Policy & Law - Jongo News - Daily News of China - Jongo: The World's Portal for China

West China sees GDP grow 12.5% in first nine months

Business — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:20:39 +0800

The gross domestic product (GDP) of China's western regions rose 12.5 percent in the first nine months from a year earlier, China's top economic planner said Thursday.

The growth rate was 4.8 percentage points higher than the national rate, said a statement on the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) website.

China launched the "West Development Strategy" in January 2000 to help underdeveloped western regions catch up with the more prosperous eastern regions.

The western regions comprise 12 provinces, autonomous regions and municipality, which have a combined population of about 370 million and account for 71.4 percent of the country's total land area.

Since last year, the regions have suffered the double blow of the global economic downturn and the 8-magnitude earthquake that devastated western Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces on May 12, last year.

The government has taken measures to boost consumption in the region and ...

Gas Pump Prices Hiked to Record High

Business — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:24:19 +0800

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) raised the nation's refined oil price by ¥480 ($1 = ¥6.83) per ton on Tuesday. The increase, higher than the previously expected ¥300-350, is translated into a ¥0.36 and ¥0.41 increase in the gas and diesel prices per liter.

It was the 7th time the NDRC adjusted fuel price so far this year, following the previous six of four increases totaling ¥1,590 and two decreases totaling ¥360 per ton.

Source: http://www.cs.com.cn/xwzx/05/200911/t20091110_2254565.htm

China's GDP growth to top 7% in first three quarters

Business — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:38:46 +0800

China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first three quarters should exceed 7 percent, Xiong Bilin, deputy director general of the Industry Department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said Monday.

The specific GDP growth figure in the first three quarters is scheduled to be released Thursday.

Few difficulties stood in the way of China realizing its annual target -- made early this year -- of 8 percent GDP growth year on year, said Xiong at a press conference highlighting production overcapacity.

The government's 4-trillion-yuan (585.65 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package, rolled out in November last year, contributed much to China's economic recovery, Xiong said.

China's GDP growth was 7.1 percent in the first half over the same period last year with 6.1 percent in the first quarter and 7.9 percent in the second.

The NDRC would mainly redress production overcapacity in six sectors, including steel, cement, pl...

ANZ seals tie with Chinese banking giant

Business — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:57:13 +0800

ANZ has sealed a world-first partnership to help the powerful China Development Bank achieve its goal of amassing a $25 billion portfolio of Australian assets by the end of the year and dramatically boosting its presence across the Asia-Pacific region.

Millions could get swine flu in China: official

Business — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:12:36 +0800

BEIJING (AFP) - - Tens of millions of people could be infected with swine flu in China in the coming months, a health ministry official said Friday, adding that fatalities would be "unavoidable".

The world's most populous nation, at 1.3 billion, has so far reported nearly 7,000 cases of A(H1N1) influenza but no deaths. It soon plans to launch a nationwide vaccination programme to prevent mass outbreaks of the virus.

"According to expert estimates, our nation during the autumn season might have several tens of millions infected with A(H1N1)," Liang Wannian, deputy director of the ministry's health emergency office, told a press conference.

Liang said of that total, "half of them could experience clinical symptoms, several millions will seek medical help, and serious cases and fatalities will be unavoidable."

The spread of A(H1N1) influenza in China has gathered pace as the autumn months approach, Liang said, with more than half of the nation's nearly 7,000 cases...

National Day paraders to get flu vaccine: state media

Business — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:21:53 +0800

BEIJING (AFP) - - About 100,000 student volunteers who have been selected to participate in China's National Day celebrations on October 1 will be among the first to get swine flu vaccines here, state media said Tuesday.

The measure is part of a plan put in place by the Beijing municipal health bureau to ensure that the festivities marking 60 years of communist rule go off without a hitch, the China Daily reported, quoting bureau spokesman Ma Yanming.

Premier Wen Jiabao has urged health authorities to step up efforts to stave off a huge outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza ahead of the October 1 holiday, which will be marked with a military parade and a mass pageant in the capital.

China had confirmed 5,592 cases of swine flu as of Monday, but no deaths had been reported.

Health Minister Chen Zhu told a press conference on Tuesday that the nationwide vaccination programme would begin "this week", without giving a precise date.

He said soldiers, police, children ...

Soaring pork price not to trigger inflation in China

Business — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:03:27 +0800

Although the pork price in China has risen for 13 weeks straight, it is not likely to trigger an inflation as it did previously, economists and industry analysts observed.

