China Economy - News & Updates

[grey boy 2]

China creates 10.13 mln jobs in urban China in first 11 months - People's Daily Online 21:46, December 18, 2009

China generated 10.13 million new jobs in urban areas in the first eleven months, as government stepped up efforts to ensure adequate employment, according to the official data released on Friday.

The urban jobless rate would likely reach 4.3 percent by the end of this year and the total employed will surpass 11 million, Yin Weimin, Minister of Human Resources and Social Security told a national meeting on job promotion and social security work.

Also at the meeting, Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang urged authorities to maintain the continuity of the employment policy and make every efforts to secure jobs notably for college graduates and rural migrant workers.

He said the social insurance system should expand coverage, and the beneficiary should enjoy higher insurance income.

To help more than seven million college graduates land jobs, China has unveiled a slew of measures including offering them incentives to work in rural areas and in small firms, giving financial support for start-ups of their own business, and telling enterprises to provide internships for graduates.

Employment rate of college graduates reached 83 percent by the end of October as those measures showed effects.

Near 152 million migrant workers found new jobs outside of their hometowns in the first three quarters, a rise of 11.57 million from the same period a year ago.

Source: Xinhua

 

[grey boy 2]

China's King Long bus company sets up assembly plant in Hungary - People's Daily Online 09:05, December 19, 2009

King Long, a bus production company based in Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian province, will build its first European vehicle assembly facility in Hungary, announced Janos Kelemen, manager of King Long Hungary, at a news conference on Friday.

Kelemen did not give the amount of the investment, but said that the Chinese firm had signed a declaration of intent and the project was already on the drawing board. The assembly plant will be in eastern Hungary, he added, although the specific venue has yet to be decided. He named the southern great plain region and the cities of Gyongyos and Miskolc as possible sites for the plant.

The project, fully financed by China, is likely to be implemented within the next six months, he added.

Source: Xinhua

 

[oct605032048]

BEIJING: China's foreign trade is projected to grow 15 percent next year, according to a report released by the China Institute for WTO Studies on Friday.

The report forecasts imports to increase by 15 percent and exports up 13 percent.

With the external demand improving and the global economic recovery gaining momentum, "the declining trend of China's exports would come to an end next year," the report says.

The government stimulus package would boost imports through enhancing domestic demand, while the growing competitiveness of Chinese enterprises in the international market would increase exports, said Zhang Hanlin, head of the institute based in the University of International Business and Economics.

Net exports would contribute 0.3 percent to China's GDP growth next year, said Zhang, compared with a minus 4.4 percent this year as predicted by the World Bank in a recent report.

In the first 11 months this year, China's imports and exports totaled US$1.96 trillion, down 17.5 percent compared with the corresponding period last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Exports dropped 1.2 percent year on year in November, but were up 2.6 percent from October, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. And imports rose 26.7 percent from year on year.

However, the China Institute for WTO Studies report also warns of rising protectionism against Chinese products in 2010.

Faced with worsening unemployment situation and shrinking market share, some countries tended to make China a scapegoat, said Zhang. "China will suffer from more trade frictions in the years to come."

The report says, in the first nine months this year, 19 countries has launched 88 trade remedy investigations against China, involving 10 billion dollars, a year-on-year rise of 125 percent.

China suffered 14 trade remedy investigations from the United States, involving US$5.84 billion, or 639 percent more than that of the corresponding period last year.

Some countries might resort to new remedy measures which are often in disguised forms but with more destructive effects, Zhang said.

 

[oct605032048]

MACAO: The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is welcoming its tenth anniversary on December 20. The following are the facts and figures about its economic and social development in the past decade.

With a population of 540,000 and an area of less than 30 square km, Macao is a small city in terms of both natural and human resources. Despite this, Macao has made remarkable progress since its return to the motherland in 1999.

-- In 2000, Macao's economy reported growth after four consecutive years of decline. Its gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 14 percent annually in average from 2000 to 2008.

-- In 2008, the GDP per capita in Macao was 313,091 pataca ($39,036), 2.8 times that of 1999.

-- The fiscal surplus of Macao SAR government increased from less than 13 billion patacas to 100 billion patacas over the last decade.

-- In 2007, Macao received 27 million visits including students and labors. The figure was 10 million in 2001. In 2008, as the government statistics did not include students and labors any more, the figure stood at 22.93 million, 42 times of its population.

-- The unemployment rate declined steadily from the peak 6.8 percent in 2000 to 3 percent in 2008.

-- The government allowance for a Macao resident to maintain the minimum living standard is 2,640 patacas a month now, more than doubling that in 1999.

-- The Macao SAR government raised the annual subsidy to the elderly, 65 and older, to 5,000 patacas in 2009 from 1,200 patacas in 2005 when it started the program.

