The announcement was made following the global acquisition of the debt-laden United Commercial Bank by the East West Bank. Both banks were headquartered in the United States and have operations in many places, including Hong Kong.

    Under an agreement between the East West Bank and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the assets and liabilities arising in respect of the operations of UCBHK will be transferred to the East West Bank, the Monetary Authority said.

    The East West Bank will make available adequate resources to fully meet all of the obligations of UCBHK, including its deposit liabilities.

   &nbs...]]> Business Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:01:58 +0800 /articles/09/1107/196505/MTk2NTA1XgXlXZV5.html MANILA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China Banking Corp., one of the Philippines biggest commercial banks, chalked up 3.21 billion pesos (68.5 million U.S. dollars) in net profit for the first nine months of the year, or up 40.7 percent on year, on back of stronger revenues.

In its disclosure issued to the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday, China Bank officials reported that the bank's revenues increased 22.8 percent on year to 13.02 billion pesos (27 million U.S. dollars).

"With our continued focus on improving service, strengthening our balance sheet, and effective management of risks, we were able to sustain our growth momentum for this year. Our double digit growth is underpinned by our commitment to consistently deliver strong shareholder value," China Bank executive vice president and chief operating officer Ricardo Chua said in a press statement.

To strengthen its balance sheet, provisions for probable credit losses were more th...]]> Business Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:29:09 +0800 /articles/09/1107/196495/MTk2NDk1XfPfgl6X.html     BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's auto market continued its robust growth in October, with monthly passenger vehicle sales jumped nearly 80 percent year on year to 923,154 units, China Daily reported on Saturday.

    But on a month-to-month comparison, passenger vehicle sales in October dropped 8.1 percent from the previous month, according to figures released by China Passenger Car Association.

    In the first 10 months, sales of cars, sports-utility vehicles, minivans and multi-purpose vehicles surged nearly 52.4 percent over the same period last year to nearly 8.08 million units.

    "We expect full-year auto sales to touch 13.5 million with a year-on-year growth rate of 44 percent. That in turn, would make China the world's largest auto market for the whole year," said Rao Da, head of China Passenger Car Association.

    In the fir...]]> Business Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:01:47 +0800 /articles/09/1107/196487/MTk2NDg35bsCRZQx.html     BEIJING, Nov.6 (Xinhua) -- China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, announced Friday that its sales volume in October surged 95 percent year on year to 6.54 billion yuan (957.8 million U.S. dollars).

    The combined space sold in October topped 608,000 square meters, up 31 percent year on year, the developer said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

    The company sold 5.71 million square meters of homes nationwide over the past ten months, up 27.2 percent year on year.

    Equities of the Shenzhen-listed firm added 1.44 percent to open at 11.94 yuan per share Friday.

    Chinese property market picked up momentum since this February, boosted by a series of government measures to bolster the economy and stimulate domestic consumption.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

    The statement came after London Mining said Friday that it held talks with Minmetals and Sinosteel Corp., China's largest iron ore trader, as well as China's National Railways for its Marampa project in Sierra Leone.

    A source with China Minmetals Corporation said the company has not yet taken a decision on whether to invest and is still studying the project, said the newspaper.

    The source said Minmetals would rather look for suitable iron ore acquisitions projects in Australia and Africa, like Mauritania, and largely focus on small- and medium-sized projects.

 &nbs...]]> Business Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:09:53 +0800 /articles/09/1107/196463/MTk2NDYzMwpQ5AnU.html     HONG KONG, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange rose 211.94 points, or 1.66 percent, to close Friday's trading at 13,017.20.

    The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Sept. 7, 2009, tracks the overall performance of 44 major Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    The Hang Seng China H-Financials Index went up 293.00 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 18,151.54.

    The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.

    The Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gained 56.85 points, or 1.43 percent, to close at 4,037.07.

    Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 with the latest readjustment ef...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:03:13 +0800 /articles/09/1107/196462/MTk2NDYyHVrb3yea.html     BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's central government has allocated relief fund totaling 8 million yuan (1.17 million U.S. dollars) for people affected by the magnitude 5 earthquake that shook southwest Yunnan Province on Nov. 2, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

    The money is used as financial aid for evacuating and resettling people affected by the quake.

