Learn Chinese: December 2007

Monday, December 31, 2007

Chinese language - Shanghai Stock Exchange

BIZCHINA / Backgrounder

Shanghai Stock Exchange

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-10-17 14:54

The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) was established in late 1990 as a
nonprofit organization, and regulated by the China Securities Regulatory
Commission. A shares are restricted to domestic investors, while B shares
are open to all investors. Bonds traded on the exchange include
government, corporate, and convertible. Trading hours for B shares are
9:30 A.M. to 11:30 A.M. and 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. Monday through Friday.

The SSE has become the most important stock market in the Chinese
mainland in terms of number of listed companies, number of shares listed,
total market value, tradable market value, securities turnover in value.
As of December 2004, the SSE has recorded over 37.87 million investors
and 837 companies listed on it. The total market capitalization of SSE
reached 2.6 trillion yuan. In 2004, 45.7 billion yuan were raised from
SSE market. Hence it makes the SSE a important exchange for companies
seeking public listing.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges list more than 1,200 companies
with a combined market capitalization of US$500 billion (2005) (30% of
GDP), rivalling the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as Asia's second-largest
stock market behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

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Chinese language

Learn Mandarin online - Guangxi ready to 'march forward'

BIZCHINA / Local Resources

Guangxi ready to 'march forward'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-18 08:38

NANNING, Guangxi: Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is
set to develop its traffic infrastructure and forge extensive cooperative
ties to cash in on its geographical advantages, a senior official said
recently.

"Guangxi, being at the junction of the economic circles of South China,
Southwest China and China-ASEAN member states, enjoys a unique geographic
advantage. The time has come for the region to play a bigger role in
China's economic development," said Liu Qibao, Party secretary of the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The autonomous region is intensifying efforts to improve its traffic
infrastructure, diversify cooperation ties and develop its coastal cities
into a economic powerhouse.

Liu said the Ministry of Railways had joined hands with Guangxi to extend
and improve train services during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) with
an investment of up to 100 billion yuan ($12.82 billion).

After the railway projects are completed, Guangxi will become a pivotal
point with easy access to South China and Southwest China, as well as the
ASEAN member states, he said.

Guangxi's budget for the traffic network, including roads and
expressways, has been set at 74.9 billion yuan ($9.60 billion) in the
11th Five-Year Plan. The budget for ports development is 10.2 billion
yuan ($1.31 billion) and for inland navigation projects, 4.8 billion yuan
(615.38 million), Liu said.

"We cannot use Guangxi's geographical advantages to the full until a
well-developed traffic network is in place," he said. "The region will
play its strategically irreplaceable role in regional cooperations
between China and ASEAN members and between Guangxi and other provinces
in the Greater Pearl River Delta region."

He said Guangxi will pursue every opportunity to diversify economic ties,
and special attention would be paid to cooperation with the ASEAN members
along the three economic belts, which he described as "one axis and two
wings".

The "axis", he said, is an international economic belt from Guangxi's
capital of Nanning to Singapore via Hanoi in Vietnam, Phnom Penh in
Cambodia, Bangkok in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

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Learn Chinese online - Energy: China spends an extra US$15.2b on oil import last year

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Energy: China spends an extra US$15.2b on oil import last year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-01-15 10:51

Soaring oil price on world market has made Chinese companies spend an
additional 15.2 billion U.S. dollars on buying oil from abroad last year,
according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs on
Sunday.

The administration statistics showed that the price of imported crude oil
stood at 457.44 U.S. dollars per ton last year, up 81.14 dollars from a
year earlier.

China imported 145.18 million tons of crude oil last year, a year-on-year
increase of 14.5 percent, statistics showed.

"If calculated at the price of 2005, Chinese companies spent an extra
11.78 billion U.S. dollars on crude oil import in 2006," said the
administration.

Statistics showed that the average price for refined oil products went up
95.77 U.S. dollars per ton in 2006 compared with the 2005 figure.

China's import of oil products went up 15.7 percent to 36.38 million tons
last year, resulting in extra expenses of 3.48 billion U.S. dollars.

China is the third largest oil importer in the world after the United
State and Japan.

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Learn Chinese online - Insurance head resigns amid investment probe

BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

Insurance head resigns amid investment probe

By Bao Xian (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-12-29 08:50

The chairman of China's fourth-largest life insurer resigned during an
investigation of suspected misuse of funds, the company's spokesman
confirmed yesterday.

