chinese enterprises is expected to double.

China aims to boost the percentage of emerging industries' output to 15 percent of the total by 2015 for a better industrial structure, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, the country is to reduce pollution and curb capacity in energy-intensive industries. Energy consumption for each unit of added value in industrial output is expected to drop by 21 percent from the levels at the end of 2010, and water consumption should slide 30 percent, while carbon emissions need to be "largely reduced", according to the plan.

Yuan added that industrial companies should become more innovative, use advanced technology to save energy and eliminate obsolete capacity.

Companies are being encouraged to improve product quality, create local brands, raise competitiveness through technological updating and explore overseas markets. ]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:57:49 MST admin Industry 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/industrial-output-growth-set-to-slow-down-through-2015-%7C-economy-%7C-chinadaily-com-cn/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/jewelry-brands-tarnished-by-poor-quality-products-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-english-window-to-china-new/
South China's Guangdong Province Bureau of Quality... ]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:19:53 MST admin Industry 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Industry/jewelry-brands-tarnished-by-poor-quality-products-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5-english-window-to-china-new/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Science Technology/satellite-china-to-launch-21-rockets-30-satellites-in-2012/ Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:57:51 MST admin Science&Tech 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Science Technology/satellite-china-to-launch-21-rockets-30-satellites-in-2012/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Green Economy/green-economy-operator-out-to-remedy-electric-bus-negatives/
Ambitions of extending the network are being hampered by high vehicle and maintenance costs and the congestion buses cause while recharging. ]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:43:14 MST admin Green Economy 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Green Economy/green-economy-operator-out-to-remedy-electric-bus-negatives/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/china-gdp-gains-9-2-in-2011-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/
China's GDP totaled 47.16 trillion yuan... ]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:32:10 MST admin Economy 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/china-gdp-gains-9-2-in-2011-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/mayor-outlines-array-of-measures-to-improve-city-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/
The disparate measures will help Shanghai continue to drive innovation in its economic growth and improve people's daily lives, Han said during the ongoing Shanghai People's Congress.

"Though the external economic environment is not so good this year, its also the opportunity for Shanghai to develop itself, through the global economic transformation from developed regions to developing countries," Han said.

Shanghai will push the VAT switch in transportation and six other modern service industries such as information technology and culture. The switch covers 118,000 Shanghai-registered companies now.

The tax reform will help companies reduce taxes and improve their competitive position. The new VAT rate is 11 percent or 6 percent, much lower than the business tax rate of 13 percent or 17 percent.

Pressure on manufacturers

Traditional manufacturing companies face great pressure this year because of the global economic slowdown and increased cost of materials. Shanghai is thus shifting to develop its service industries, Han said.

Meanwhile, the city will also raise pensions for retired and low-income people. Shanghai's average monthly salary for the retired is 2,017 yuan (US$320), ranking the city No. 4 in the Chinese mainland behind Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing. The city aims to lift pensions by 300 yuan a month by the end of this year, Han said.

Shanghai will also improve its environmental monitoring, Han said. This year, Shanghai will be among the first regions to adopt PM2.5 monitoring. The standard will spread to 113 key cities next year, all major cities in 2015 and nationwide in 2016.

PM2.5 refers to particles measuring smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. They can pose major health risks as they are small enough to lodge deep in the lungs and even enter the bloodstream.

Currently, Chinese cities adopt the less sensitive PM10 standard in reporting air quality.

Shanghai started a lab for PM2.5 monitoring trials 10 years ago, and local stations had been collecting results systematically for years, according to the local environmental watchdog.

The mayor said that based on results from the past five years, about 50 to 60 percent of particulates reported under the looser PM10 monitoring standard turn out to be smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. In other words, they are the more harmful PM2.5 particulates.

The stations also discovered the concentration of local PM2.5 particulates reached 0.044 to 0.05 milligrams per cubic meter of air, which is higher than the 0.03 standard expected to be passed by the state environmental watchdog soon, the mayor added.

The results from recent years indicate that once PM2.5 is adopted, the percentage of good air-quality days in Shanghai will drop by 13 to 15 percentage points from the current 90 to 93 percent, the mayor said.

Increased education spending is another major government goal this year, Han said. He specified that of the unprecedented 70 billion yuan annual government investment in education, 60 to 65 percent will be used to build more kindergartens and other schools as well as improving the quality of education. The rest will be spent on funding development of local colleges.

The mayor stressed the city's educational resources must be distributed evenly because of the sharp difference between suburban areas and downtown.

He urged local authorities to make the best use of funds and encouraged downtown district schools to open branches in the suburbs and transfer senior teachers to schools there. ]]> Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:15:41 MST admin Shanghai 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/mayor-outlines-array-of-measures-to-improve-city-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/fake-furniture-davinci-scandal-now-smells-of-fraud/ Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:23:49 MST admin Retail 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Retail/fake-furniture-davinci-scandal-now-smells-of-fraud/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/december-export-growth-slows-trade-surplus-expands-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/
Overseas shipments rose 13.4 percent from a year ago, slowing down from a 13.8 percent increase in November, the... ]]> Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:03:25 MST admin Economy 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Economy/december-export-growth-slows-trade-surplus-expands-shanghai-daily-%7C-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%97%A5%E6%8A%A5/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/commerce-foreign-trade-growth-reaches-20-in-2011/ Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:25:14 MST admin Food - Beverage 1 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/commerce-foreign-trade-growth-reaches-20-in-2011/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/chinese-food-safety-scandals-recur-despite-efforts-to-ban-toxins/ Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:40:39 MST admin Food - Beverage 2 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Food - Beverage/chinese-food-safety-scandals-recur-despite-efforts-to-ban-toxins/ http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/flight-simulator-chocks-away-for-shanghai-flight-museum/
Air enthusiasts can experience taking off and landing in the cockpits, which contain simulations of runways at 15,382 airports around the world - including the risky super-short 245-meter runway of Germany's Helgoland Airport. ]]> Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:24:40 MST admin Shanghai 2 http://mynews.mychinab2b.com/Shanghai/flight-simulator-chocks-away-for-shanghai-flight-museum/