    An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale shook southwest China's Yunnan Province on Nov. 2, slightly injuring 28 people and collapsing more than 1,000 homes, according to the local authorities. More than 300,000 people were affected.

    The apparel industry suffered the most, with the value of exports falling 84.7 percent year on year to 1.1 billion HK dollars (141 million U.S. dollars).

    The basic metals industry trailed with a fall of 49.1 percent, followed by the paper and paper products, and printing and reproduction of recorded media industry. The chemicals and chemical products industry was also one of the biggest losers.

    The computer, electronic and optical products industry saw a fall of 8.8 percent in the value of domestics exports to 3.4 billion HK dollars (436 million U.S. dollars), suffering the least among the five leading industries i...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:02:55 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196435/MTk2NDM12mPpGSLb.html     GUANGZHOU, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- All businessman Liu Dingjun wants for Christmas is a Chinese currency-denominated trade settlement service for his exports.

    Liu is general manager of Liaoning Tonghui Import and Export LLC, which has exported Christmas gifts for more than a decade from Dalian city, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

    He told Xinhua Friday that though the U.S. dollar's continuing decline made him anxious, it was not yet feasible for his company to resort to the yuan, or Renminbi, for a better alternative.

    China's foreign trade sector has long made deals in the U.S. dollar. In early July, China launched a pilot program of cross-border trade settlement in the yuan in some mainland cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Dongguan, for trade with Hong Kong, Macao and some regional trading partners.

  &nb...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:03:04 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196434/MTk2NDM0HNHCIT0M.html     MACAO, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 95 companies were dissolved in Macao during the third quarter of 2009, according to the figures released on Friday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

    The registered capital value of these dissolved companies amounted to 14 million patacas (1.8 million U.S. dollars), with that of 18 construction companies in dissolution accounted for 20.9 percent of the total, the DSEC figures indicated.

    Meanwhile, a total of 651 new companies were incorporated in the third quarter of 2009, increasing by 2 percent year-on-year, with the total value of registered capital rising by 13.7 percent to 75 million patacas (9.5 million dollars), the DSEC said.

    There were eight new companies incorporated with registered capital over 1 million patacas (126,582 dollars) in the period and their value of capital accounted for...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:02:52 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196433/MTk2NDMzJaAyiCUS.html     HONG KONG, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The benchmark Hang Seng Index of Hong Kong closed 1.63 percent higher at 21.829.72 on Friday, tracking overnight gains on the Wall Street following better-than-expected quarterly results announced by tech chip Cisco.

    The Hang Seng Index gained 0.35 percent over the past week. Analysts said resistance was turning strong as the blue chip index moved near the 22,000 mark, adding that the index also managed to hold above the support level of 21,000 recently.

    Turnover totaled 64.43 billion HK dollars (8.26 billion U.S. dollars), compared with Thursday's 60.77 billion HK dollars (7.79 billion U.S. dollars).

    Forty-one of the 42 constituents of the Hang Seng Index turned out gainers. The finance sub-index, one of the four major stock categories, advanced 1.72 percent. The properties category added 1. 92 percent and the commer...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:02:39 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196411/MTk2NDExXbHcYqzP.html     BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- AVIC Aircraft Corporation Ltd., a major subsidiary of China's top aircraft manufacturer Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), will go public by injecting assets into AVIC's Shenzhen-listed arm, Xi'an Aircraft International Corp., China Daily reported Friday.

    It was part of AVIC Aircraft's plan to complete an overall listing by 2011 amid a restructuring of China's aviation industry, the newspaper said.

    The company planned to complete the asset restructuring by the first quarter of next year and use Xi'an Aircraft International as the platform for the listing, the newspaper said, citing Hu Xiaofeng, general manager of the AVIC Aircraft Corp.

    AVIC Aircraft will inject assets worth 8 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) into Xi'an Aircraft International, according to Hu.

    Xi'an Airc...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:35 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196410/MTk2NDEwTic02WXB.html     BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- One year after China launched the stimulus package and regained economic growth momentum, experts said the government was set to stick to pro-growth macro-economic policies while making minor adjustments in the prospect of inflation.

