The Shenzhen Component Index added 0.72 percent to open at 12,994.51 points.

China would continue to adhere to the moderately easy monetary policy and endeavor to promote the stable development of the financial system, Guo Qingping, assistant governor of the People's Bank of China, the central Bank, said Thursday.

Liu Nenghua, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said Thursday that the country would step up supervision efforts on the ChiNext exchange, a start-up board for small and medium-sized enterprises to go public.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Qingdao Port invested 200 million yuan (about 29.4 million U.S. dollars) and China Marine Bunker (PetroChina) Co. Ltd., China's largest marine fuel provider, 170 million yuan in the project, the newspaper said.

The first-stage of the project includes construction of four 50,000 cubic meter bonded fuel oil tanks and other supporting transportation facilities, according to the newspaper. 

Wang leapt 23 places to top the Forbes China Rich List after his fortune increased to 39.6 billion yuan (5.8 billion U.S. dollars). BYD, or Build Your Dream, soared after a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy a 10-percent stake last year.

Liu Yongxing, president of the East Hope Group who topped the list last year, came in second with a fortune of 37.55 billion yuan. President of Zhejiang Wahaha Group Zong Qinghou came in third.

The total assets of China's 40 richest people doubled from 52 billion U.S. dollars to a record 106 billion U.S. dollars over the past year, Forbes said.

All the top 40 are billionaires, compared with just 24 billionaires last year.

The asset surge of China's super-rich was a sharp contr...]]> Finance Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:21:56 +0800 /articles/09/1105/196334/MTk2MzM0CrWqWmRA.html BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities closed mixed on Thursday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 26.52 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 3,155.05.

The Shenzhen Component Index dipped 29.51 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 12,901.70.

Combined turnover shrank slightly to 253.96 billion yuan (37.18 billion U.S. dollars) from 280.7 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

The ChiNext market for start-up stocks, which began trading on Oct. 30, rebounded with 26 stocks out of total 28 up following yesterday's rebounding. The board witnessed sharp losses on Tuesday and Monday.

The market also weighed reports that the Institute for Supply Management's October nonmanufacturing index fell to 50.6 from 50.9 in September; and that ADP's report on private employment showed payrolls falling 203,000 in October, a bit more than the 196,000 expected. To some, data elevated the downside risk for Friday's U.S. employment report for October.

On Wednesday at 12:21 p.m. ET, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average was higher by 105.88 points, or 1.08%, at 9,877.79. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 9.49 points, or 0.91%, at 1,054.90. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 12.55 points, or 0.61%, to 2,069.87.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 21 stocks were higher in price for every seven tha...]]> Finance Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:50:27 +0800 /articles/09/1104/196167/MTk2MTY3DxdMb1Eu.html

The growth rate for the first three quarters was 23.9 percentage points lower from a year earlier. However, the rate was 8.2 percentage points higher than that of the first half of this year, the ministry said in a statement on its official website.

The monthly growth rate posted a fourth straight rise of 30.1 percent in September from 12.2 percent in June, due to the economic recovery and stimulus measures adopted by the government, said the ministry.

During the first nine months, China's consumption taxes rose 79.1 percent year on year, business revenue up 13.1 percent, and individual income taxes up 4.1 percent.

However, the tariff fell 0.4 percent and 26.7 percent to 106.09billion yuan, brought down by import and export slump caused by the financial crisis.  

The trial of Xie Caiping is part of a months-long crackdown in the city that has exposed widespread government and police involvement in providing cover to numerous local gangs, or "black societies." It has also riveted China's state-controlled media with tales of a violent underworld.

Twenty-one others were sentenced to between one and 13 years in prison, according to a notice on the Chongqing court Web site.

The crackdown in Chongqing has been extensive, netting more than 1,544 suspects - gangsters, prominent businessmen and 14 high-ranking officials. Six gang members in the city have already been sentenced to death for crimes including murder and blackmail, the first among hundreds expected to go on trial.

