Full Contents - August 2004

The Price of Progress
China has the dubious distinction of being able to lay claim to seven of the ten most polluted cities in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Regulator Monster biffs Spiderman
Foreign films were temporarily banned to make space for local fare. In box-office terms, China has one tiny rice bowl.
Look who's heading north
Corporate regional headquarters are moving north from Hong Kong and Singapore - to China where the action is, writes Mark Godfrey.
Place your bets
An influx of casino culture is spearheading Macau's economic boom.

A Dictionary of Life
<i>A Dictionary of Maqiao</i> is a strange name for a novel. But this book, written by Chinese novelist Han Shaogong and translated into English by Julia Lovell, is interesting because of its unique structure and because of the stories it tells about an aspect of China that outsiders will never really penetrate - village life.

Hong Kong and various futures
Hong Kong's role in the present and future of China, beyond the purely economic, is tantilizingly becoming clearer.

Samples for the people!
Amway and Avon have been urging China's law drafters to allow direct sales. Business, already good, could explode.
Shanghai property: leaky bubble?
The market hit a soft patch, making some wonder if the bubble sprang a leak. But buyers only worried about buying before prices increased.
Show and tell time
The auditor's report laid bare woeful misdeeds. And Li Jinhua promises to keep digging anywhere dirt can be found.
D'Long
Regulators stop China's largest private company in its tracks. But help could be on the way.
Hangin
After years of waiting, a decision on China's 3G rollout may be near.
China
Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO Stan O'Neal addressed the Institutional Investor China Investment Forum in New York on June 21. Excerpts:

New stock board woes
Fat Dragon would always nod approvingly at Chinese leaders like Zhu Rongji, when, for some years, they stonewalled pressure from Shenzhen to establish a new stock market for small and medium size companies.

Daqing
The museum to "iron man" Wang Jinxi in Daqing, the oil capital of China, stands as a reminder of how China used to conduct its campaigns. There is not a shred of doubt, not a shade of nuance, nor a contradiction in sight.

Rags to Riches - Interview with James Arthurs
On January 1, quotas will be abolished on garment exports. Consolidation is expected to be fast and brutal as major manufactuers consolidate in China and a handful of other countries. James Arthurs, president of US-based Gerber Technology, a top vendor of automated design, marking and cutting systems in the apparel industry, spoke to China Economic Review about the seachange to come in the sector. Excerpts:

Capital changes in the wind
The logjam of capital market reforms is finally clearing, but slower than many would like and with the threat of a major banking crisis always present.

To receive the best China business news that the market has to offer,
subscribe to the China Economic Review.