    Liu Shijin, vice director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, or China's cabinet, told a forum held Thursday that many people were looking at the issue of price since both the consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) would probably begin to rise at the end of 2009.

    "I think the CPI would probably grow around 3 percent year on year in the first half of next year. As to the second half, the CPI movement trend has many uncertainties and some has forecast a growth of more than 5 percent," Liu said.

    So China's macro-economic policies in 2010 should focus on main...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:26 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196409/MTk2NDA5c3XnGHel.html     by Silvia Marchetti

    ROME, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese investments in Italy, although still limited compared with that in the rest of Europe, are growing with more and more Chinese firms operating in the country's strategic sectors, said an Italian government agency on Thursday.

    Invitalia, the Italian governmental agency for promoting foreign investment and enterprise development, said there are just38 Chinese firms operating in the country, but Chinese investments have grown rapidly since 2000.

    Four Chinese companies, namely Chongqing Lifan (motorcycle), Enhalor (chemicals), Zhejiang Xiongfeng Holdings (textile) and a major producer of tools and accessories for safety in sport activities, entered the Italian market in July.

    Most of the Chinese companies in Italy are small in dimension and are highly concentrated in the nort...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:15 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196408/MTk2NDA4S6VogqyL.html     WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Thursday set preliminary anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese-made oil pipes, the biggest U.S. trade action against China.

    MORE DUTIES ON CHINESE GOODS

    The Commerce Department said it "preliminarily determined that Chinese producers/exporters have sold OCTG (oil country tubular goods) in the United States at prices ranging from zero to 99.14 percent less than normal value."

    The OCTG are widely used in oil and gas drilling.

    As a result of this preliminary determination, a 36.53-percent levy will be imposed on the OCTG from 37 Chinese companies, while some other Chinese companies will receive a preliminary dumping rate of 99.14 percent.

    The tariffs go into effect immediately, but since the finding is preliminary, U.S. Customs and...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:04 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196394/MTk2Mzk0VoxtBTgr.html     SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Dell Inc., one of the world's major personal computer (PC) makers, foresees a bright future in China, which is already the second largest market for the company, a Dell executive has said.

    "China is expected to become the largest PC market in the world by 2015. Needless to say there are many opportunities to grow," Amit Midha, president of Dell China, told Xinhua in a recent written interview.

    Eleven years after Dell entered China in 1998, the company has established a solid footprint and is enjoying strong growth in the market.

    "Dell's China business has regularly outperformed the overall industry in China as well as our businesses in other parts of the world," Midha noted.

    Last year, Dell increased its units shipped in China four times faster than the rest of the industry, has taken over...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:02:00 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196393/MTk2MzkzhjfUivrJ.html     BEIJING, Nov. 6 -- Mobile phone software maker Sybase Inc is stepping up the pace of its mobile computing business in China as the country's 3G industry has started to blossom, a senior company executive said.

    The company expects to maintain the 25-percent growth rate it achieved in the last two years in China this year also, said John Chen, chief executive of Sybase.

    China has been the fastest-growing market for Sybase in the 38 countries and regions it operates in, he said.

    "The 3G era will certainly see more diversified mobile applications, and there's a lot we can do here. It's very favorable for us," Chen said.

    Sybase will focus on developing mobile computing business, such as databases, mobile middleware, and overall software infrastructure, in an attempt to take full advantage of mobile commerce, including mobi...]]> Business Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:01:49 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196348/MTk2MzQ4GvANlFPd.html     HONG KONG, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks finished down 0.63 percent on Thursday, after the Wall Street narrowed its gains overnight on news that the Federal Reserve kept the interest rate unchanged at the extremely low level.

    The positive comments by the Federal Reserve on the economic recovery prospects failed to lend support to the market, with the Dow narrowing its gains to finish up 0.31 percent overnight and leading most of the Asian markets to end lower.

    The Hang Seng Index opened down 0.97 percent on Thursday and moved between 21,372.99 and 21,549.10 before ending down 0.63 percent at 21,479.08.