Xie, 46, is the sister-in...]]> Finance Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:25:22 +0800 /articles/09/1103/196055/MTk2MDU1LRAJTcHu.html BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened slightly higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.30 percent to open at 3,085.74.

The Shenzhen Component Index added 0.31 percent to open at 12,754.70.

The ChiNext exchange, the country's start-up board for small and medium-sized companies, continued to plunge at the opening with most stocks falling, after 20 of its 28 stocks down 10 percent, the daily limit, on Monday.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened down 2.57 percent at the day's low of 21,194.12, tracking losses on the Wall Street as investors worried about the hovering uncertainties over the economic recovery amid negative consumption news.

The blue chip index narrowed its losses to 1.72 percent by lunch break, and edged up further in the afternoon, partly helped by the strength of the Chinese mainland market. Turnover totaled 65.12 billion HK dollars (8.35 billion U.S. dollars), compared with last Friday's 76.35 billion HK dollars (7.79 billion U.S. dollars).

Analysts said they saw support for the Hang Seng Index at 21,000 and resistance at 22,000 or slightly lower positions, adding that the downside risks might be increasing.

Only six of the 42 blue chip stocks turned out gainer...]]> Finance Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:22:42 +0800 /articles/09/1102/195965/MTk1OTY1fouStU92.html U.S. stock index futures were higher in premarket trading Monday, signaling a higher open for Wall Street after a sell-off in the previous session.

Trading activity may be marked by portfolio positioning for November and the end of the year, says S&P MarketScope.

A surprise profit from Ford Motor Co. (F) helped support the early gains in futures. Ford said deep cost cuts and the government's Cash for Clunkers rebates helped it earn nearly $1 billion in the third quarter. Shares rose nearly 6% in premarket trading.

Investors were awaiting reports on the Institute for Supply Management's October manufacturing index, which was expected by economists to rise to 54.5 from 52.6 in September; pending home sales for September, which are expected to rise 0.4% after surging 6.4% in August; Sept. and construction spending for September, which is seen falling 0.2% after rising 0.8% in August.

Treasuries were lower Monday morning amid fears the Federal Reser...]]> Finance Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:37:48 +0800 BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities closed higher on Monday, helped by the pharmaceutical sectors boosted by the flu epidemic, and Shanghai's ambitious plan for a Walt Disney park yet to be announced.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 80.80 points, or 2.70 percent, to end at 3076.65. The Shenzhen Component Index added 418.49 points, or 3.40 percent, to close at 12715.65.

Combined turnover expanded to 254.17 billion yuan (37.22 billion U.S. dollars), from 217.03 billion yuan (31.78 billion U.S. dollars) on Friday. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Local benchmark index once moved up 668.70 points, or 3.14 percent, challenging 22,000 points during the morning session.

Property shares became strong with Henderson Land and SHK Properties surging over 4 percent.

    As of the end of September, banks' average liquidity ratio, or cash held by these banks as a proportion of deposits, was 41.7 percent, well above the industry requirement of 25 percent, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) stated on its website.

    But the statement underlined the necessity of enhancing liquidity risk management against the backdrop of the global financial crisis.

    In response to the nation's call to prop up the slowing economy amid the global financial crisis, Chinese banks advanced 8.67 trillion yuan (about 1.24 trillion U.S. dollars) in fresh loans in the first nine months of the year, more than doubling the amo...]]> Finance Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:09:30 +0800 /articles/09/1029/195605/MTk1NjA1mjvFmt3g.html

The NPL ratio fell by 0.76 percentage points, compared with data reported at the beginning of 2009, to 1.66 percent.

Bill Gross, PIMCO

Asset appreciation in U.S. and other G-7 economies has been artificially elevated for years. In order to prevent prices sinking even lower than recent downtrends averaging 30% for stocks, homes, commercial real estate, and certain high-yield bonds, central banks must keep policy rates historically low for an extended period of time. If policy rates are artificially low, then bond investors should recognize that artificial buyers of notes and bonds (quantitative easing programs and Chinese currency fixing) have compressed almost all interest rates. But while this may support asset prices—including Treasury paper across the front end and belly of the curve—at the same time it provides little reward in terms of future income. Investors, of course, notice this inevitable conclusion by referencing Treasury bills ...]]> Finance Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:09:20 +0800 /articles/09/1027/195361/MTk1MzYx8AeK8x1o.html China will give swine flu vaccinations to thousands of Muslims about to make the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, state media said, as authorities reported the mainland's third death from the illness.