Food, of which pork is one key component, makes up a third of China' s consumer price index. Recent increases in pork and eggs prices fueled concerns that the hike would jack up prices of grain, vegetables and other agricultural products, therefore touching off a new bout of inflation.

"The markup was a natural result of prices being too low in the previous period," said Xu Lianzhong, director with the analysis and prediction office under the Price Monitoring Center of the country' s top economic planner, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Xu's view was shared by many participants at the World Pork Conference held Thursday and Friday in east China' s Shandong Province.

"Unless a new disease breakout leads to a steep cull of pig stocks, the pork prices won't reach last y...

China set to approve 1-dose swine flu vaccines

Business — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:32:04 +0800

BEIJING —

China will soon approve domestically developed swine flu vaccines that manufacturers say can protect people against the virus with only one dose, an encouraging development for health officials racing to prepare for an expected spike in cases this winter.

Many health authorities are assuming two doses of vaccine are necessary while they await the results of trials by drug makers around the world to determine the appropriate dosage.

China's State Food and Drug Administration said on its Web site it will make a decision this week on approving two vaccines that completed clinical trials last month and passed reviews by panels of about 40 experts. Four other vaccines are being reviewed, it said.

The vaccine makers, Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., said the clinical trials show their products are effective in single doses when used on people aged three to 60 years. More than 3,000 people participated in the trials.

Top economic planner forecasts long-term stable prices

Business — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:29:45 +0800

China's top economic planner said Thursday the country would not see overall, big and long-term prices rise as the overall supply matched the nation's demand.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement that a "surge in credit and continuous price rises of certain products and property resulted in rising inflation expectations in the country".

"Sufficient material supply" such as ample reserves of grain and competitive pressures would help stabilize prices, the NDRC said, without providing details.

The NDRC asked local authorities to step up strict prices monitoring and stabilize prices of important products including food, gas and transport, to ensure people's needs.

Efforts should be made to avoid concentration of price rises and big price rises, said the statement.

Inner Mongolia overtakes Shanxi, leads in coal production

Business — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:52:53 +0800

In the first half of 2009, output of raw coal in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region reached 286 million tons, up 27.48 percent or 61.6 million tons compared with the same period last year.

The output overtook that of Shanxi Province, making Inner Mongolia China's biggest coal producing region, according to statistics given Tuesday to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) by the region's coal industry bureau.

An NDRC analysis attributes the reason to Shanxi intensifying its efforts to close and reform small and unofficial coal mines. Three out of four coal companies have been closed down in Shanxi Province in the recent period. Another reason is that Inner Mongolia's rail network system has been upgraded, enabling the regions to export 160 million tons of coal to other regions, an increase of 42.3 millions tons compared with the same period last year.

The NDRC predicts that over the full year Inner Mongolia will outstrip Shanxi to...

Chavez said expecting more financial co-op with China

Business — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:45:13 +0800

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said in Beijing Thursday that he expected more cooperation with China in financial aspects to benefit both nations.

Chavez made the remark during his visit to the state-owned China Development Bank (CDB) on Thursday. He held talks on strengthening cooperation with CDB board chairman Chen Yuan and CDB president Jiang Chaoliang.

Chavez hailed the cooperation with China in financial sectors, saying he was satisfied with the cooperation on a joint financing fund between the two countries.

Chen said CDB would cement cooperation with developing countries including Venezuela, and promote friendship, peace and mutual development.

China and Venezuela signed an agreement in February on the joint financing fund, with the goal to expand the fund to 12 billion U.S. dollars. The two nation set up the fund at the beginning of the decade to finance projects in Venezuela, with four billion U.S. dollars contributed by China and two billion ...

Steel futures contracts launched in Shanghai

Business — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:58:01 +0800

China's steel futures contracts were launched at 9 a.m. Friday on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), with benchmark price for major contract of rebar RB909 set at 3,399 yuan (499.85 U.S. dollars) per tonne and that of steel wire WR909 at 3,199 yuan per tonne.

September contract for rebar opened at 3,621 yuan, up 222 yuan, or 6.5 percent from the benchmark price, and that of steel wire at 3,459 yuan, up 260 yuan, or 8.1 percent.

Both contracts dipped lower to 3,585 yuan and 3,411 yuan respectively by 10 a.m.