    Turnover totaled 60.77 billion HK dollars (7.79 billion U.S. dollars), compared with Wednesday's 60.06 billion HK dollars (7.7 billion U.S. dollars).

    All the four major stock categories finished lower, with the finance...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:03:23 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196347/MTk2MzQ3Y4Yhdu9Y.html     HONG KONG, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange went down 24.89 points, or 0. 19 percent, to close Thursday's trading at 12,805.26.

    The H-shares index, initiated in August 1994 and readjusted on Sept. 7, 2009, tracks the overall performance of 44 major Chinese mainland state-owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

    The Hang Seng China H-Financials Index dropped 39.92 points, or0.22 percent, to close at 17,858.54.

    The H-Financials Index, initiated on Nov. 27, 2006, readjusted on Sept. 10, 2007, tracks the performance of nine major banks and insurers of the Chinese mainland.

    The Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index fell 13.12 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,980.22.

    Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001 with the latest readjustment eff...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:03:12 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196346/MTk2MzQ2T3Fik0gk.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Lenovo Group, the world's fourth largest personal computer manufacturer, returned to profitability in the second quarter, according to the group's fiscal report released Thursday.

    The group said that it posted a net a profit of 53 million U.S. dollars in its second fiscal quarter from July 1 to Sept. 30.

    Lenovo's worldwide PC shipments grew 17 percent year-over-year in the second quarter, compared to the 2.3 percent rise in the total global PC sales in the same period, the report indicated.

    Lenovo's consolidated sales for the second fiscal quarter decreased 5 percent year-over-year to 4.1 billion U.S. dollars, but grew 19 percent over the previous quarter.

    "Lenovo's second quarter results showed that the Company has the correct strategy in place and is executing the strategy properly," s...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:03:04 +0800 /articles/09/1106/196345/MTk2MzQ1xfjf4fZz.html     by Anas Ghannam

    DAMASCUS, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China Mall, a store specializing in goods from China in Bab Tourna district, looks like other stores in Damascus, except for its Chinese slogan "Sheng Yi Xing Long" which means "good business."

    However, this store, along with the increasing stores selling "Made in China" products in Damascus, indicates a flourishing business of Chinese goods in Syria.

    "We import everything from China depending on seasons," said Miassar Brkaoui, the store's manager, adding "there were huge demands in Syria for Chines products of good value, good quality."

    Brkaoui and his partner set up the company in 2006 with a modest budget. After a slow start, the business took off and it has brought 500,000 U.S. dollars profit since the beginning of this year.

    "There has been a re...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:02:53 +0800 A consortium grouping U.S. and European oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday signed a $50 billion deal to develop one of Iraq's most prized oil fields, as the OPEC nation looks to revamp its battered energy sector.

The deal to develop the 8.6 billion West Qurna Stage 1 field is the third such agreement in less than a week between a foreign oil consortium and Iraq, which sorely needs foreign company expertise and funding to revive an oil sector hammered by years of neglect, sanctions and, most recently sabotage.

"I am very happy today with this achievement," Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said during the signing ceremony Thursday in the Iraqi capital. "Iraq is now on its way to develop its oil industry."

Under the terms of the 20-year contract, the two companies are targeting a more than sevenfold increase in output in seven years - from the current 280,000 barrels per day to 2.325 million barrels p...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:04:59 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196338/MTk2MzM4sEuqajk4.html BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese government think tank leader said Thursday China's macroeconomic policy in 2010 should focus on maintaining steady economic growth and stable prices.

Liu Shijin, deputy director of the State Council's Development Research Center, made the statement at a forum in Beijing on the first anniversary of the introduction of the government's 4-trillion yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars) economic stimulus plan.

The government should adhere to its proactive fiscal and moderately easy monetary policies in 2010 to achieve fast and steady economic development, he said.

Liu forecast China's consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) would turn to growth before the end of 2009.

He said high inflation was not a concern as he projected CPI at a moderate level of 3 percent at least for the first half of 2010.

However, inflationary pressure might mount in the second half and the possibility of an annual ...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:04 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196337/MTk2MzM3h1AmMrDw.html BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Eight-percent growth was no longer a problem for China's economy this year, but the real challenge was to push forward structural adjustments, a senior economist said Thursday.