Concerns over the hajj, which attracts about 3 million Muslims every year to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have led several countries to impose travel bans over fears the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu. Arab health ministers in July banned children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from attending this year.

All of China's 12,700 Muslims making the pilgrimage this year will be inoculated against swine flu, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing an earlier announcement by the China Islamic Association.

China has acted aggressively to detect and contain swine flu cases after being accused of failing to move quickly enough to stop the 2003 outbreak of SARS. Despite earlier measures such as strict qu...]]> Finance Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:51:54 +0800 /articles/09/1027/195332/MTk1MzMyPOFbpwLn.html Finance Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:26:06 +0800 /articles/09/1025/195171/MTk1MTcxGNp1Sjza.html

About 97.9 percent of all the 2,598 involved coal mines have signed merging deals and the issuance of new business licenses are in full swing, the provincial administration of land and resources and coal industry told Xinhua on Sunday.

Shanxi, China's leading coal production base that has suffered frequent fatal mining accidents, is expected to see the eradication of all small mines with an annual production capacity of below 300,000 tonnes by the end of the year -- the scheduled deadline.

By cutting off about 60 percent of its existing coal mines, the province will finally have 1,053 collieries, 20 percent are state-owned firms, 30 percent are privately-run companies and 50 percent with mixe...]]> Finance Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:40:34 +0800 /articles/09/1024/195073/MTk1MDcztXQzyOWr.html

The profits totaled 551.96 billion yuan (81.17 billion U.S. dollars) between Jan-Sept. The decline rate was 2.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

Their business revenue was 8.67 trillion yuan, down 2.9 percent year on year, 1.7 percentage points lower than that for the first eight months.

The enterprises paid taxes of 804.65 billion yuan, up 5.3 percent year on year.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index increased 56.44 points, or 1.85 percent, to end at 3,107.85.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 218.53 points, or 1.73 percent, to close at 12,843.21.

Combined turnover surged to 254.60 billion yuan (37.44 billion U.S. dollars) from 199.22 billion yuan on the previous trading day.Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

The benchmark Hang Seng Index opened 0.36 percent lower at 22,237.37. It moved between 22,266.74 and 22,002.79 during the day's session and finished down 107.59 points at 22,210.52.

Analysts said they expect the benchmark index to consolidate near current levels and trade between 21,300 and 22,500 in the near term, after it hit a fresh 14-month high on Tuesday.

Turnover went up to 69.95 billion HK dollars (about 9.04 billion U.S. dollars) from Wednesday's 67.71 billion HK dollars (about 8.75 billion U.S. dollars).

China Enterprises Index went down 41.66 points, or 0.32 percent, to close at 12,959.93 points.

All four major stock categories lost. The properties sub-index became the biggest loser and dropped 1.61 percent. The utilities f...]]> Finance Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:25:31 +0800 /articles/09/1022/194893/MTk0ODkzNlUUnDwu.html

The volume of retail sales topped 6.10 billion yuan in urban areas, up 14.8 percent year on year, and 2.87 trillion yuan in rural areas, up 16.0 percent.

In terms of sectors, sales in wholesale and retail rose 15 percent in the first three quarters, and expanded 17.4 percent in accommodation and catering.

Among consumer goods, furniture sales rose 32.3 percent and automobile sales climbed 24.5 percent in the first three quarters from the same period last year.

The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.17 percent to open at 12,670.97.

The National Bureau of Statistics is set to announce some economic data for the third quarter on Thursday morning.Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese exporters should brace themselves for a steady rise in the value of the yuan while the steep hiking of asset prices looks set to continue, say analysts studying the movements of "hot money."