-- The life expectancy from 2005 to 2008 averaged 82 years, compared to 77.9 years from 1996 to 1999.

-- In 2009, each permanent resident received 6,000 patacas of government bonus and a health-care coupon worth 500 patacas. Each non-permanent resident received 3,600 patacas.

-- In 2008, Macao's social insurance fund had 250,000 beneficiaries, up from 115,000 in 1999.

-- In the 2007-2008 academic year, Macao became the first region, ahead of Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, to provide 15-year free education program for its residents.

-- The Macao SAR government spent 1.02 billion patacas in providing free education in the 2008-2009 academic year, up from 370 million patacas in the 1999-2000 academic year.

 

[grey boy 2]

East-west China highway completed - People's Daily Online

10:35, December 20, 2009

A highway section started a trial operation Saturday, marking the completion of China's east-west trunk line linking Shanghai to Chongqing.

The 320-km-long Hurongxi Section, in Hubei Province, finally joined up the 1,900-km-long Shanghai-Chongqing National Highway, reducing trip between the two destinations to 17 hours.

Construction of the section started seven years ago, during which workers erected 370 bridges, dug 46 tunnels and paved roads through steep mountain ranges by overcoming rare technical difficulties.

The project, involving 20.4 billion yuan (3 billion U.S. dollars) in investment, also greatly saved travel hours and improved traffic conditions in Hubei.

Source: Xinhua

 

[grey boy 2]

China's industrial output to grow 11 pct this year: minister - People's Daily Online 13:09, December 21, 2009

China's industrial output is expected to post an 11 percent rise from a year earlier this year, buoyed by the government's stimulus packages, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said Monday.

Li made the forecast at a two-day conference starting Monday in Beijing, adding the industrial output development would ensure the 8 percent growth of the country's gross domestic production the government had projected for this year.

Source: Xinhua

 

[grey boy 2]

China's GDP per capita to reach $4,000 - People's Daily Online 16:53, December 21, 2009

China's GDP per capita will approach 4,000 U.S. dollars by the end of next year, according to Li Peilin, director of the Institute of Sociology from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In the last two years, China's GDP per capita (dollar-denominated) maintained a fast growth rate, said Li.

From 1978 to 2000, China's GDP per capita increased from less than 400 U.S. dollars to more than 800 U.S. dollars.

But the growth rate has picked up the pace since 2000. In 2003, China's GDP per capita surpassed 1,000 U.S. dollars. In 2008, it reached 3,000 U.S. dollars.

Li said that three reasons contributed to the fast growth rate of GDP per capita, including the high speed growth of China's economy, the decrease of newly-born population, and the appreciation of yuan.

By People's Daily Online

 

[grey boy 2]

Nuclear power plants set to go inland - People's Daily Online 08:19, December 22, 2009

Construction of two or three inland nuclear power plants is expected to start by the end of next year, in a move that would further enhance the use of clean energy in China, according to sources familiar with the subject.

The new plants will use the AP1000 technology developed by US-based nuclear equipment firm Westinghouse. Nuclear projects will have a longer life cycle and improved safety by using the third-generation technology, said the sources.

These nuclear projects still need to get the final approval from the government, the sources said, without providing any further details.

Indications are that the projects would be Taohuajiang power plant in Hunan province, Xianning in Hubei province and Pengze in Jiangxi province, said industry insiders. The three projects are the first batch of inland nuclear power plants in the country.

The Hubei project is expected to generate electricity after four years, said media reports citing Wang Yanbin, deputy Party secretary of Tongshan county, where the project is located.

"Inland nuclear power projects will not only improve the power supply in the area, they will also help boost the economy of those regions, as they are always large projects which require large investment," said Fu Manchang, a nuclear power analyst.

Development of inland nuclear power is inevitable for the long-term growth of the nuclear power sector, said analysts. At present all the nuclear power projects that are in operation are in the coastal regions of China.

Though the development of inland nuclear power has been widely discussed, doubts still persist on the safety and environmental impact of the projects.

But with the use of the third generation technology, the most advanced in the world, the safety and environmental issues have been largely addressed, said an expert with State Nuclear Power Technology Corp (SNPTC) who declined to be named.

Compared with reactors using first- or second-generation technology, reactors with third-generation technology are simpler in design, thus reducing capital costs. They are also more fuel-efficient and safer, he said.

SNPTC, mainly responsible for the domestic development of nuclear power using third-generation technology from overseas, signed agreements with the Taohuajiang and Xianning projects for design and equipment supply, he said.

China has chosen AP1000 technology to build four nuclear reactors in coastal regions, two in Zhejiang and two in Shandong.