During a board meeting on Wednesday, the insurer "approved the
resignation of Chairman Guan Guoliang and named President Sun Bin as the
acting chairman until a new chairman is elected," said a spokesman for
the New China Life Insurance Company (NCL) on condition of anonymity.

"This change will not hurt the company," the spokesman said.

Guan, 46, has been under investigation by the China Insurance Regulatory
Commission (CIRC) since September for being suspected of violating
regulations on capital utilization.

The investigation is focused on Guan's investments in the real estate
sector and other areas forbidden by the industry watchdog.

"What is worse is that the board knows nothing about these investments,"
said a source close to the company who declined to be named.

As early as February of this year there were media reports saying
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditor for NCL in 2005, found the insurer
provided an 800 million yuan (US$102.5 million) warranty for three
companies in the first half of 2005 and did not include it in its
financial report. In addition, there were no available written contracts
for a 1.34 billion yuan (US$158 million) transaction between NCL and
Chengzhong Real Estate Company.

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Sunday, December 30, 2007

Learn Chinese online - Eurocopter to set up production line

BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

Eurocopter to set up production line

By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-12-21 14:28

The world's largest helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter, said yesterday
it intended to establish a production line with Kingwing General Aviation
and CITIC Offshore Helicopter Company (COHC) for one of its most popular
models to take advantage of the fast growing Chinese market.

If the deal goes through, the Shanghai unit will be the second
manufacturing line opened by the EU helicopter-making giant in China,
where the market's need for the machine is growing by 15 to 20 per cent
every year and is expected to become the world's largest over the next
two decades. It opened its first production line in Harbin in the 1980s.

Eurocopter, an affiliate of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company
(EADS), also set up a maintenance centre yesterday in Shanghai,
partnering with local aircraft leasing company Kingwing, a Shenzhen-based
firm.

The maintenance centre was part of the agreement reached in October when
Eurocopter sold two EC-135 helicopters to Kingwing for more than 100
million yuan (US$12.8 million).

The two sides will build an assembly line for EC-135 helicopters in
Shanghai when the time is right, they said.

"We purchased from Eurocopter because of its wide range of products,"
Kingwing's President Wang Bei told China Daily yesterday. Kingwing owns
four helicopters, which are mainly used for rescue and search, VIP
transportation and utility purposes in the city and other areas of the
Yangtze River Delta.

Wang said the two sides have laid a solid foundation for co-operation
since the pair began contacting each other in July, though the
preparation for a new production line may take a long time.

Norbert Ducrot, a senior vice-president for Eurocopter in the
Asia-Pacific region, said yesterday the company viewed China as one of
the most important markets as "the technology is in place (here)."

"Our strategy is to stay as close as possible to our customers to provide
best possible services and the safest aircraft operations," Ducrot said.

Eurocopter and China's only helicopter maker, China Aviation Industry
Corporation II, are developing an advanced helicopter, which is expected
to make its maiden flight in 2009.

Eurocopter is China's largest foreign partner in manufacturing
helicopters and has 50 per cent of the country's civil helicopter market
with roughly 70 copters.

Harbin Aviation Industry Group has seen fruitful co-operation with
Eurocopter since the early 1980s when the company began to produce Z9 and
Z8 helicopters, after purchasing from Eurocopter the production patents
for Dauphin and Super Frelon.

China has roughly 300 aircrafts to embark on tasks for general aviation,
one of the two categories of civil aviation describing any flight other
than a military or scheduled airline flight, compared with 200,000 in the
United States.

It is expected China's demand for helicopters will surge in coming years,
especially when authorities lift restrictions on low latitude flying.

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Chinese language - Total to invest in major China project

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Total to invest in major China project

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-12-14 16:44

Global energy giant Total plans to invest US$60 to US$80 million in one
project in China in the coming two years as part of an attempt to
increase its presence in the nation, according to top executives.

"We are willing to expand our co-operation with leading Chinese oil
makers such as CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) and
PetroChina Co under CNPC (China National Petroleum Corp) both in China
and on a global basis," said Charles Mattenet, Total's senior
vice-president for Asia and the Far East.

Total told China Daily it would invest US$60 million to US$80 million in
China in the coming two years, starting joint exploration in North
China's Ordos Basin with its partner PetroChina, a listed subsidiary of
CNPC.