Although the value of the yuan, China's currency, has hovered at around 6.83 to the U.S. dollar for the past several months, analysts say the rush of international short-term speculative funds has already begun with China's economy showing signs of improvement.

The country saw a massive exodus of hot money because of the global financial crisis in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, said Zhang Ming, an economist with the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

From the second quarter, the situation reversed with an influx of hot money, he said.

No official figures conc...]]> Finance Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:19:52 +0800 /articles/09/1020/194661/MTk0NjYxAuO1IDEu.html Finance Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:40:57 +0800 /articles/09/1019/194543/MTk0NTQzp11WXhzN.html

Profits in the country's SOEs fell 17.6 percent year on year in the first nine months to 936.61 billion yuan (137.13 billion U.S. dollars), two percentage points lower compared with the Jan.-August period, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced Monday.

The MOF statement did not give the September figure alone but said it was 12 percent lower than the August profits.

Profits of central SOEs totaled 679.68 billion yuan from January to September, down 13 percent from a year earlier. Central SOEs covered 133 centrally-administered SOEs and 82 SOEs affiliated to central departments.

Business revenue of SOEs fell 1.7 percent year on year to 15.84trillion yuan in the first nine months.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 61.64 points, or 2.07 percent, to end at 3,038.27. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 449.9 points, or 3.74 percent, to close at 12,483.27.

Gainers outnumbered losers by 852 to 33 in Shanghai and 742 to 26 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover increased to 226.76 billion yuan (33.2 billion U.S. dollars) from 166.45 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

China's economic growth exceeded 7 percent year on year in the first nine months this year, and it would not be a problem to reach the 8-percent target for the whole 2009, Xiong Bilin, official with the National Development and Reform Commission, said Monday.

An array of economic data, including gross domestic product growth for the third quarter, consumer price index and industrial outpu...]]> Finance Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:23:05 +0800 /articles/09/1019/194519/MTk0NTE5kg9QmWXP.html BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares opened slightly lower on Monday morning, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.07 percent to open at 2,974.64.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.12 percent to open at 12,047.74. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Every time the dollar increases in value against the enfeebled US dollar and other major currencies, Australian exports become more expensive for customers and less competitive in global markets.

Once known as the Aussie battler, the dollar has risen about 50 per cent in the past year from lows of US60c, and based on this week's stellar performance is quickly heading towards parity with the greenback.

Driving the gains are the wide interest rate differential from Australia to the rest of the world, the general decline in the value of the US dollar and the strength of commodity prices, because about 70 per cent of Australia's exports are commodity-related.

In economics this is called the resources curse -- you have a strong currency because of demand for your reso...]]> Finance Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:09:17 +0800 BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities closed mixed Friday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.16 points, or 0.11 percent, to end at 2,976.63.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 23.19 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 12,033.37.

Combined turnover shrank to 166.45 billion yuan (24.37 billion U.S. dollars) from 179.58 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Fiscal revenue in the first three quarters topped 5.15 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.3 percent from the same period last year. 

The benchmark Hang Seng Index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street to open above the 22,000 mark, but pared its gains in the afternoon to close slightly below the 22,000, with market heavyweight HSBC and the mainland banks leading the gains.

Turnover expanded to 79.95 billion HK dollars (10.25 billion U.S. dollars), compared with 64.56 billion HK dollars (8.28 billion U.S. dollars) on Thursday.

Three of the four major sub-indexes gained, with finance advancing 0.88 percent, utilities advancing 0.19 percent, and the commerce and industry, 0.29 percent. Properties shed 0.4 percent, making them the only losing category. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Stockfly Securities, a mid-sized brokerage affiliated to China Aviation Industry Corp., planned to sell its 100 percent stake to "a major state-owned commercial lender with net assets not less than 300 billion yuan (about 43 billion U.S. dollars)", for 1.15 billion yuan, according to separate statements the firm's five shareholders posted at Tianjin Property Rights Exchange.

The move is a clear implication that CDB was eyeing to buy into the Beijing-based brokerage, as it is deemed to be the only prospective buyer possessing the requirement in the statement for sale, the newspaper said.