Yao Jingyuan, chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), told a forum in Beijing that China's economy was over the worst, saying November 2008 to February 2009 was the toughest period for the economy.

The country's economy had gained momentum each quarter, which would ensure full-year growth of 8 percent, he said.

NBS data showed the economy expanded 8.9 percent year on year in the third quarter, faster than the 7.9 percent in the second quarter and 6.1 percent in the first, backed by the stimulus packages the government put into place in last November.

The stimulus packages to prop up growth had set a stage for stronger growth in the future, he said.

However problems remained and the real challenge for the economy w...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:22:52 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196336/MTk2MzM2fxyYZ7pG.html CANBERRA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government on Thursday approved a 271-million-Australian-dollar (245.7 million U.S. dollar) investment by China's third largest steel maker in iron ore explorer Centrex Metals Ltd..

The company plans to build a new export port in South Australia with its proposed Chinese joint venture partner.

The Foreign Investment Review Board has unconditionally given the green light to Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Co (WISCO) earning a60-percent stake in the iron ore rights to five Centrex-owned tenements on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula.

Centrex said WISCO was now gaining approval for the deal from China's State Department of Commerce.

To earn its interest in the iron ore rights, WISCO will pay about 10.1 million Australian dollars (9.1 million U.S. dollars) to take a 15-percent stake in Centrex via a placement of 40 million new shares at a heavily discounted price of 22.6 U.S. cents per ...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:22:28 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196301/MTk2MzAxFKcAURld.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Global financial services giant Morgan Stanley is yet again looking to sell its entire holdings in China International Capital Corp. (CICC), the country's first and most profitable investment bank, China Daily reported Thursday.

    The U.S. investment bank had asked potential buyers to submit indicative first-round bids for its 34.3-percent stake in CICC, which could worth more than 1 billion U.S. dollars, the newspaper confirmed with sources in both the U.S.-based financial advisor and CICC.

    The sources said the CICC stake sale was a precursor to Morgan Stanley setting up another local joint venture and Chinese regulators would not approve a new joint venture unless the investment bank sells the CICC stake.

    Morgan Stanley is planning to form a joint venture securities firm with Shanghai-based China Fortune Securities Co., in ...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:02:34 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196300/MTk2MzAwhivFxRk1.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund, has begun talks on setting up its first international office in London, China Daily reported Thursday.

    The fund, which has 200-billion-U.S. dollar at its disposal, has been looking for a base outside China for some time, and has been recently very active in the U.K. capital, the newspaper said.

    CIC was recently part of a consortium which carried out the 1.3-billion-U.S. dollar bail-out of Canary Wharf, the London office complex.

    Michael Charlton, chief executive of Think London, the capital's inward investment agency, said he was in talks with CIC about setting up an international operation in London and Think London was not involved in the Canary Wharf negotiations.

    CIC is considering New York and Hong Kong as possible alt...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:02:24 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196299/MTk2Mjk5OtbMGYbo.html     BRASILIA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Petrobras, a Brazilian multinational energy company, signed a 10-year contract on Tuesday for a 10-billion-dollar financing from the China Development Bank Corporation, the company source confirmed Wednesday.

    The fund would be used to finance the Petrobras Business Plan 2009-2013 and would be made available to the company in several stages, according to Petrobras.

    The company said the contracts had been under negotiation since May 2009.

    "This funding has become symbolic because of the amount involved and because it represents a new stage for relations between developing countries' markets," the company said in the statement.

    When the first withdrawal is made, Petrobras said, a long-term agreement on the export of Petrobras oil to UNIPEC Asia, a subsidiary of Sinopec (China Petroleum and Chemica...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:02:16 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196298/MTk2Mjk4e52C0wsx.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The combined sales volume of China's supply and marketing cooperatives rose 11 percent year on year to 826.04 billion yuan (121 billion U.S. dollars) nationwide in the first nine months this year, a senior official told Xinhua Thursday.

    Li Chunsheng, vice president of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, said the total sales of the third quarter hiked 22.8 percent year on year despite the adverse effects of the global economic slowdown, without giving specific figures.