Among other steel products, rebar and steel wire were in large demand from the industrialization and urbanization process, and thus had a sound and stable base of market trading, an SHFE official told Xinhua.

With the large production and trading volume, to choose these two types of steel products as the underlying commodities of the new futures contracts could avoid market manipulation of prices, said the official.

Permission to list steel...

China's economic stimulus plans benefit environment

Business — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:13:51 +0800

A message from the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), or the parliament, tells saving energy and protecting environment is a big government agenda, though keeping a "steady and relatively fast" economic growth is a paramount task amid the global economic crisis.

China approved a massive 4-trillion yuan (about 586 billion U.S. dollars) two-year investment plan last November to curb economic downturn, but this precludes boosting economic growth at the cost of environment.

The 4-trillion yuan spending list also included a 210 billion yuan investment in environmental protection and energy conservation, said Zhang Ping, Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner at a press conference during the NPC session.

In the government report by Premier Wen Jiabao during the annual session contents concerning environmental protection were obviously available.

He said the country is facing p...

Experts, Celebrities Banned from Medical Ads

Business — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:16:03 +0800

China has banned so called 'experts' and celebrities from participating in medical advertising on radio and TV in an attempt to clean up false or misleading advertising, xinhuanet.com reported.

China to intensify pollution reduction in 2009

Business — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:50:44 +0800

China will increase urban sewage treatment capacity by 10 million tons in 2009 and install sulfur dioxide scrubbers to coal-fired power generating units with a total capacity of 50 million kilowatts.

China Enhances Quality Checks by Blacklisting Firms

Business — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:35:27 +0800

China will blacklist companies which violate laws and regulations on product quality together with more severe punishment, the country's quality watchdog said Sunday.

MSN added to list of webs spreading porn

Business — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:44:52 +0800

China continued its nationwide crackdown on Internet pornography Thursday by releasing a second list of web portals violating the country's Internet regulations.

Achievements, challenges in China's Pearl River Delta plan

Business — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:36:11 +0800

The Pearl River Delta, the vanguard of China's economic reforms starting in 1978, will again take the lead as the country deepens economic reform and opens wider to the world, the country's top economic planner said Thursday.

Under a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the delta -- together with the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions -- will become "a globally competitive" and "most vigorous area in the Asia-Pacific region" by 2020.

Guangdong Province, the major component of the delta, leads China's economy, with annual gross domestic product growth of 13.45 percent over the three decades since 1978. That is 3.5 percentage points higher than the national average.

The regional economic output of Guangdong exceeded that of Taiwan in 2007 for the first time, topping 3.06 trillion yuan (448billion U.S. dollars) and comprising one-eighth of China's total.

It surpassed Singapore and Hong Kong, two Asian econo...

Beijing bans entry of live poultry

Business — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:33:38 +0800

Beijing authorities have banned all live poultry from other parts of the country from entering the capital, after a woman died from the H5N1 bird flu virus on Monday morning.

China ends three tax, fee regulations

Business — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:37:02 +0800

China's State Council, or cabinet, issued a decree signed by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday abolishing three tax and fee regulations.

New FDI Rules to Open up Hinterland

Business — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:41:27 +0800

Foreign investors can open hospitals in Jilin, run gas stations in Hubei and develop Tibetan medicines in Tibet starting in 2009.The expanded business opportunities were among those listed in the government's updated FDI for the middle and western regions.

Burden on Firms Eased to Save Jobs

Business — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:37:55 +0800

Companies can delay contributions to pension funds and reduce the rates of various kinds of employee insurance in a bid to stem mounting job losses across various sectors as the global downturn bites into the Chinese economy.

China's tariff changes a boon to domestic enterprises

Business — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:56:05 +0800

China's move to adjust tariff rates on selected products will both help the country reduce its trade surplus and help domestic enterprises cut costs at a time of reduced profits, analysts said.

Fuel surcharges cut on domestic flights

Business — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:38:46 +0800

China will reduce fuel surcharges on domestic flights by up to 75 percent, starting Dec. 25 of this year, the top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Friday.

For flights more than 800 kilometers, the surcharge will decline to 40 yuan (5.6 U.S. dollars) from 150 yuan per ticket. Fees on routes shorter than 800 km will fall from 80 yuan per ticket to 20 yuan.

The move will reduce travel costs and boost demand, said a Sinolink Securities analyst.

However, lower passenger surcharges reduce airline's benefits from lower fuel costs. A more than 30-percent reduction on domestic jet fuel prices went in to effect midnight Thursday.