Total is ranked as the fourth-largest global energy producer after Exxon
Mobil, BP and Shell. The firm has developed exploration technology and is
established globally in terms of energy exploration and production.

Total has global reserves, while China enjoys sound geopolitical
relations with many countries rich in energy resources, Mattenet noted.
That lays a solid foundation for global co-operation between Total and
Chinese counterparts, he said.

"As the world's fourth-largest oil maker, we spend US$1.5 billion every
year exploring oil and gas reserves," Mattenet said. "In the coming
several years, we will pour US$12 billion into global oil and gas
development ... Our E&P involvement in China is relatively small for the
time being. But we will strengthen co-operation with Chinese companies on
both local and global projects."

Total and PetroChina inked in March a production sharing contract for the
evaluation, development and production of the natural gas resources of
the South Sulige block. The block is located in North China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region and is part of the Ordos basin. The block has
a proven gas reserve of several hundred billion cubic metres.

The Sulige project is Total's first exploration project in China since
the world oil giant returned to the country after an absence of nearly 15
years, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Besides the South Sulige project, "several other onshore and offshore
opportunities are also under evaluation" on Total's China business radar,
Mattenet said.

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Chinese language

Learn mandarin - Anxiety starts haunting Chinese

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Anxiety starts haunting Chinese

(chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-12-05 14:35

According to a survey of 2,134 people launched by the China Youth Daily
Social Research Center, more than 96 percent of respondents say they
suffer from anxiety.

The most anxious social groups in China tend to be well-educated white
collars, poor people, senior officials and company managers, and citizens
living in cities. (File Photo)

Asked the reason of anxiety, 52.1 percent of respondents say they are
anxious about certain things, 49.5 percent about certain living
conditions, and 35.2 percent about their own psychological feelings.

Things that make people anxious include: careers (65.4 percent),
pressures from the outside world (38.3 percent), interpersonal
relationships (37.1 percent), pressures in life (35.8 percent), and
private affairs (29.2 percent).

The survey also shows that 47.8 percent of respondents think they are
more anxious than five years ago, while only 12.2 percent believe they
feel relaxed, as the living conditions have improved dramatically in
recent years.

The most anxious social groups tend to be well-educated white collars,
poor people, senior officials and company managers, and citizens living
in cities.

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Chinese Mandarin - New joint venture to foster trade

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

New joint venture to foster trade

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-27 14:12

SAI Global Limited, an Australian service provider in standards,
compliance and business improvement solutions, has established a joint
venture with the China Quality Certification Centre (CQC), the country's
largest certification body.

The new Beijing-headquartered 50-50 JV CQC-SAI Management Technologies
(Beijing) Co will provide services to Chinese enterprises seeking to
access international markets and connect overseas sellers to the Chinese
market.

Declining to reveal its exact investment in the deal, SAI Global Limited
Chairman George Edwards said the Australian side had already ploughed in
US$500,000, with more to come as the business grows.

The new firm will focus on four areas management system certification
agent services, product certification agent services, compliance services
and training.

Edwards said the firm aims to provide a "one-stop service" to its
customers in China, adding that the two sides in the joint venture are
the best in their respective fields.

"CQC represents independence and impartiality, standards and precision,
high quality and efficiency," he said. "SAI Global represents innovation
and quality, education and knowledge, safety and security."

Many opportunities exist in China's certification service sector, noted
Edwards, pointing out that the nation has become the world's major
manufacturing base for high value-added products, as well as the major
destination for quality overseas investment.

CQC President Li Huailin said the firm first became interested in a
partnership with SAI Global as early as four years ago, noting that its
cutting-edge services and solutions will further enhance the quality of
CQC's technology and services.

"SAI Global can also bring Australian clients to the new company," Li
added.

Statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce show that Australia is
now China's ninth-largest trading partner, while China is Australia's
third-largest trading partner.

Bilateral trade grew 34 per cent year-on-year in 2005, reaching US$28.4
billion.

SAI Global believes CQC, which has a presence in almost every province,
autonomous region and municipality in China, "can bring us abundant
customer resources," Edwards said.

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Chinese Mandarin

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Chinese Mandarin - India's high-tech giants eye investment potential

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

India's high-tech giants eye investment potential

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-21 15:06

India's technology giants are eyeing China's market and talent pool in a
bid to bolster growth.

"China for us is a strategically important place," said B. Rama Raju,
co-founder and chief executive officer of Satyam Computer Services Ltd,
India's fourth-biggest software services exporter.