CDB, a policy bank that is seeking transformation into a commer...]]> Finance Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:23:03 +0800 /articles/09/1014/193998/MTkzOTk4PAWBIAVQ.html

It is a long-awaited move to encourage VCs to bolster domestic companies' listings on the mainland, the newspaper said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said it would modify the regulations on measures for the administration of securities registration and clearing, which would enlarge the scope for investors. Under the new rule, companies under partnership could open trading accounts to sell shares on the openmarket.

The new measures could lift the legal barriers for VC firms under partnership to invest in companies that are to be listed. It was expected to boost the healthy development of private equity (PE) firms as well as the NASDAQ-style Growth Enterprise Board (GEB), the newspaper said, citing an official with the CSRC.

Previously, only individuals and spe...]]> Finance Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:51:23 +0800 /articles/09/1013/193861/MTkzODYxYe0JQXuA.html BEIJING, Oct. 13 -- The operators of the main international airports in Shanghai and Hong Kong said yesterday they agreed to form a joint venture to manage Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, which mostly handles domestic flights.

Shanghai Airport will pay 51 million yuan for a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, called Shanghai Hong Kong Airport Management Co. Airport Authority Hong Kong agreed to pay 49 million yuan for the remaining 49 percent stake, they said in a joint statement.

The stake structure would remain unchanged for 20 years from 2010.

During the signing ceremony, Han Zheng, mayor of the Shanghai municipal government, said Shanghai hoped the cooperation would allow the introduction of a sophisticated service and management experience at Hongqiao Airport, enabling it to develop into a highly competitive airport.

Tang Ying-yen, chief secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Reg...]]> Finance Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:15:51 +0800 /articles/09/1012/193776/MTkzNzc2GkEWN6Zq.html BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese equities edged down 0.59 percent Monday after a near 5 percent rally on the previous trading day.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 17.23 points, or 0.59 percent, to end at 2,894.48.

The Shenzhen Component Index lost 57.35 points, or 0.49 percent to close at 11,743.89.

Combined turnover rose to 155.64 billion yuan (22.89 billion U.S. dollars) from 145.52 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

The total amount of reserve saw an increase of more than 6.8 billion U.S. dollars over the previous month, it said.

Gains from reserve investment and appreciation of currencies such as Japanese yen and Euro against U.S. dollar contributed to the increase, local financial authorities said.

CECIC was supposed to offer short-term ECI covering at least 84 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, a target set by the State Council this May to provide more support to Chinese exporters amid the financial crisis.

The export volume with short-term ECI rose by 242.2 percent year on year this September. The ratio of exports with short-term ECI to the total exports had grown to 26.5 percent in this August from 2 percent in 2002, according to CECIC.

Founded in Beijing in December 2001, CECIC is China's only policy-oriented insurance company specializing in providing exporters with guarantees for payment risk in doing export or re-export from China by the w...]]> Finance Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:19:53 +0800 /articles/09/1005/193119/MTkzMTE5Y6Wdj4K8.html

Non-cash payments, including commercial papers and bank cards, in China's eastern provinces went up 2.3 percent in the second quarter this year, the central bank said in its latest report.

China saw its first-ever decline in non-cash payments in the third quarter last year, a proof of a less active economy amid the global economic downturn, according to a central bank report.

In the second quarter, transactions made with non-cash payment tools rose 25 percent to 4.44 billion times valued at 157.5 trillion yuan (23.06 trillion U.S. dollars), according to the report.

The report also showed non-cash payments in China's central, western and northeastern regions grew faster than in the east, by 26.4 percent, 10.5 percent and 52.5 percent year on year respectively...]]> Finance Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:46:02 +0800 /articles/09/1005/193106/MTkzMTA26XOPdJkE.html Finance Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:54:09 +0800 /articles/09/1004/193060/MTkzMDYw0aVaRor7.html

The output was down 6.2 percent year on year, but the decline was 2.4 percentage points smaller than that of last month, CPCIA said in its latest reports.