According to calculations by Sinolink Securities, lower passenger surcharges could cost the airline industry 22 billion yuan in earnings next year.

The NDRC also lowered the benchmark prices for gasoline on Thursday to 5,580 yuan per tonne, down 14 percent, while that for diesel ...

China to Keep General Tariff Level at 9.8 percent in 2009

Business — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:09:49 +0800

China would keep the country's general tariff level at 9.8 percent next year, the same as in 2008 and in 2007, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Wednesday.

Pudong Development Bank Tower up for grabs

Business — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:19:10 +0800

The Pudong Development Bank Tower (PDBT) located in Shanghai's Lujiazui finance & trade zone has been put up for sale with an asking price of RMB1.4 billion (US$203.28 million) at the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange, China Business News reported. The price is equivalent to RMB30,000 (US$4,356) per square meter. It is reported that the 36-storeyed building's rental ranges from RMB6-6.5 (US$0.87-0.94) per square meter per day and its current occupancy ratio stands at 83.19%. Pufa Property, the PDBT's landlord, is said to have RMB1.07 billion (US$155.37 million) in long-term debts. It earned a net profit of RMB3.53 million (US$512,561) on RMB118 million (US$17.13 million) in revenue last year. Prospective buyers would be required to pay 55% of the total amount upon signing of an agreement.

Internet Tops Pirated Disks in Copyright Suits

Business — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:10:04 +0800

Copyright violations on the Internet have overtaken pirated disks as the major source of copyright infringement lawsuits being handled by courts, judges said.

Chinese automakers told to go electric

Business — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:30:00 +0800

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told domestic automakers to increase efforts to develop electric cars, the South China Morning Post reported. The country’s top economic planner added that firms that could not meet the imperative should quit the industry. Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang told a vehicle conference in Tianjin that he would work with the NDRC and the Ministry of Finance from next year to promote hybrid vehicles. He said he would concentrate first on China's public transport, taxis and postal vehicles. Hybrids would be a step towards fully electric vehicles. Shenzhen-based firm BYD announced last month that it would debut its first electric car, the F3DM, in late November. China's car exports are expected to grow just 20% this year, just one quarter of the 79% increase achieved in 2007, due to depressed vehicle demand in emerging markets.

Gulf between bank's roots and its backers

Business — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:06:30 +0800

div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}

Barclays visibly bristles when you suggest that its decision to turn to theGulf for fresh funds rather than to its own government has anything to dowith Bob Diamond's bonus, so this is probably at least part of the story.

Had the bank accepted the Darling shilling, it would have been goodbye to anyfuture as a risk-prone, whizz-bang investment bank. For a business that hasalready bolted on bits of the old collapsed Lehmans, this was clearlyunacceptable. It would have been equally unacceptable, though, to continueto fund any part of the sort of lifestyle expected by an investment bankersuch as Mr Diamond, head of Barclays Capital, out of the public purse. Andit would have meant a longer wait for a return to the dividend list.

So we have the odd sight of what was once one of our most conservative banks,with its roots in the Norfolk gentry, turning its back on the BritishGove...

Barclays rejects government funding, secures £5.8bn from Qatar and Abu Dhabi

Business — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:08:16 +0800

div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}

Barclays will raise £7.3 billion from investors after securing a £5.8 billioncash injection from investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, in exchange for astake of over 30 per cent in the British lender.

The bank announced this morning that it will raise up to £2 billion poundsfrom Qatar Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), an existing shareholder, andits associated holdings, and £300 million from Challenger, an investmentvehicle of a member of Qatar’s royal family.

It will also raise £3.5 billion from Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, amember of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, which would give him a 16.3 per centstake in the bank.

Barclays is seeking to raise up to a further £1.5 billion from existing andother investors. The move boosted Barclays' share price by 7.1 per cent to220p in early trading.

China Enhances Innovative Capacity: WIPO Chief

Business — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:56:45 +0800

The mushrooming of China's patent applications in recent years reflects the country's enhancing innovative capacity, according to the top official from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Chinese stocks down on growth figures

Business — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:01:00 +0800

China's stocks fell today, led by banks, after the world's fourth-largest economy grew at the slowest pace in five years.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China declined 1.3% after the statistics bureau said gross domestic product increased 9% in the third quarter.