The Hyderabad-based company was one of India's earliest entrants into the
Chinese market. In 2002, it opened a wholly owned development centre in
Shanghai, and it now also has operations in Dalian and Guangzhou.

Currently Satyam employs 400 people in China, but it is planning on
increasing this to 3,000 by 2008.

"We are still in the nascent stage in China," said Raju. " But we expect
our business growth to outpace the overall growth of the company in the
coming years, thanks to the nation's growing domestic demand."

Currently, 16 per cent of the company's total business comes from China,
mostly from multinational companies it serves globally.

In 2005, Satyam announced a co-operation with Microsoft to develop a
multibillion dollar "enterprise solutions" market for the Greater China
region.

"China has evolved into the world's manufacturing centre in recent years,
which means we need to be here to provide services for our global
clients," said Raju.

"Meanwhile, we are one of the leaders in providing solutions for telecoms
and manufacturing sectors, which has great market potential in China. "

A number of Indian outsourcing companies, including the country's largest
outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services of Mumbai, have set up operations in
China to tap the local market for IT services and provide local services
for their multinational clients.

The Indian giant TCS also said this July that it had formed a joint
venture with three Chinese partners called TCS China.

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Chinese Mandarin

Learn Chinese - Heavy-duty vehicle market sees steady increase

BIZCHINA / Center

Heavy-duty vehicle market sees steady increase

By Dai Yan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-11-17 08:53

Special coverage:
Auto China 2006
Related publication:

Related readings:
Hot heavy-duty trucks in 2007
Overview of heavy-duty truck sector in 2005-2006

The domestic heavy-duty vehicle market reported an accumulated sales of
222,791 units in the first nine months of 2006, an increase of 21.18
percent year on year. The large increase resulted from investments in
fixed assets, export expansion and vehicle upgrade.

Among the heavy-duty segment, heavy truck sales were 39,990 units, down
23.5 percent compared with the same period in 2005. Chassis sales were
119,056 units, up 32.02 percent year on year. Semi-tractor sales jumped
by 54.22 percent year on year to 63,745 units.

The top five heavy truck manufacturers in September were Dongfeng Motor,
FAW Jiefang, Sinotruk, Shaanxi Heavy Truck and Beiqi Foton Motor.
Sinotruk's Steyr series posted strong growth in the first nine months.
Shaanxi Heavy Truck's increase had been at the top nationwide during nine
consecutive months this year.

......

The full text is available in the AutoChina.

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Learn Chinese

Learn Chinese online - Middle class standard rebuked

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Middle class standard rebuked

By Echo Shan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-11-13 14:43

A recent lifestyle survey conducted by a subordinate body of the National
Bureau of Statistics has ranked everyone with a monthly salary of 2,000
yuan or above as China's new-middle class.

Hinted by a China National Research Center (CNRC), the definition of
China's new-middle class is widely considered authority, given its NBS
background.

The CNRC launched a nationwide survey on September 22 in a bid to get a
close-up on the lifestyle and consumption habits of China's new-middle
class.

The questionnaire covered items such as travel, vehicle ownership, brand
preference, and personal financing and was given to urbanites that earn
at least 2,000 yuan per month in China's top metropolises, such as
Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

For less advanced cities, the middle class entrance bar was set at 1,500
yuan a month.

However, 70 per cent of all respondents to the survey from 47 cities
across the country earned nearly double the modest threshold of 2,000
yuan,.

Sixty per cent of those polled hold a bachelor's degree. More than 70 per
cent prefer traveling during paid holidays rather than during Golden Week.

Urbanites working in diverse white-collar professions make up the
majority of China's new middle class.

Civil servants, lawyers, accountants, freelancers, entertainers, medical
workers, teachers, athletes, and reporters also made the list.

Full time housewives are shown full respect, jumping to the neo-middle
class club as a profession. While many wonder how can a housewife be
deemed a profession if she is not making a salary.

CNRC secretary general Zhang Zhongliang said the study set out six
criteria to determine middle class status: education, salary, profession,
societal influence, savings and holidays. .

Some netizens had issues with the CNRC's definition of middle class. "One
can only just survive in Beijing making 2,000 yuan a month," wrote a
netizen on sina.com, one of China's major news portals.

A netizen named 'mockingbird' wrote on sina.com that nearly everyone in
Shanghai would be classified as middle class, according to the CNRC's low
standard.