The sector saw a 3.7 percent month-on-month decrease in its output value this July, the first decline this year. The output was down by 8.6 percent from a year earlier, which was 0.5 percentage points bigger than that of June, according to the report.

The report showed the output value of the country's chemical industry grew by 7.4 percent in August, the fastest rise this year. The output of oil and natural gas exploration fell by 37.4 percent year on year, and oil refinery went down by 12.1 percent.

From January to August, the output of China's petrochemical industry was down 9.6 percent...]]> Finance Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:23:15 +0800 /articles/09/0928/192494/MTkyNDk0Ha9JWkjN.html Finance Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:16:07 +0800 BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Finance started selling Renminbi bonds worth 6 billion yuan (878.5 million U.S. dollars) in Hong Kong on Monday.

It is the first time the central government has issued yuan-denominated treasury bonds outside the Chinese mainland.

The sales period of the bonds will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 20. Interest will be paid half a year based on its issuance date of Oct. 27, said the ministry.

An interest rate of 2.25 percent will be paid for the two-year bond, 2.7 percent for the three-year bond, and 3.3 percent for the five-year bond. Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis

Ning made the remarks during his visit to the Xinjiang-based subsidiary companies of the corporation, the country's largest oil and food producer.

Currently, COFCO's accumulative investment in the region is about 5 billion yuan, focused on tomato processing, sugar manufacturing, and beverages.

Ning said the corporation would double investment over the next five years due to confidence in the region's growth potential, but did not say for which the future investment would be targeted.

In 2005, COFCO made an investment in Xinjiang's Tunhe Investment Co., Ltd. by taking over a 37.2 percent share of Tunhe. So far COFCO Tunhe has become the largest tomato ketchup producer in Asia, and the s...]]> Finance Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:25:30 +0800 /articles/09/0928/192466/MTkyNDY2NW4O1KRj.html

Geng Ruguang, deputy general manager of AVIC, said making big passenger vehicles has become the the corporations's guiding plan for development in its auto business.

Geng revealed the figure at a ceremony marking AVIC and its partner Volvol's new product Silver 900 series going into production line.

The series is a new type of big and luxurious passenger vehicles, 12 meters long, which could be used for road transportation, tourist reception, and military equipment.

The Silver 900 series was developed by Xi'an Silver Bus Corporation, a joint venture established in 1994 by AVIC Xi'an Aircraft Industry Co. ltd, and the Swedish bus and truck maker Volvo company.

The Xi'an Silver Bus Corporation expects to produce annually 4,000 vehicles by 2...]]> Finance Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:25:23 +0800 /articles/09/0927/192368/MTkyMzY4lACLUg8h.html Medical tests have shown at least 121 children living near a battery plant in eastern China are suffering from lead poisoning, the latest in a recent string of such cases that have affected hundreds.

Two medical agencies tested 287 children younger than 14 years of age for lead poisoning and found 121 of them had excessive levels of lead in their blood, the government of Shanghang county in Fujian province said in a statement late Saturday. An investigation was ongoing, it said.

The discovery of clusters of lead poisoning in recent weeks has sparked unrest and growing anger in China over public safety scandals in which children have been the main victims. The ruling Communist party is worried that mass protests will threaten the country's social stability and considers them a serious challenge to its grip on power.

The government ordered the Huaqiang Battery Plant to shut about 10 days ago after local villagers approached the authorities ...]]> Finance Sun, 27 Sep 2009 03:48:26 +0800 /articles/09/0925/192224/MTkyMjI0t3xj3nHf.html

The growth rate was 7.6 percentage points lower than that in the same period last year, but 1.1 percentage points higher than that in the first half year.

In August alone, China's industrial output expanded 12.3 percent year on year. The growth rate was the largest since September last year when the global economic slowdown hit China.

China's exports in August dropped 23.4 percent year on year, indicating the country faced a tough exports situation, said a report on the MIIT website.

China finished 662.4 billion yuan (96.98 billion U.S. dollars) of industrial investment in August, up 23.1 percent year on year. Total industrial investment was 4.73 trillion yuan in the first eight months, up 26.6 percent year on year.