Poly Real Estate Group, the nation's second-largest property company, climbed 3.6% after the government said it would cut transaction fees on home sales to spur apartment purchases.

"The slowdown is worse than most expected and fourth- quarter earnings growth will probably fall further,'' said Michelle Qi, a Shanghai-based portfolio manager at Bank of Communications Schroder Fund Management.

"We'll wait to see what the government does to boost the economy. We're in no rush to bottom fish.''

The CSI300 index, which tracks yuan-denominated shares traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen, fell 1.61 points, or 0.1%, to 1831.65 in early trading, after gaining 0.2% and dropping 1.7%.
...

Shanghai Plans to Restrict Billboards

Business — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:28:27 +0800

Shanghai will ban billboards in historic areas, near traffic lights and road signs and atop 20-story buildings, according to a draft regulation released online for pubic comment.

Cigarette packets should have picture warnings: Experts

Business — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:01:33 +0800

China must use graphic picture warnings and expand health messages on cigarette packs to alert more people to the dangers of smoking, according to health experts.

Zinc smelters suspended after poisoning

Business — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:35:53 +0800

Zinc smelters with a combined 500,000 tonne capacity in Guangxi province were ordered to suspend production Wednesday after 136 locals were poisoned by contaminated water following a typhoon, the China Securities Journal reported. The smelters were all in Hechi city. With an annual mining capacity of 5.3 million tons and an annual smelting capacity of 700,000 tons, the city is China’s largest nonferrous metal producer. The affected smelters account for 20% of the nation’s total zinc smelting capacity. “Our 80,000-ton lead assembly lines all have stopped working and the 200,000-ton lead lines are awaiting orders to stop,” said a senior manager at a local smelter, adding that the suspension will last for at least one month, or even the whole of the fourth quarter. The three-month delivery price for zinc at the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit a record low of US$1,807 (RMB12,320) Wednesday.

Base metals fall on Wall St woes

Business — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:28:04 +0800

BASE METALS fell further in after-hours trade after a proposed $US700 billion financial rescue package was rejected by US lawmakers.

The House of Representatives rejected by a vote of 228-205 a Wall Street bailout bill that would have authorised the Treasury Department to purchase toxic mortgage-backed bonds from banks in an effort to jump-start stalled capital markets. Industrial metals were slammed following the decision. “You're seeing some heavy selling ... long liquidation and some fresh fund selling in here,” said Michael Gross, futures analyst with Optionsellers.com. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange closed down $US335 at $US6440 per tonne. After-hours, the metal fell as low as $US6349.50, its lowest level since mid-December 2007. In New York, copper for December delivery plunged US16.80 cents, or 5.5 per cent, to finish the session at $US2.9065 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division. In electronic ...

Troubled Lehman draws an unlikely suitor

Business — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:43:42 +0800

Yesterday, the governor of the state-owned Korea Development Bank said the bank was in discussions to bail out the U.S. investment giant Lehman Brothers Inc. Think of the symbolism in that.

When the KDB was established in 1954, South Korea lay in ruins. Already one of Asia's poorest countries, it had been laid waste by the 1950-53 Korean War. The KDB's job was to help build the beginnings of an industrial economy on the rubble. Today, it has assets of $108-billion (U.S.) and South Korea is the world's 13th-biggest economy - its annual output is more than $1.2-trillion.

Lehman Brothers, on the other hand, is one of the most famous names on the main drag of global finance, Wall Street. It was established in 1850 by Henry Lehman, a German immigrant who ran a shop in Montgomery, Ala., and was joined by his brothers Emanuel and Mayer.

From its origins as a cotton-trading outfit, the firm grew into what it is today, a diversified global player with assets at latest re...

Kenya: Sh3.3 Billion Loan for Telecoms

Business — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:49:52 +0800

Posted to the web 15 August 2008

Philip WahomeNairobi

The telecommunication industry is set to be the biggest beneficiary of a Sh3.3 billion loan ($50 million) facility signed between two development finance institutions on Thursday.

The deal, between China Development Bank (CDB) and PTA, which is the largest line of credit the latter has ever received from a single institution, will support the bank's strategy in financing the growing industry.

GA_googleFillSlot("AllAfrica_Story_Inset"); "The developmental impact of improving telecommunication networks cannot be underestimated and we intend to continue being active in this sector," said PTA bank president, Dr Micheal Gondwe.

