China Economy Forum

[JSCh]

Chinese Insurer Anbang to buy Fidelity & Guaranty for 1.57 bln USD
2015-11-10 10:06:41 Xinhua Web Editor: Min Rui

China's Anbang Insurance Group Co. announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire U.S. life insurance provider Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company (NYSE: FGL) for 1.57 billion U.S. dollars.

Anbang said it will acquire FGL for 26.80 dollars per share. Subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is an insurance holding company, helps middle-income Americans prepare for retirement.

The transaction will make Anbang one of the largest insurers by market share in fixed annuity products in the United States. FGL's solid life and annuity platforms will enhance the growth of business on the part of Anbang. Meanwhile, Anbang will also help FGL to explore market and enlarge its client base.

Anbang Insurance Group Co., Ltd. is a leading comprehensive insurance company based in Beijing, China with a global network of over 30 million clients and more than 30,000 employees.

Last October, Anbang has made headlines with the acquisition of Waldorf Astoria, the landmark hotel on Park Avenue in the Big Apple. Under the agreement, Anbang purchased the iconic luxury hotel for 1.95 billion dollars from Hilton Worldwide Holdings.

In March 2015, Anbang Insurance Group Co. agreed to buy 21 floors of an office building on the famed Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese Renminbi internationalization accelerates
2015-11-10 09:14 CRIENGLISH.com Editor: Feng Shuang

China has accelerated the internationalization of its currency, the Renminbi, as the country's banking organizations are entering new cooperation with Singapore, one of Asia's finance hubs.

Bank of China, or BOC, has launched two global commodity business centers based in Singapore on Saturday.

It has also signed a cooperation agreement on RMB financing with International Enterprise Singapore in the last week.

Guo Ningning, president of BOC Singapore Branch, says the deal is designed to provide more RMB financial products to overseas market.

"We provide all kinds of financial products and services, including traditional services like loans, deposits, currency exchange, trade settlement and trade financing, and new financial services like RMB financial products."

Also, the Singapore Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation with IE Singapore to build the "electronic Silk Road."

According to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, the RMB has become the world's second most-used currency for trade and financing, the fifth most-used currency for payment and the sixth most-used currency in foreign exchanges.

China has filed an application to the International Monetary Fund to add RMB into the organization's currency basket of Special Drawing Rights. The IMF will announce its results on China's application at the end of November.

 

[JSCh]

Two-child policy to increase potential economic growth rate
Source:Xinhua Published: 2015-11-10 15:58:27

China's new two-child policy could increase economic growth rate by 0.5 percentage points through reducing China's dependency ratio, said National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) Tuesday.

The change in policy is expected to mean over 30 million more people in the labor force by 2050 and an decrease of 2 percentage points in the share of elderly of Chinese population, said Wang Peian, deputy head of the NHFPC, in a press conference held on Tuesday in Beijing.

Statistics from the NHFPC shows the population aged between 15 to 64 in China is around 1 billion in 2015 and will reduce to 830 million by 2050.

According to Yang Wenzhuang, head of the Department of Community Family Planning with the NHFPC, the two-child policy will exert positive influence on China's economy in the long term as the babies born under the new policy grow into a workforce of high quality by 2050.

In short term, industries related to child-raising, such as maternity medical care, baby formula, child-care services, have been expected to grow further and faster in China, added Yang.

A surge in births when the new policy is ratified and implemented next year is expected, while the total population will only slightly increase with its peak to be reached at 1.45 billion in 2029, said Wang.

Official data also indicates 76 percent of all couples conceiving a second child under the new policy will be urban citizens.

 

[JSCh]

470-ton gold mine found under waters of Bohai Sea
2015-11-10 15:33 Ecns.cn Editor: Qian Ruisha

Gold ore. (File Photo/jiaodong.net)​

(ECNS) -- China has discovered a colossal gold mine worth hundreds of billions of yuan in the water of Sanshan Island, east Shandong province's Laizhou Island, which lies east of the Bohai Sea.

It's the first gold mine discovered under the ocean in China. The mine is estimated to bear 470.47 tons of the mineral. Mines containing over 20 tons of gold are considered "big."

It took Shandong Third Institute of Geological and Mineral Exploration three years to find the mine. Because the metal is buried 2,000 meters under sea, mining will be a challenging task.

Although China is the world's leading producer of gold, its technology is yet to be improved. Most gold mining operations in China take place within 1,000 meters under the earth.

With waves in the sea, it could be even harder to locate the metal accurately and go that far for the gold rush. Besides, it's reported that the mining requires more than 1,000 workers simultaneously.