In response to these queries Zhang said that monthly salary was not the
only standard the CNRC used to define the new middle class in China, but
offered no further details.

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Chinese Online Class - Investment from green companies encouraged

BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

Investment from green companies encouraged

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-11-06 08:53

The Chinese government is to encourage more foreign investment in
energy-saving and environmentally-friendly industries, Vice Minister of
Commerce Ma Xiuhong has said.

The government would also make more efforts to optimize the industrial
structure of foreign investment, said Ma.

Foreign investors have invested 665 billion US dollars in China in the
past 27 years, Ma said. By the end of last September, China had recorded
capital from over 200 countries and regions and more than 800 research
centers have been established by foreign companies.

Foreign investment played an important role in China's economy, with
taxes from foreign firms contributing 634.9 billion yuan (80.36 billion
US dollars) last year, 21 percent of the country's total tax revenue.

By the end of last year, foreign-invested companies were employing more
than 25 million people, accounting for 11 percent of China's total jobs.

Foreign companies are also encouraged to set up regional headquarters as
well as purchase, logistics and training centers in China.

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Chinese Online Class

Friday, December 28, 2007

Learn mandarin - Construction: Measures fail to slow investment rise

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Construction: Measures fail to slow investment rise

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-27 14:09

Investment growth in China's real estate industry accelerated in the
first nine months of the year, according to the nation's top planning
agency, indicating that central government cooling measures have yet to
take effect.

Property investment rose 24.3 percent, or 2.1 percentage points faster
than a year earlier, in the nine months to September 30, the National
Development and Reform Commission said in a statement published on its
Website on Tuesday. Growth picked up from 24 percent through August,
Bloomberg News said.

The government's measures including restricting land supply and lending
and imposing new taxes have failed to cool investment and property prices
that more than doubled since 2000. Property prices in China's 70 major
cities rose 5.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier,
according to a survey published in the statement. Shanghai is the only
city where property prices have fallen, the survey showed.

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Learn mandarin

Learn mandarin - E-tickets to be new standard

BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup

E-tickets to be new standard

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-23 10:28

E-tickets to be new standard

The days of multi-layer air tickets appear numbered, as the China Air
Transport Association (CATA) has stopped providing paper tickets and
instructed sellers to issue e-tickets.

E-tickets will be issued once the current batch of paper tickets has been
used up. The change currently only applies to domestic flights.

Customers will book tickets through airlines or ticket agents as usual,
and will be given a booking reference.

They will then be able to use automatic check-in facilities at airports,
and receive an invoice for reimbursement. They can also check-in as
normal at the counter.

Economic growth slows

China's economic growth for the first nine months slowed a bit to 10.7
per cent, but the world's fourth-largest economy is still on course to
enjoy the fourth consecutive year of 10 per cent growth.

The slowdown, from 10.9 per cent in the first six months, follows two
increases in interest rates and required reserves, backed up by an array
of administrative curbs, to cool a credit-fuelled investment spree.
Premier Wen Jiabao said last Wednesday it was too soon to relax the
controls.

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Learn mandarin

Learn Chinese - Investment curbs starting to pay off: planner

BIZCHINA / Center

Investment curbs starting to pay off: planner

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-10-16 15:50

China's efforts to curb blind expansion in some industries are starting
to pay off, but fixed-asset investment growth remains too rapid, the
country's top economic planning official said in remarks published on
Monday.

Ma Kai, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said
curbing the launch of new investment projects remained the main focus of
the broad array of macro-control measures that Beijing is deploying.

In a speech made on Friday and posted on the agency's Web site, Ma said
the economy was in good shape but the country faced some striking
problems: fixed-asset investment and credit were still expanding too
fast, while the trade surplus was too large.

"The government has taken a series of timely macro-economic measures and
these measures have initially helped contain the momentum of blind
expansion in some industries, but the problem of overcapacity has yet to
be fundamentally resolved," Ma said.

Excess capacity in sectors such as steel, alumina, coking and autos
showed no let-up, while risks remained for overinvestment in other
industries including coal, power and textiles, he said.

Fearful that overcapacity could wipe out profits and deluge banks with
new bad loans, the government has taken a raft of measures to cool some
fast-growing sectors.

Investment growth slowed in August, but Ma said the authorities needed to
keep tight controls on bank credit and land supply while implementing
tougher environmental and safety standards.