There are 11 nuclear reactors in operation in the country, with a combined installed capacity of 9,080 mW, according to the China Electricity Council. Three nuclear power bases have also been developed at Qinshan in Zhejiang province, Daya Bay in Guangdong province and Tianwan in Jiangsu province.

Source: China Daily

 

[grey boy 2]

China IPO yields expected to triple in 2010: analysts - People's Daily Online 08:16, December 22, 2009

Funds raised through IPOs on the Shanghai Stock Exchange next year will be triple those raised this year, according to projections from accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Terence Ho, Strategic Growth Markets Leader for Ernst & Young, predicted that the abundant supply of stocks wouldn't lead to a market plunge. The firm's report released Monday said next year's IPOs on the SSE would raise 380 billion yuan ($55.6 billion), up from this year's 118 billion yuan ($17.3 billion). About 447 billion yuan ($65.4 billion) was raised from 120 IPOs in 2007.

Ernst & Young expects 30- 40 IPOs on the exchange next year, with most coming from financial and industrial firms, said Ho.

The firm's estimate on the number of IPOs next year comes from the number of companies already approved and those waiting to apply for an IPO.

The new IPOs next year won't lead to an oversupply on the stock market, because "the raised funds are only a small part of the trading volume," and investor confidence is trending upward, Ho said.

"The stimulus policy pushed up the economy, and the market liquidity is likely to be maintained," Ho said. "Market demand is still strong on IPOs after 9 months of suspension following the fourth quarter of 2008. With these combined factors, we think the IPO market will continue to be strong next year, but won't reach the level of 2007."

The report also estimated funds raised on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) next year will hit HK$370 billion ($47.7 billion), 28 percent more than the historic high of HK$290 billion ($37.4 billion) from 2007.

That's due to the exchange's allowing companies incorporated in more overseas locations, such as Australia and Germany, to list on the exchange. Currently the only foreign companies enjoying such access to the HKEX are those incorporated in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

The HKEX surpassed the SSE this year with HK$246 billion ($31.7 billion) raised in 64 IPOs. Companies incorporated and operating in the Chinese mainland, including Sinopharm Group and China Minsheng Banking, accounted for 35 percent of the raised funds and 9 percent of the IPO numbers on the HKEX.

The HKEX will also attract listings from a number of overseas natural resources companies in 2010, due to better liquidity and higher prices that the market is willing to offer, Ho noted.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) known for medium- and small-sized enterprises, and the alternative ChiNext exchange, ranked top with 90 IPOs in 2009, but were only fifth in terms of funds raised, with 58 billion yuan ($8.5 billion).

Source: Global Times

 

[grey boy 2]

Mainland rail builder steps up overseas expansion pace - People's Daily Online 08:21, December 22, 2009

China Railway No 2 Engineering Group Co Ltd, (formerly China Railway Erju Co Ltd), the leading railway construction contractor in China, is finalizing an agreement with the Algerian government for the construction of a railway project in that nation, a senior company executive said.

The deal is worth 1.5 billion euros ($2.15 billion), Zheng Jianzhong, vice-chairman of the company said in an exclusive interview with China Daily, while providing few other details on the agreement.

The Sichuan-based company, a unit of China Railway Group, is also bidding for railway and highway projects in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as the African nations of Ethiopia and Morocco, as part of an effort to expand into overseas markets, Zheng said.

The Shanghai-listed contractor's current overseas businesses generated 300 million yuan this year, only accounting for 1 percent of its total revenues. But Zheng said overseas business is expected to contribute 5 to 10 percent of total sales in the near future.

The company is one of the largest beneficiaries of China's 4 trillion yuan stimulus package largely allocated to infrastructure construction projects such as railways and highways.

Zheng expects China Railway No 2's revenue to reach 40 billion yuan this year - a 50 percent jump over last year - as a result of accelerated infrastructure and reconstruction work following the devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan province last year.

Revenue of State-owned competitor, China Railway Construction Corp, is also expected to grow by over 20 percent this year.

Construction and installation made up the largest part of China Railway No 2's revenue with over 30 billion yuan generated from this sector. The contractor also engages in retailing and logistics, which together contributed 3 billion yuan.

The builder is also considering investing in Beijing's property sector which is heating up rapidly and the group now holds a land reserve of 4 million sq m, according to the vice-chairman.

Source: China Daily

 

[grey boy 2]

Bullet train won't derail growth: govt - People's Daily Online 08:24, December 24, 2009

The construction of a nationwide high-speed passenger-rail network will be an engine driving China's economy, the Ministry of Railways said Wednesday, refuting an earlier report that the system may instead put the brakes on the nation's economic growth.