"The partnership with PTA bank dates back to 2006, when we met in Sino-Africa Beijing Summit and signed the Framework Cooperation Agreement since our two organisations have the same goal of accelerating development," said CDB, Kenya Project Development Team, general direc...

BMP Sunstone Corporation Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

Business — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:26:38 +0800

BMP Sunstone Corporation (BJGP)

Q2 2008 Earnings Call Transcript

August 11, 2008 8:30 am ET

Executives

Ashley Ammon MacFarlane – IR, Integrated Corporate Relations, Inc.

David Gao – CEO

Fred Powell – CFO

Martyn Greenacre – Chairman

Analysts

Jerry Skochin – Philadelphia Brokerage

Julie Chen – CRT Capital Holdings

James Tong – Roth Capital

Sanheram – Wachovia Securities

Hongbo Lu – Piper Jaffray

Presentation

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the second quarter 2008 BMP Sunstone Corporation Earnings Conference Call. My name is Lorene and I will be your operator for today. At this time all participants are in listen-only mode. We will conduct a question-and-answer session towards the end of this conference (Operator instructions) As a reminder, this conference in being recorded for replay purposes.

I would now like to t...

China Biotech Week in Review: Earnings and More

Business — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:33:46 +0800

Last week, China biopharma saw news across a broad front. Earnings season is definitely underway, with three companies reporting, and there were developments in other areas – deals, drugs – as well. A significant venture capital funding was formally announced in China biopharma last week. HD Biosciences Inc., a Shanghai-based contract research organization [CRO], officially completed its Series A financing, after initially disclosing the fact at the ChinaBio Investor Forum held in early July (see story). The round was led by Morningside Venture with Lilly Asian Ventures (NYSE: LLY) and Pfizer Venture Investments (NYSE: PFE) joining. The funding was especially significant because it may be the first time that multiple big pharmas have taken an equity position in a China-based CRO. HD Biosciences is a specialized CRO focused on conducting assay development and high throughput screening services for big pharma and biotech. The funding will be used to expand HD B...

State wants close watch on its enterprises

Business — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:02:31 +0800

Minister of the State-owned Assets Supervision Commission (SASAC) Li Rongrong said Sunday that previously locked-up shares for major public-listed State enterprises should not be floated on the market on a large scale over a relatively long period of time.

Allianz earnings drop, cuts growth forecast

Business — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:28:38 +0800

Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, said second-quarter profit fell 29% after losses at its Dresdner Bank unit. The company also scrapped its earnings growth forecast.

Net income dropped to 1.52 billion euros ($US2.31 billion) from 2.14 billion euros a year earlier, the Munich-based insurer said in a statement. That beat the 1.26 billion-euro median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Allianz expects markets to remain difficult through 2009, and as a result, its target of a 10% compound annual growth rate for operating earnings ''cannot be maintained.'' Chief executive Michael Diekmann said in the statement that the current business climate means it's impossible to accurately predict earnings. Allianz is holding talks to sell Dresdner Bank and its Dresdner Kleinwort securities unit.

''It's important for Allianz to get rid of Dresdner Kleinwort as fast as possible as that's where all the bank writedowns originate,'' Lutz Roehmeyer, a fund manager at ...

Tianyin Receives SFDA Approval for Statin Drug

Business — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:09:31 +0800

Tianyin Pharmaceutical, Co. (TYNP.OB) was given SFDA approval for a generic version of a statin drug, simvastatin tablets. Simvastatin was developed by Merck (MRK), which markets the drug as Zocor. The US patent for the drug expired in 2006. Simvastatin is used to control hypercholesterolemia and treat coronary heart diseases, the only statin approved by the SFDA for these conditions. Tianyin says it has fewer side effects than other drugs in the class. It reduced the mortality rate of coronary heart diseases, coronary artery diseases, and cerebral stroke by 17%, 24% and 25%, respectively. In 2006, simvastatin drugs produced $190 million in collective revenue in China, 40% of which came from domestic manufacturers. Tianyin expects to use its price advantage to reduce further the amount of simvastatin that is sold in China by foreign drug companies. Tianyin has the ability to produce $2 million of the drug annually. Profit margins for the drug are slightly better than t...

China further foreign investments management

Business — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:27:40 +0800

China will further strengthen management of foreign investment projects and check foreign exchange inflow in a bid to better control it, according to the country's top economic regulator.