"The top priority of macro-economic policy is to strictly control the
launch of new projects," Ma said.

Toward that end, the central government has dispatched six inspection
teams to the provinces to spearhead a drive launched in early August to
scrutinise new projects, he said.

Half of all new coking industry investments flouted government rules, Ma
said. The figure for coal was 42 percent, for cement 35 percent, for
electricity and steel 26 percent and for textiles 22 percent, he added.

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Learn Chinese

Chinese Online Class - Property market on VC's radar screen

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Property market on VC's radar screen

By Hui Ching-hoo (China Daily HK Edition)
Updated: 2006-10-10 10:18

Europe's largest listed venture capitalist 3i yesterday said it was
eyeing the mainland's property market for new investments. And this
reflected global venture capitalists' (VCs) growing interest in the
sector that demands big investment and long-term commitments.

VCs invest largely on mainland's IT and consumer sectors, where they
could seek fat payoff with quick exit.

"There are about 300 million people on the mainland with big housing
demand... the market is growing strongly," Jamie Paton, managing director
of 3i Asia Pacific told China Daily yesterday.

Although the housing market slowed down a bit by the government's
tightening control, Paton believed the policy would be good for the
market in the long run. "Our investment is based on foresight, which
would not be affected by temporary fluctuation," he said. 3i used to seek
investments in the mainland's consumer market.

Recently the firm hit the headlines for buying a US$25-million stake in
Inner Mongolian hotpot restaurant chain Little Sheep, which has 703 chain
restaurants across the country and which is dubbed as one of the China's
Top 500 Enterprises.

"Little Sheep is a renowned nationwide restaurant chain. Through the
injection of 3i, the company could consolidate its domestic business and
make foray overseas," he added. 3i earlier appointed two members to the
board of Little Sheep.

"They used to be in the management of Burger King and KFC, with rich
experience in catering industry. We believe they could assist the
expansion of Little Sheep," he said. Paton said that the mainland
economy's growth momentum would be sustainable and sectors such as
retail, food, healthcare and energy would greatly benefit.

3i has struck 10 deals on the mainland and plans to invest up to US$1
billion in the market over the coming three to four years.

"The amount of every deal involved an investment ranging from US$25
million to US$100 million," Paton said.

3i usually enters partnership with mainland enterprises, in which it has
a stake between 20 per cent to 40 per cent. It exits by listing them.

3i so far has helped list three mainland companies.

Media firm Focus Media raised US$700 million through a listing on NASDAQ
in July 2005. Fire alarm manufacturer GST Holdings and foundry service
provider CSMC Technologies Corp are both listed in Hong Kong.

(HK Edition 10/10/2006 page3)

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Chinese Online Class

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Chinesepod - Energy: Sinopec to resume trading

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Energy: Sinopec to resume trading

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-28 16:20

Sinopec Corp. Asia's largest oil refiner, plans to resume trading on
October 10 after it received shareholder approval to convert
non-tradable, state-held shares into regular shares tradable on stock
markets.

The company's A-shares, including 784 million bounus shares, would resume
trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after a week-long national holiday
in China's equity market, the company said in a statement published in
the official China Securities Journal.

Sinopec's Shanghai-listed A-shares have been suspended since Sept. 15,
while the company awaited approval to convert non-tradable, state-held
shares into regular shares tradable into stock market.

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Chinesepod

Learn mandarin - More acquaintances, fewer friends

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

More acquaintances, fewer friends

(Chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-09-26 11:14

Nanan has lived in Beijing for 7 years, and she has many acquaintances,
but very few friends. Last month, she went to her hometown to hold her
wedding ceremony. When she came back, she found that she could not find
anybody in Beijing to share the joy with her.

As a matter of fact, with the advancement of communication, it is easy
for people to get to know each other; however, people seem to exchange
feelings and ideas with each other less and less.

In a survey conducted by Tencent and China Youth Daily, nearly 87.5
percent of all 15,068 responders feel in the same way.

About 45.3 percent say that each of them has less than 5 friends. Another
34.3 percent have more, about 6 to 10 each. In other words, nearly 80
percent of responders have no more than 10 friends. In contrast, about 56
percent of them have more than 50 acquaintances, even more than 100.