"It's no easier than the docking of a space ship," said Zhang Junjin, program manager of the exploration.

Mining will be conducted by Laizhou Rehi Mining Co., Ltd.

"Drilling in the ocean will mark the fact that China's geological exploration has extended from land to sea, and that it is a strong power in geological terms," said Xu Zhiqin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Science.

 

[Martian2]

China ranks first in building energy efficiency | ACEEE

"In its 2015 international scorecard, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy ranked China first in building energy efficiency (pdf). The group found that 'residential buildings consume less energy per square foot than those in any other country analyzed, and commercial buildings have the second lowest energy consumption per square foot.'"

http://aceee.org/files/pdf/country/china.pdf

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Electricity use trends point to major gains in China's energy efficiency | CER

 

[TaiShang]

China completes 2015 affordable housing targets
November 11, 2015

China completed the construction of 6.88 million affordable apartments in the first ten months of the year, surpassing its annual target of 4.8 million, official data showed.

In the Jan.-Oct. period, China started the construction of 7.47 million affordable apartments, also exceeding its target of 7.4 million for the whole year, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The construction has brought 1.28 trillion yuan (over 200 billion U.S. dollars) of investment, the data showed.

China has been accelerating its affordable housing projects to improve people's living conditions and shore up the economic growth.

 

[TaiShang]

China to be largest source of FDI
November 11, 2015

China's direct investment overseas is expected to reach $367.3 billion by 2022. That will surpass the United States, making China the world's largest source for foreign direct investment, according to a report by a top think tank.

According to the 2015 Report on Chinese Enterprise Globalization published by the Beijing-based Center for China and Globalization, outbound direct investment by Chinese companies is expected to grow rapidly, thanks to strong government support and the country's fast-growing private sector.

The report said that Chinese outbound investors are extremely conscious about macro, political and economic risks. The top three concerns are political security, policy stability, legal and institutional environment. Cultural disparities continued to be the biggest obstacle in foreign markets.

To cope with these risks, Chinese companies are focusing on maintaining better relations with local labor unions, media, authorities and nonprofit environmental protection organizations.

"As the United States and Europe are the most attractive overseas markets for Chinese investors, they are capable of investing more in the two markets once the China-US and China-EU bilateral investment treaties are completed," said Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

One example mentioned by the report is Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd's $23 billion takeover bid for the US chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. If the deal goes through, it would be the largest Chinese acquisition in the US till date.

China became a net capital exporter for the first time in 2014 when ODI outgrew FDI. Outbound investment grew 14.1 percent to $123.12 billion, eclipsing the 1.7 percent FDI growth.

Chinese investments in the European market are also expected to rise this year, marking a new era for China-Europe cooperation through an unprecedented strategic partnership between the Silk Road Fund and the European Fund to jointly invest in Europe.

However, the report said that Chinese companies are also facing risks in developed countries due to high labor costs.

Ma Yu, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said as a major outbound investor, China urgently needs to readjust its stance when forging international bilateral or multilateral investment treaties. This would help protect the interests of domestic investors in foreign markets.

"China should further enhance the function of 'negative list' to raise the protection standards for international investment, as well as introduce corporate social responsibility into these deals to protect public interest and the environment," said Ma.

A "negative list" specifies any bans or limits on foreign investment. Businesses not on such a list are presumed to be unrestricted. This system had been adopted in China's four pilot free trade zones in Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Fujian, which opened in the past two years.

Wang Huiyao, CCG's president, said China has invested considerable effort in deepening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative regions this year, and the investment will be stronger than expected from a long-term perspective.

The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which cover Asia, Africa and Europe.

 

[cirr]

China’s Anbang acquires US insurance group for $1.57 billion

GBTIMES 2015/11/10

The deal will see Anbang gain one of the largest established networks for distributing life insurance products to middle-income Americans. (Photo: Asia News Photo)

China's Anbang Insurance Group on Monday announced a$1.57 billion deal to acquire US life insurance provider Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL), reported China News Service.

The Chinese company will pay $26.80 per share - 29% higher than the closing price on April 6 - the day FGL announced it would be undergoing strategic review.

Expected to be concluded in the second quarter of 2016, the deal will see Anbang gain one of the largest establishednetworks of independent agents for distributing life insurance products to middle-income Americans.

The company's latest acquisition follows 2014's $1.95 billion takeover of New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. This year it agreed to buy and revitalise an insurance arm of Dutch government owned financial group SNS Reaal.

Reuters reports that Anbang and other Chinese enterprises have launched over $6 billion in overseas deals in 2015 in a bid to diversify their portfolios.