Inside the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange: An Interview with Malcolm Wall Morris

Business — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:56:00 +0800

By Tom Vulcan

Early in June, just after the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange [DCGX] launched its new crude oil contracts, HardAssetsInvestor.com reporter Tom Vulcan had the opportunity to talk with the CEO of DGCX, Malcolm Wall Morris, both about the exchange and its new futures contracts.

Tom Vulcan (Vulcan): Why can the Middle East aspire to become a global hub for commodities derivatives?

Malcolm Wall Morris (Wall Morris): Well, that's a very interesting question.

In various parts of the world, you tend to have producing regions, and you have consuming regions. And you have, of course, the financial centers in London, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Singapore, etc., where you have a mixture of the two within a robust banking and regulatory environment.

Dubai is a trading center - a physical commodities trading center for the Middle East. Dubai was the very first free port in the region. It's known as the gateway to India. There's a large flo...

China wins UN approval to buy ivory

Business — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:15:58 +0800

A United Nations panel has granted China permission to import elephant ivory from African government stockpiles under strict conditions.

Abraxis Receives China Approval for Cancer Drug

Business — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:13:32 +0800

Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (ABII) received SFDA approval for ABRAXANE Paclitaxel for Injection (Albumin Bound) as a breast cancer treatment. The indication was limited to use following failure of standard chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. The approval was based on trials conducted in the US and in China. Currently, Abraxis is conducting trials of ABRAXANE as a first-line chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. ABRAXANE is a protein-bound chemotherapy, combining paclitaxel and albumin to deliver the drug. Because the delivery mechanism does not require solvents, a 49% higher dose of the active ingredient, paclitaxel (Taxol), can be given without causing safety issues. In the China Phase III trial, ABRAXANE almost doubled the overall tumor response rate compared to solvent-based paclitaxel (54% vs. 29%), prolonged time to tumor progression by 26% and improved overall survival. These results were more positive than the...

China Sky One Reports 11 New Drugs in Trials

Business — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:59:49 +0800

China Sky One Medical (CSY) reported that it has 11 new drugs in clinical trials, seven of them administered by injection. The clinical trials are expected to be underway for six months. Assuming the trials are successful, China Sky One projects it will submit the drugs for SFDA approval in early 2009. China Sky One has traditionally emphasized externally administered products (patches and ointments), but it has been building up its product portfolio by acquiring other companies. So far in 2008, China Sky One has bought Heilongjiang Tianlong Pharmaceutical (price: $8.3 million) and Peng Lai Jin Chuang Company (price: $7.1 million). Heilongjiang Tianlong was responsible for the propyl gallate injection, whose approval China Sky One announced earlier this week. It has also previously announced that Heilongjiang Tianlong completed the R&D work on eight other injected products. The following is a list of the products that China Sky One has in clinical trials:

China Biotech Weekly Review

Business — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:59:43 +0800

Bringing together people interested in early-stage China biomedical companies, the ChinaBio Investor Forum took place in Shanghai on July 7-8 (see story). The Forum is the only such event devoted to China’s early-stage biomedical sector. Greg B. Scott, President of ChinaBio Accelerator, the organizer of the event, declared it a success, pointing out that more than 250 attendees were able to gain insights from 24 speakers, including venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and big pharma executives. In addition, 21 early-stage companies took advantage of the Forum to present their stories to the almost 80 venture capitalists who attended. Two of the presenting companies were honored with the "Most Promising Companies" award at the event (see story), an award bestowed by a panel of venture capitalists. The winning companies were Shenogen Pharma Group of Beijing, and Beyond Diagnostics Inc., based in Shanghai. Shenogen Pharma is developing small molecule drugs for...

China Medical Technologies: Volatility and Profits

Business — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:09:29 +0800

China Medical Technologies, Inc. (CMED) and its often cited cousin Mindray Medical International Limited (MR) have both had more than their share of volatility this year. But on a relative basis, China Medical appears to be a better value with a more optimistic future. That may help to explain why China Medical is holding onto a small gain for the year while Mindray is down about 15%. To understand the dynamics helping to lift CMED, it is helpful to dissect a recent report issued by Morgan Stanley on the company.

In the report, Bin Li places much of the credit on CMED management’s decision to concentrate on its InVitro Diagnostic [IVD] business. This portion of the company’s sales is strategically important because the division sells not only basic equipment, but also consumable products that are used throughout the useful life of the equipment. This creates a recurring revenue stream that is predictable. The virtually guaranteed sales can then be modeled...