Industry Focus - China Economic Review

AUTOS: SECTOR BRIEF: BYD and Daimler joint electric car
Daimler and BYD, the Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire Warren Buffett, will jointly develop an electric vehicle to be sold in China, the world's largest auto market.....>>More; BLOG: Will Geely test the UK market?
Will Geely use a controlling stake in Manganese Bronze to grab a toehold into the UK market?...>>More; More

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS: SECTOR BRIEF: NYK Logistics opens in Nanjing
NYK Logistics (China) has opened a branch along the Yangtze River in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province in China....>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: China Eastern-Shanghai Airlines merger may boost profit
China Eastern Airlines is to be a full member of an international aviation alliance as of April, indicating the flights of China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines will integrate....>>More; More

AGRICULTURE: NEWS BRIEF: China opposed to bluefin tuna ban
A motion to ban cross border trade in bluefin tuna caught in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean under consideration by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: China to introduce more rules on food safety amid health scares
China will implement tighter controls on animal feed to secure animal health and "restore public confidence in food safety," state media reported. According to draft regulations issued by...>>More; More

COMMODITIES: NEWS BRIEF: MoF: China will support domestic steel makers in pricing discussions
China, the world's largest consumer of iron ore, will stick to its annual pricing system and may take "trade action" to support domestic steelmakers' negotiations with foreign suppliers,...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: JP Morgan: Iron ore may rise 65% on China demand
J.P. Morgan analysts said in a March 12 report that Chinese demand may drive contract iron ore prices up 65% this year, Bloomberg reported. Their original forecast was for an increase of 20%....>>More; More

HEALTH CARE: NEWS BRIEF: Report: China to be 3rd largest pharma market by 2011
Pharmaceutical market research firm IMS Health said that China will become the world's third-largest market for prescription drugs in 2011, and predicted that sales in other emerging markets will...>>More; THE NUMBERS: 560: The number of people in China who died of swine flu in 2009
Source: Sohu...>>More; More

POLITICS & SOCIETY: SECTOR BRIEF: Chinese President speaks for women's lib
Hu Jintao urges further equality for women although China's record in this area in much better than many other major nations....>>More; NEWS BRIEF: Navy does not want to be 'world police'
Zhang Deshun, former deputy chief of staff of the PLA navy, stated that the country harbors no ambitions to build military bases overseas, state media reported. Although the retired officer indicated...>>More; More

EMPLOYMENT & EDUCATION: NEWS BRIEF: 130 US lawmakers urge tariffs on China if currency doesn't appreciate
A bipartisan group of 130 US lawmakers formally called for the US government to enact tariffs on Chinese imports if Beijing does not allow the renminbi to appreciate against the dollar, the...>>More; BLOG: How much higher can factory wages go?
Raising wages is only a short-term solution to the labor shortage...>>More; More

MANUFACTURING: NEWS BRIEF: AU Optronics to build $3b LCD plant in Jiangsu
Taiwan-based flat screen manufacturer AU Optronics (2409.TW, AUO.NYSE) said it plans to build a US$3 billion "7.5 generation" liquid crystal display (LCD) plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu...>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: Green and cool stand to gain
Air-conditioners are getting cleaner and greener, and sales are forecast to rise this year....>>More; More

PROPERTY: SECTOR BRIEF: Real estate prices rise at record pace
Real estate prices in February rose at the fastest pace in almost two years, adding urgency to the government's efforts to rein in speculation and increase the amount of affordable housing....>>More; NEWS BRIEF: CITIC Group considers spinning off real estate business
CITIC Group, the state-owned financial conglomerate, is planning to spin off its real estate unit in an initial public offering in order to raise funds for expansion, state media reported. Speaking...>>More; More

BUSINESS EDUCATION: COLUMN: Chinese Democracy
Not just the name of a silly album, but blossoming on a Chinese b-school campus...>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: Couple raises $30M for Renmin
Billionaire Duan Yongping and his wife Liu Xin donated $30 million to their alma mater, Renmin University of China....>>More; More