Most of responders believe the mobility of the society is the main cause
of the loss of friendship, as many people have to move from place to
place to make a living. More than half of them think pressure should also
be responsible, as it deprives people of chances of communication between
each other. One quarter of them blame cyber-friendship, as it actually
cuts the exchange of real emotions.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

Learn mandarin

Chinese Online Class - Prysmian takes over Tianjin Angel's cable business

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Prysmian takes over Tianjin Angel's cable business
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-21 14:43

Prysmian Cables & Systems, a major firm in the energy and
telecommunications cables and systems industry, has completed its
acquisition of Tianjin Angel Group Co's cable business.

The acquisition represents a significant step forward in Prysmian's
expansion strategy in China. The company aims to double its current
turnover of 995 million yuan (US$124.4 million) and becomes the leader in
China's special cables market.

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Chinese language - Science & Technology: Spending on R&D grows

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Science & Technology: Spending on R&D grows
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-15 14:04

Spending on research and development (R&D) in China rose 24.6 percent in
2005 to 245 billion yuan (US$30.6 billion), the National Bureau of
Statistics said yesterday.

Companies invested 167.38 billion yuan, government-run research
institutions spent 51.31 billion yuan, and universities laid out 24.23
billion yuan, the bureau, in conjunction with the Ministry of Science and
Technology and the Ministry of Finance, said in a statement.

Total spending on R&D was 1.34 percent of China's gross domestic product,
the statement said. In comparison, the ratio of R&D expenditures to GDP
in the United States was 2.68 percent in 2004.

The ratio is an indicator that demonstrates a nation's scientific
development scale and partly reflects its potential for economic growth.

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Chinese language

Learn Mandarin online - Telecom: Nokia phone deal

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Telecom: Nokia phone deal
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-13 11:25

Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of cellular phones, has won orders
worth more than 2 billion euros (US$2.5 billion) from China Mobile Ltd
and unlisted wireless distributor PTAC to supply networks and handsets.

The contract from China Mobile, worth about 580 million euros this year,
is for equipment using the global system for mobile communications, or
GSM, and general packet radio service, or GPRS, Nokia said yesterday. The
order from PTAC - China National Postal and Telecommunications Appliances
Corp - is for cellular handsets.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Chinese Online Class - Auto: New Ferrari centre

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Auto: New Ferrari centre
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-07 14:35

Italian sports carmaker Ferrari Maserati Cars and its Chinese dealer
Beijing Jundong Cars Services Ltd will launch a 3,000-square-metre car
showroom, sales and service centre in Beijing on September 17.

The centre will be the biggest in Asia for Ferrari and Maserati cars.

The car producer now has 11 dealers on the Chinese mainland. It is
expected to have double-digit sales this year on the mainland.

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Learn Chinese - City sees fast growth in foreign investment

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

City sees fast growth in foreign investment
By Bian Ji (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-31 17:59

Foreign investment in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province, is growing strongly.

Statistics from Harbin Administration for Industry and Commerce show that
45 new foreign-invested companies were set up in the first half of the
year, increasing 2.27 per cent compared with the same period of last year.

Total investment value of the new foreign-funded companies amounted to
US$391.63 million during the same period, up 37.24 per cent year-on-year.

According to the data, investors from 13 countries and regions funded the
new companies. Most of the investors are from Asia.

At present, investors from Asian countries and regions have set up 26
firms in Harbin, accounting for 57.78 per cent of the city's total
foreign-funded firms.

Followed by Japan and the Republic of Korea, China's Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region tops the chart of Asian investors in terms of the
number of companies, total investment value and registered capital.

The investment boom is attributed to the friendly environment of the
city, which boosts the confidence of overseas investors in their ventures
in China, experts said.

So far 11 foreign-invested companies in the city have made additional
investments worth US$56.95 million and lifted their registered capital.

Analysts said that overseas companies prefer setting up their operations
as a sole investor to ensure control of their Chinese ventures.

In the first half of the year, 29 foreign wholly-owned companies were
added, accounting for more than 64.44 per cent of the total number of new
foreign-invested firms in the city and increasing 7.41 per cent
year-on-year.

Meanwhile, seven Chinese companies absorbed foreign capital and joined
the foreign-invested list.

Through mergers and acquisitions, on the one hand, foreign investors
gained access to the local market, and on the other hand, injection of
overseas capital enhanced strength of the asset-restructured companies.

For instance, Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, one of China's leading
medicine makers, raised its registered capital to 3.7 billion yuan
(US$462.5 million), after two overseas investors began to hold stake in
the company last year.