    Chinese government approved a plan Wednesday to push forward the reform and development of the country's supply and marketing cooperatives to advance the development of the rural economy.

    China's supply and marketing cooperatives, with a history of more than 80 years, have served as an important platform for the distribution of a...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:02:07 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196297/MTk2Mjk3C5pLxkkR.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The rise in new orders at the 106th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) signaled signs of export demand recovery from its bottom, experts said Thursday.

    Combined trading volume of new orders at the 106th Canton Fair, which closed Wednesday, topped 30.47 billion U.S. dollars, up 16.2 percent from the spring Canton Fair, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

    "I am optimistic about the recovery of China's exports, as demand in overseas markets has been on the rise," said Zhang Hanlin, director of China National Institute of WTO under the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics.

    The foundation of foreign trade recovery is sound, and a steady growth in exports could be expected in the first half of next year, he said.

    The rise reflected an increase in export dem...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:01:57 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196274/MTk2Mjc0HnldWnvL.html BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese government approved a plan Wednesday to push forward the reform and development of the country's Supply and Marketing Cooperatives to advance rural economy.

Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, which have a history of more than 80 years in China, have served as an important platform for the distribution of agricultural products in rural areas.

Efforts will be made to improve the service, purchase and sale networks for means of agricultural production, agricultural consumer goods and agricultural products to further tap the rural market, said a statement issued after an executive meeting of the State Council, or the Cabinet, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

The government will also reform enterprises owned by the Cooperatives to improve their competitiveness and encourage them to join the industrialization of agricultural products. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Answering a question raised by a member of the Legislative Council in written form, Tsang, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, said the local year-on-year headline composite consumer price index inflation rate has remained subdued since mid-2009.

"Accommodative monetary conditions are appropriate given that Hong Kong is in the early stage of recovery," he said.

Tsang said that the loose monetary condition has been one of the factors contributing to the rising prices for high-end flats in Hong Kong but low mortgage interest rates kept housing affordability relatively stable.

Price of flats with an area of 160 square meters or above have already exceeded their previous peak recorded in t...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:28:26 +0800     BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- China's economic growth is likely to remain robust, the World Bank reported Tuesday. However the costs of keeping policy expansionary will increase over time. Large fiscal and monetary stimulus has supported a recovery in China's economy, according to the World Bank's latest China Quarterly Update.

    The regular assessment of the Chinese economy finds that falling exports amidst the global recession have been a major drag on growth.

    Nonetheless, real GDP growth rose to 8.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter on the back of the stimulus. Most of the stimulus has shown up in infrastructure-oriented government-led investment. But some has been consumption-oriented and domestic demand growth has been broad based.

    According to the World Bank's report resurgent housing sales have started to feed through to construction activi...]]> Business Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:09:03 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196263/MTk2MjYzqeabtUgA.html     BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened slightly higher Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.16 percent to open at 3,133.51 points.

    The Shenzhen Component Index added 0.11 percent to open at 12,945.33points.

    The China Securities Regulatory Commission Wednesday issued a regulation, urging its staff members not to take part-time jobs in its supervised entities and for-profit organizations, in a bid to promote the steady and healthy development of the capital market.

    The materials at issue are: bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus, and zinc, key inputs for numerous downstream products in the steel, aluminum, and chemical sectors across the globe.

    The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement that the raw materials are "critical to U.S. manufacturers and workers."

    The USTR also said that the European Union and Mexico are joining the United States in requesting the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel regarding this matter.

  &nbs...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:01:41 +0800     by Chen Wenxian

    LONDON, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- China will likely register GDP growth of about 9 percent this year and soon could return to double-digit territory, says Danny Quah, an economics professor from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:04:03 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196238/MTk2MjM4IdUk2zTi.html China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, commonly known as Sinopec (NYSE: SNP, SHA: 600028, HKG: 0386), on Tuesday put into use a natural gas production and transfer project in Jilin province.

The plant located in the city of Nansong cost Asia's largest oil refiner ¥1.99 billion ($1 = ¥6.83) and is expected to roll out one billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. It had a proven reserve of 43.3 billion m3 of gas as at the end of 2007.