The 350-kilometer-per-hour railway linking Wuhan and Guangzhou, set to begin operations Saturday, trumpets China's ambitious 2 trillion-yuan ($293 billion) effort to speed up the country's railway system.

But some people have raised questions as to whether the mammoth project, aimed at boosting the country's GDP growth through infrastructure investment, will be too much for travelers to afford, and whether it will be a drag on the economy in the long term.

Michael Pettis, the former head of emerging markets at former global investment bank Bear Stearns, said that the time-saving rail service "may not justify the cost," according to a Tuesday report by Bloomberg.

The article suggested that the high-speed network is symbolic of a stimulus program that places too much emphasis on infrastructure spending and not enough on raising living standards in a country where the average urban worker made 28,898 yuan last year, a tenth of the $39,653 average wage earned in the US.

"If America had its subprime crisis, in China we have a railroad-debt crisis. Or you could call it a government-debt crisis," Zhao Jian, a professor of economics at Beijing Jiaotong University, said during a televised interview in September.

However, Li Jun, transport director for the Ministry of Railways, told the Global Times that such worries were unjustified, citing the Beijing-Tianjiin high-speed rail as a successful endeavor.

Launched in August of last year, the Beijing-Tianjiin high-speed rail makes the journey between the two cities in just 30 minutes, half the normal traveling time. Its average speed is 350 kilo-meters an hour.

He said an average of 70 percent of seats for the Beijing-Tianjiin service were sold during its first year of operation, enough to offset expenses. The second-fastest train service, known as multiple-unit trains that run at 200 kilometers an hour, enjoyed the largest occupancy rate, at 112 percent.

"Since the launch of the high-speed service, Beijing and Tianjin saw the fastest economic growth among other cities across the country, and Tianjin posted a 35 percent growth in tourism," he said.

China stepped up its railway-development program last year in the wake of the global financial crisis, promising to increase the passenger network to 12,000 kilometers by 2020. High-speed rail service is part of that effort.

【1】 【2】

 

[grey boy 2]

China's nuclear power giants ink 5.3-bln-yuan contract - People's Daily Online 08:14, December 24, 2009

The China Nuclear Engineering Group (CNEG) and the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation (CGNPC) signed on Wednesday a 5.3-billion-yuan (776 million U.S. dollars) nuclear island installation contract, the biggest of its kind in the country.

According to the contract, the China Nuclear Industry 23rd Construction Corporation under the CNEG would install six 1,000MW nuclear generator units in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, and two 1,750MW nuclear generator units in Guangdong for the CGNPC.

The signing of a installation contract on such a large scale showed that the country's nuclear power construction had "entered a new stage," said Mu Zhanying, general manager of CNEG.

China now has 11 nuclear reactors, with a total nuclear power installed capacity of 9.08 GW, Pan Ziqiang, director of the Science and Technology Committee of China National Nuclear Corporation, said in November.

The country's nuclear power installed capacity is expected to top 70 Gigawatts (GW) by 2020.

Source: Xinhua

 

[oct605032048]

China revises 2008 GDP growth up to 9.6%
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-12-25 10:46
BEIJING: China has revised its gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for 2008 to 9.6 percent from 9 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

That raised GDP for 2008 to 31.4045 trillion yuan from the previous figure of 30.067 trillion yuan, NBS director Ma Jiantang told a press conference.

 

[oct605032048]

2008 GDP figure revised to $4.6t
By Si Tingting (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-12-25 11:03
China's GDP was revised to be 31.4045 trillion yuan ($4.6 trillion) in 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said today.

The latest revised figure is 1.3375 trillion yuan ($196 billion) more than the number released in February. The adjustment was the result of new data from a just-concluded national economic census.
The NBS also said that in 2008, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped by 5.2 percent year-on-year and is now 12.45 percent lower than the 2005 level. That is slightly more than the previous estimate from February of 2009,which was 4.59 percent.

 

[grey boy 2]

World's fastest rail journey starts operation - People's Daily Online 11:32, December 26, 2009

The Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway with the world's fastest train journey with a 350-km-per-hour average speed, started operation Saturday.

Two passenger trains rolled out the Wuhan Railway Station and Guangzhou North Railway Station at about 9 a.m. and were expected to reach the terminals at 12 a.m., cutting the 1,068.6 km journey to three hours from the previous 10 and a half hours.

The service between Wuhan, a metropolis in central China, and Guangzhou City, a business hub in the southern Guangdong Province, was put into trial operation on Dec. 9, reaching a maximum speed of 394.2 km per hour.

In 2004, China hailed the completion of the rail line from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, both in Guangdong Province, with a speed of160 km per hour. Now the speed more than doubled within five years, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed line.

The average of high-speed rail ways is 243 km per hour in Japan,232 km per hour in Germany and 277 km per hour in France, he said.