Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren says China will maintain a ‘prudent’ fiscal policy to maintain stable and rapid economic growth as well as basically stable consumer prices.

In an article in the official People’s Daily, Minister Xie said the fiscal policy will be implemented along with a tight monetary policy to prevent economic overheating and widespread inflation.

In truth, there is nothing overly new in this.

When China concluded its three-day 2007 Central Economic Work Conference, which ran from December 3 to 5, 2007, the official communique said that China will maintain a ‘prudent’ fiscal policy for the coming year.

The conference said various monetary instruments would be used to regulate liquidity and to strictly control the size of loans and frequency of credit extension, so as to better regulate domestic demand and balance international payments.

The December conference said that with a prudent fiscal policy and a tight monetary policy, China will be able to achieve ‘the Two Prevents’ in the coming year: to prevent economic growth developing from rapid to overheating, and to prevent price rises evolving from structural to evident inflation.

In truth, China has been implementing a prudent monetary policy since 1997. From 1998 to 2002, the country increased money supply to counter deflationary pressure.

From 2003 to 2007, the monetary policy began to tighten in order to help address changes in economic development, including rapid growth in credit extension, investment and foreign exchange reserves.

Now Finance Minister Xie Xuren states the government plans to improve its consumption tax system adding that the government is also waiting for a suitable time to launch a planned new fuel tax. A new tax to protect the environment is also under consideration.

China’s annual legislative meeting, bringing thousands of delegates to deliberate the country’s economic and political issues, opens tomorrow, March 5, in Beijing.
Source: RTT News

Nasdaq has opened an office in Beijing , a move that will let it step up efforts to attract more Chinese firms to list on the exchange.

Stock exchanges around the world are trying to lure Chinese firms to list with them as investors seek to capitalize on the rapid growth of the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Nasdaq trades the shares of 52 Chinese companies with a combined market capitalization of $57 billion.

Guang Xu, Nasdaq’s managing director for Asia, told a news conference that 19 of them have joined Nasdaq so far this year, compared with nine in 2006, and there will be at least one more listing by the end of 2007.

Guang Xu described the 2008 pipeline of initial public offerings of Chinese firms as strong, especially for energy-related companies, but declined to put a figure on it.

Nasdaq itself will consider listing its shares in Shanghai if China changes its regulations to permit listings of foreign companies.

However, Nasdaq and similar international markets such as the Growth Enterprise Board in Hong Kong face mounting competition as China redoubles its efforts to build its own Nasdaq-style board.

Beijing has already promised to lift a moratorium by the end of the year on new foreign brokerage joint ventures.
Source: Reuters

The U.S. stock market Nasdaq has received Chinese government permission to open a representative office in Beijing as more companies from China issue shares abroad.

China originally agreed in December to let Nasdaq Stock Market and the New York Stock Exchange open offices in Beijing.

Nasdaq says 49 Chinese companies are traded on its market and China could soon become its biggest source of non-U.S. listings.

Chinese companies have issued shares on U.S. and European markets to raise money and increase their visibility abroad.

Eric Landheer, Nasdaq’s head of Asia Pacific, said in a statement, ‘Having a representative office in China will enhance our ability to provide the highest level of value and service to Chinese companies.’

The illustration shows a sign in New York which says China International Labor Day. Listed on Nasdaq. And that was May 2004. Which you could either call previous or prescient.
Source: Canadian Business Com