The Nansong gas field will supply cities within the province only.

Source: http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20091103/BCH018318.asp

    The Shenzhen Component Index gained 71.35 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 12,931.21.

    Combined turnover shrank slightly to 280.7 billion yuan (41.1 billion U.S. dollars) from 289.94 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

    The ChiNext market for start-up stocks, which began trading last Friday, rebounded with 27 stocks out of total 28 up after losses for two consecutive trading days.Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

    Twenty seven stocks out of 28 rose, compared with 20 stocks down on Tuesday and 25 stocks down on Monday.

    The board, based in Shenzhen and started operation on Oct. 30, 2009, is tailored to the needs of enterprises engaged in independent innovation and other enterprises with great growth potential. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

    China's gross domestic product would increase 8.4 percent this year, making the country's goal of 8 percent within reach, the Washington-based lender said in its latest update on China's economy.

    In June, the bank raised its forecast of China's economic growth rate in 2009 to 7.2 percent from its earlier forecast of 6.5 percent.

    Ardo Hansson, the bank's lead economist for China, attributed the possible faster growth to the Chinese government's massive fiscal and monetary stimulus.

    China registered an economic growth rate of 8.9 percent in the third quarter and the figure for the first nine months stood at 7.7 percent, according to the National bureau of Stati...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:02:14 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196218/MTk2MjE4L5paPqKf.html     TIANJIN, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- The design and first-phase construction of three inland nuclear power stations in China has begun, Wang Binghua, chairman of State Nuclear Power Technology Corp., said Wednesday at 2009 China Power Forum.

    The new sites are Xian'ning city in the central Hubei Province, Taohuajiang City in the central Hunan Province and Pengze City in the eastern Jiangxi Province.

    China's existing nuclear power stations are sited along the eastern coast.

    Building more nuclear power stations is essential to China's endeavor to cope with energy shortage and pollution, said Ye Qizhen, deputy director of the science and technology committee of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

    In other countries, most nuclear power stations are sited inland. For example, 65...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:02:04 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196217/MTk2MjE3EaNVHM0J.html     HONG KONG, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong stocks opened 0.74 percent higher and widened their gains before closing at 21,614.77 on Wednesday, up 374.71 points, or 1.76 percent, from the previous close.

    Analysts attributed the rise largely to the strength of the Chinese mainland economy. The World Bank earlier upgraded its growth forecast for the mainland economy in 2009 from 7.2 percent to 8.4 percent, reflecting the stimulus measures.

    Most analysts were cautious on the outlook for the stock markets, saying that the stock rally may have been too much ahead of the economic recovery. Some, however, said the stock markets were likely to hold at the current level given the liquidity.

    Turnover on Wednesday totaled 60.06 billion HK dollars (7.7 billion U.S. dollars), compared with Tuesday's 61.01 billion HK dollars (7.82 billion U.S. dollars).

 &nbs...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:01:53 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196213/MTk2MjEzuDHvFrnk.html

The two companies had formed a 50-50 joint venture, Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co Ltd, to build and operate the facility, which can produce 1 million tonnes of ethylene annually and cost 18.3 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars), the newspaper said.

The complex includes a 1-million-tonne ethylene cracker, along with eight downstream units and utilities, which have been tested and are ready to begin production by the first quarter of next year.

The project will produce 3.2 million tonnes of chemicals annually, including 1 million tonnes of ethylene, as well as other downstream products such as polyethylene, ethylene glycol, polypropylene, butadiene, phenol, and butene-1.

Products manufactured by the project will mainly be sold on the domestic ma...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:49:02 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196179/MTk2MTc5GrRaVhlE.html     HAVANA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese enterprises are attracting great attention at the 27th International Fair of Havana (FIHAV-2009), the largest trade fair in Cuba.

    The FIHAV-2009, which opened Monday and runs until Nov. 7, has attracted 2,500 businessmen representing 1,230 companies from 54 countries.

    China is the third largest participant in the fair, coming right after Spain and Canada. The Chinese pavilion includes about 15 companies, which are organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

    "Haier," a Chinese electrical appliance company, is presenting its liquid screens, DVS players, washing machines and solar heaters here. Li Dandan, Haier's representative, told Xinhua that "the Fair is an excellent opportunity to promote Chinese products."