China’s Anbang acquires US insurance group for $1.57 billion | gbtimes.com

 

[TaiShang]

China's Fixed-Asset Investment up 10.2 Pct in Jan.- Oct.

China's Industrial Output up 5.6 Pct in October

China Retail Sales up 11 Pct in October

NEWS-CRIENGLISH

 

[JSCh]

Majority of Chinese firms' global business profitable: survey
Xinhua, November 11, 2015

More than half of Chinese enterprises with an overseas presence saw profits in their global business, a report said Tuesday.

Of 254 firms surveyed, 13 percent posted considerable profits, 39 percent saw mild profits, 24 percent broke even and another 24 percent suffered losses, according to a report jointly published by research departments of the Ministry of Commerce and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the United Nations Development Programme.

The report came amid rising enthusiasm from Chinese companies to invest abroad. In the first nine months of 2015, China's outbound direct investment totaled 10.3 billion U.S. dollars, up 5.2 percent year on year.

In addition, the report pointed out challenges to going global for Chinese firms, citing local politics and policies, labor problems and local price fluctuations as the three biggest, but noted they have not exerted significant influence on operations.

 

[jung41]

Chinese companies bagged major high speed rail contract in russia defeating germans ... great.

 

[TaiShang]

Lenovo success indicates progress for domestic tech firms, but risks still substantial
By Hu Weijia Source:Global Times Published: 2015-11-10 23:33:01

China's leading PC computer maker Lenovo Group released a series of new models in Beijing this week.

Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo, was quoted by media reports as saying at the launch event Monday that Lenovo's Yoga series of laptops have been imitated by its competitor's product, hinting at Microsoft's Surface Book laptop, but that Lenovo "has never been surpassed although its products have been imitated."

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Book in October, with Lenovo having released the first in its Yoga series of laptops a few years ago.

Some comments said the Surface Book and Lenovo's Yoga 4 Pro are similar in appearance, and both devices include sixth-generation Intel Core chipsets.

It may not be evidence of product plagiarism between the two companies, but it does perhaps show that Lenovo has gained ground in the race to the forefront of market trends and the battle for customers.

According to statistics from US research firm International Data Corp, Lenovo kept its top position in terms of global PC shipments in the second quarter of 2015.

For a long time, the story was somewhat similar with other Chinese high-tech enterprises, the difference being that Chinese firms used to be behind in the race. For example, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi was criticized for selling smartphones resembling Apple Inc's iPhone.

But now the situation has changed and some Chinese high-tech enterprises have started to lead in terms of innovation in science and technology. Lenovo achieved this transformation following various efforts including buying IBM's ailing PC division, and now the company appears to want to reproduce the experience of its PC business in the smartphone market. For instance, the company purchased a former global leader, Motorola, with plans to resuscitate the struggling brand to boost its own smartphone business.

It would be premature to say that Chinese IT companies can jump to the front of global tech trends simply by buying struggling Western brands, but this tactic could serve as a way for Chinese firms to boost their own ability in terms of independent innovation so that they can make a bigger splash in the international market.

However, even for Chinese IT companies that are already at the forefront of innovation in their business areas, there are still many challenges. For instance, Lenovo said in August that it would axe 3,200 non-manufacturing jobs around the world, or about 5 percent of its total workforce, in order to cut costs.

Battling a contraction in global demand for PCs, the company posted modest revenue growth and a substantial decline in net profit in its first fiscal quarter this year.

Some analysts attribute Lenovo's net profit decline to financial problems caused by its purchase of Motorola. Domestic firms may be able to boost the process of their internationalization and innovation by purchasing well-known foreign brands, but they will still face financial risks and will need international teams that understand the global market.

 

[Economic superpower]

As the US gets set to celebrate national ice cream day this Sunday, new research from Mintel reveals a shift in power in the global ice cream market, with China overtaking US as the world’s biggest ice cream market in 2014 for the first time.

Between 2008 and 2014, the total market value for ice cream sales in China has nearly doubled, soaring by 90% to reach a spectacular $11.4 billion. Meanwhile, the US market has grown at a much slower rate, climbing by 15% over the same period to reach $11.2 billion.

Overall, global sales of ice cream reached $50 billion for the first time in 2014

Accounting for an impressive third of all ice cream products sold in 2014, volume sales of ice cream in China reached 5.9 billion litres in 2014, compared to 5.8 billion litres in the US. What is more, in 2015 volume sales are set to increase even further, reaching 6.3 billion litres in China and 5.8 billion litres in the US. Value sales are also predicted to see increases to $12.6 billion in China and $11.4 billion in the US in 2015.