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT: SECTOR BRIEF: Shanghai Expo to be clean, green
This will be a green, clean Expo. New technologies are being used to make sure this is so....>>More; NEWS BRIEF: China Sunergy to buy 2 module manufacturers
Nanjing-based solar cell manufacturer China Sunergy (CSUN.NASDAQ) said it plans to buy two Chinese solar module manufacturers for a combined price of US$47 million, Reuters reported. The company...>>More; More

TRAVEL & LEISURE: SECTOR BRIEF: Sharp rise for online travel booking in China
China's online travel booking sector has seen major growth in recent years....>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: Tourism boom boosts new projects
The current tourism boom in China is bringing in its wake new tourist attraction projects....>>More; More

BANKING & FINANCE: NEWS BRIEF: BoC to issue $7b in shares in HK
Bank of China (BoC) (3988.HK, 601988.SHA) is close to issuing a US$7 billion share offering in Hong Kong to bolster balance sheets strained by loan growth, the Financial Times reported. BoC has...>>More; FEATURE STORY: Hedge funds in Hong Kong
Is Hong Kong poised to become a new frontier for hedge fund managers fleeing financial uncertainty in the West?...>>More; More

ECONOMICS & TRADE: NEWS BRIEF: Geithner: China will adopt flexible forex policy
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday that he expects China to move on its exchange rate, Reuters reported, citing comments by Geithner to Fox Business Television. "I think China...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: Taiwan formalizes mainland financial investment rules
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Taiwan formally announced guidelines for investment relationships between local and mainland banks, Reuters reported. According to the new rules, single...>>More; More

MEDIA, TECH & TELECOM: NEWS BRIEF: Beijing: Google must obey rules even if it withdraws
A government spokesman said yesterday that Google (GOOG.NASDAQ) must comply with Chinese policies even if it closes its China operations, the South China Morning Post reported. "On entering the...>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: Google, China possibly to solve dispute
Eric Schmidt, the Chief Executive of Google, told reporters Google and China will resolve their differences over censorship and an alleged attack on Google's service "soon."...>>More; More

CONSUMER: NEWS BRIEF: China alters accounting system to reduce deficit
China's Ministry of Finance (MoF) changed the way it accounts for government spending so that the spending deficit for 2010 remains below 3% of GDP, the Wall Street Journal reported. The change,...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: McDonald's eyes China growth
Fast food giant McDonald's has seen a 10% increase in sales in Asia in February 2010, with China among the company's three biggest markets in the continent, the Telegraph reported. McDonald's, which...>>More; More

INVESTMENT: NEWS BRIEF: FDI in China rises 4.9% ytd
China has attracted US$14.09 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first two months of 2010, up 2.9% year-on-year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing official statistics. The data...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: China Mobile to take 20% stake in Shanghai Pudong Development bank
China Mobile will buy a 20% stake in Shanghai Pudong Development bank for US$5.83 billion, Dow Jones reported. China's largest mobile carrier hopes the move will help it to expand into mobile...>>More; More

MARKETS: NEWS BRIEF: CSRC issues rules for index-futures trading
The China Securities Regulatory Commissions (CSRC) issued draft guidelines for equity funds who want to trade index futures, Bloomberg reported. The CSRC said that funds should use index futures for...>>More; EDITORS' JOURNAL: Capitalist Roader Fund: No one's having a good time (HOLD)
The week ends poorly for the Roader's portfolio and the stock market as a whole, but the Roader isn't ready to fold just yet...>>More; More

LAW & REGULATION: NEWS BRIEF: US mulls Google legal challenge
The US is considering legally challenging China over internet restrictions imposed on Google and other American companies, Reuters reported. But US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said that while a...>>More; NEWS BRIEF: Beijing court throws out Avatar plagiarism case
A Beijing man who claimed that director James Cameron's sci-fi epic Avatar was a plagiarism of his online novel had his case dismissed by a Beijing court, AFP reported. Zhou Shaomou was demanding 8%...>>More; More

BUSINESS PRACTICE: BLOG: China promises to stop bullying foreign firms
Foreign companies have had a hard year in China. Wen Jiabao promises things will get easier...>>More; SECTOR BRIEF: Nine young Chinese entrepreneurs
Forbes, the financial magazine, has profiles of nine young entrepreneurs in China to watch....>>More; More