    Meanwhile, another Chinese appliance compan...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:02:51 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196178/MTk2MTc46KxPELA5.html      TAIYUAN, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Jian has changed from being owner of a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province to a shareholder of China's largest coal mining firm, Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co. Ltd..

    An order from the National Development and Reform Commission in September required the country's top coal producing province to close about 1,600 of its 2,600 mines by the end of 2010 through mergers and reorganizations.

    The plan is that each coal mining companies would have an annual production of at least 3 million tons and each mine would produce at least 900,000 tons in order to end the province's reputation for pollution and fatal mining accidents.

    By the end of 2010, all 1,000 coal mines in Shanxi should be mechanized, the commission said.

    Zhang's mine in Zuoquan County had an annual production capacity of...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:02:44 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196177/MTk2MTc3RDRqmjwf.html     BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of the non-manufacturing sector rose to 62.1 percent in October, setting a high for the year, Cai Jin, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP), told Xinhua Wednesday.

    The index was 3.2 percentage points higher than September, Cai said, adding that it was the eighth month in a row that the PMI reading of China's non-manufacturing sector stayed above 55 percent.

    "If this momentum can keep going for the next two months, it could prove that China's service market has embarked on a fast recovery. This would be conducive to the economy's long-term steady development, as a healthy economic development cannot only rely on investment," he said.

    The PMI of the non-manufacturing sector was based on a survey of 20 industries, including logistics, wholesale, hosp...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:02:34 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196127/MTk2MTI3SY9ybxWH.html     BEIJING, Nov. 4 -- China's increasingly voracious investment in overseas markets is helping the global economy - and especially the economies of developing countries - recover from the financial crisis, according to several speakers at the First China Overseas Investment Fair Tuesday.

    Chinese officials urged foreign countries to make it easier for that investment to continue to flow by creating a "convenient and fair" environment for Chinese investors.

    Outbound investment from China in overseas markets has grown significantly recently, at the same time as investment from traditional big spenders, including the United States and European countries, has slowed.

    "China is stepping up its overseas efforts, despite the economic recession worldwide," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice-director of the National Development and Reform Commission. "Many of Ch...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:02:53 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196126/MTk2MTI2lt9NlKkh.html     BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Asia's largest refiner, Sinopec Corp. (Sinopec), and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) has inaugurated their new petrochemical complex in north China's Tianjin, China Daily reported Wednesday.

    The two companies had formed a 50-50 joint venture, Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co Ltd, to build and operate the facility, which can produce 1 million tonnes of ethylene annually and cost 18.3 billion yuan (about 2.6 billion U.S. dollars), the newspaper said.

    The complex includes a 1-million-tonne ethylene cracker, along with eight downstream units and utilities, which have been tested and are ready to begin production by the first quarter of next year.

    The project will produce 3.2 million tonnes of chemicals annually, including 1 million tonnes of ethylene, as well as other downstream products such as polyethylene, ethylen...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:02:45 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196125/MTk2MTI1u68rcSkJ.html     BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Multinational companies sent fewer foreign employees to the Chinese mainland in 2009 as they aimed to cut costs during the global financial crisis, China Daily reported Wednesday.

    In contrast, the number of Chinese employees with overseas educational background and foreign staff hired from within China increased, the newspaper said, citing a report by Mercer, a global human resources and related financial advice provider.

    Among senior management staff, the number of people sent from foreign countries dropped by 6 percent, compared to last year. But the number of foreign staff hired from within the Chinese mainland increased by 12 percent, the report showed.

    The largest decrease - 10 percent - was among professional technical staff.

    The survey also found 40 - 50 percent of multinational companies...]]> Business Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:02:34 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196124/MTk2MTI0JDp8XIFi.html     BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.16 percent to open at 3,119.31 points.

    The Shenzhen Component Index added 0.2 percent to open at 12,886.1 points.

    Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, has urged to improve investor education and establish a long-term effective mechanism in a bid to protect investors' interests and facilitate the steady and healthy development of the capital market, according to Wednesday's China Securities Journal.