While sales of ice cream in China continue to soar, US consumers eat considerably more ice cream than consumers in any other country – 18.4 litres per person per year, compared with just 4 litres for China. The top five ice cream markets by volume globally are China (5.9 billion litres), followed by the US (5.8 billion litres), Japan (784 million litres), Russia (668 million litres) and Germany (545 million litres). Meanwhile, volume consumption in the UK amounted to 345 million litres in 2014. On average, Brits ate five litres of ice cream per person in 2014, which is positively diet-friendly compared with the 18 litres per person Americans ate and 10 litres per person the Australians consumed.

Overall, global sales of ice cream reached $50 billion for the first time in 2014, increasing by 9% on 2011 when sales were valued at $46 billion.

Alex Beckett, Global Food Analyst at Mintel, said:

“Rising incomes and an increasingly developed retail infrastructure and cold chain network are driving growth in the ice cream market in China. However, the vast array of locally produced, low-price brands present a challenge for global ice cream giants looking to develop there. China is now the powerhouse of the global ice cream market in terms of overall size, although for per capita consumption, it’s the Americans who tuck into the most ice cream each year. The pace of development, coupled with the immensity of the population, is having an increasing impact on the Chinese ice cream market.”

“But while rising global volumes of ice cream mainly reflect the category’s expansion in emerging regions,ice cream has encountered challenging conditions in more developed markets like Europe and North America. Growth has been dampened by consumer diet concerns, competition from other categories, such as yogurt, and the perennial challenge of unseasonable weather. As the world economy’s centre of gravity continues to shift away from the West, these challenges give ice cream giants all the more reason to extend their presence – and new product development investment – in more emerging economies, particularly in Asia.” Alex continues.

ICE CREAM MAKERS TAILOR BETTER-FOR-YOU NPD TO SUIT LOCAL MARKETS
It seems that ice cream manufacturers are responding to the obesity challenge by improving the better-for-you (BFY) credentials of recipes. Indeed, according to Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), the global ice cream market witnessed a record high share of new launches bearing low/no/reduced (LNR) allergen and fat claims, as well as gluten-free products, in 2014. The number of ice cream launches with LNR allergen claims rose from 7% of global ice cream launches in 2012 to a healthy 15% in 2014, while LNR fat claim launches rose from 6% in 2012 to 8% in 2014. There has also been an increase in gluten-free claims, which rose from 6% of global ice cream launches in 2012 to 13% in 2014. Across the globe, the US leads the way with these claims, accounting for 20% of all LNR fat claims globally, as well as 18% of LNR allergen claims and 18% of gluten-free claims.

FROZEN YOGURT REVOLUTION HITS EUROPE
Meanwhile, Mintel’s research confirms that the frozen yogurt revolution has well and truly hit Europe, contributing to the global increase in low-fat ice cream innovation. According to Mintel’s GNPD, the region accounted for 41% of frozen yogurt NPD in 2013 and rose to an impressive 54% of global frozen yogurt NPD in 2014, which was followed by 29% in North America and 9% in Asia Pacific.

“Having enjoyed huge success in the US, Greek frozen yogurt’s high protein content is resonating among European consumers, although people are also waking up to its often high sugar content too,” adds Alex.

INCREASED APPETITE FOR ARTISANAL ICE CREAMS
There is a growing global appreciation of individuality and quality-over-quantity appeal in ice cream. In the US, for example, over six in 10 (61%) consumers of frozen treats claim to be willing to spend more on better-quality frozen treats, while 60% of daily eaters believe that local brands are better quality than national brands. Across Europe, there is strong interest in buying ice cream with locally sourced ingredients. In 2014, almost four in 10 ice cream and yogurt consumers in Italy (39%), France (38%) and Poland (38%) agreed that they would be interested in buying ice cream containing locally sourced ingredients. This was followed by a third (33%) in Germany and almost three in ten (28%) in Spain. In addition, 39% of UK consumers agree that ice cream made using authentic production methods, such as handmade or slow churned, appeals – rising to half (51%) of over 65s.

“Handcrafted ice cream, made with a homemade style authenticity, is well positioned to embrace the wider consumer interest in artisan-produced food and drink. Craft has become something of a buzzword in recent years, with everything from alcohol to pasta sauces, pizza and lemonade emphasising their craftsmanship or origin stories on packaging to differentiate the brand from the competition.” Alex concludes.

 

[TaiShang]

好吃哦！

 

[AndrewJin]

好吃哦！

I like Taiwan-style dessert more, cheap but healthy.