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Learn Chinese

Chinese Online Class - Bachelors likely to boost economy

BIZCHINA / Biz Life

Bachelors likely to boost economy
By Shenzhen Daily
Updated: 2006-08-28 10:21

The new bachelor trend among Chinese middle-class, white-collar workers
will trigger a "single economy" phenomenon in the country, experts say.

Movie "The Bachelor" [google.com]

White-collar workers and other middle-class people who prefer to remain
single have high spending power, which may create a consumption structure
different from the family-oriented one, said Zuo Xiaosi, a researcher
from the Sociology and Demography Institute of Guangdong Academy of
Social Sciences.

"Small-sized houses and cars will be more sellable than ever," Zuo said,
adding that household appliances, insurance, entertainment and tourism
may also benefit.

A media survey revealed that 30.35 percent of single Chinese women make
housing their priority, while 30.02 percent spend the most money on
buying clothes and cosmetics.

However, the baby products industry is likely to suffer. The country now
has 107 million babies, creating estimated annual market sales of 500
billion yuan (US$62.5 billion). It is estimated that if 30 percent of
parents-to-be remain single, total sales will drop by at least 150
billion yuan.

The single trend will have a long-term effect on China's consumption
structure, boosting overall consumption, said Yuan Xin, a professor from
the Population and Development Institute of the Nankai University in
North China's Tianjin Municipality.

Zhong Qing, a sociologist from Qinghua University in Beijing, said that
at the beginning of the 21st century, there were already more than 1
million single people in Shanghai. Other cities such as Guangzhou, Wuhan
and Beijing are also following the "singles" trend.

Chinese youngsters today care more about freedom and enjoyment. The high
cost of marriage is one of the reasons young adults remain single,
sociologists said.

"Marriage is not a cost-efficient thing since it takes so much money to
buy a large house and raise a child," said Zhou Ying, a single woman in
Beijing.

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Chinese language - Han Meilin, designer of the Fuwa

Chinadaily Homepage

2008Olympics > Designers

Han Meilin, designer of the Fuwa

By Cruz Fang (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-08-22 22:20

Reporters: Why do we have five mascots?
Han: It's become a trend for mascots to appear not solely since the 2000
Sydney Olympics. Actually we had six mascots candidates - Panda, Tibetan
antelope, golden monkey, Northeastern tiger (Siberian Tiger), rattle drum
and China dragon, but none of the individual could completely embody the
image of China's Olympics along, so we got five.

Other candidates for 2008 Olympics mascots

Reporter: Where did the idea originate from?
Han: A folk artist painted five babies based on China's traditional
concept of Wuxing (the five factors making up the world), including gold,
wood, water, fire and earth. Our impulse is from that. The real art is
from the folks.

Reporter: Why is the dragon discarded?
Han: Dragon is too solemn. It represents the soul of Chinese nation. To
making a dragon frolicking around would hurt its dignity. Besides, dragon
has a different meaning in the west.

Reporter: Why swallow?

Han: We hope the dragon could be substituted with a bird. Crane and
magpie (the propitious bird if translated literally into Chinese) were
options favored by many, but crane is too slime to match others and
magpie also has a different meaning. Then we think of the swallow, which
often appeared on the covering of traditional kites in Beijing.

1 2

Chinese language

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Chinese Mandarin - Finance: WB to lend China up to US$4.5b

BIZCHINA / Biz Media Digest

Finance: WB to lend China up to US$4.5b
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-08-18 13:32

The Chinese government plans to keep borrowing 1 billion to 1.5 billion
U.S. dollars from the Word Bank each year from 2007 to 2009, although the
term of the loans is to be shortened.

Seventy percent of the funds will be used to finance projects related to
transportation, urban construction and environmental protection.

The remaining 30 percent would fund agriculture and energy conservation
training, said a report released by the National Development and Reform
Commission on Thursday.

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Chinese Mandarin

Learn mandarin - Multinationals performance

BIZCHINA / Weekly Roundup

Multinationals performance
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-08 09:30

Audi

German automaker Audi AG said it sold 38,838 vehicles in China (including
Hong Kong) in the first six months of this year, compared to 19,996 in
the same period of last year.

The company built 457,806 vehicles in the first half of this year, a
year-on-year rise of 10.7 per cent.

The firm expects the global car market to make further progress in the
second half of this year, with China remaining the driving force.

Unilever

Consumer goods giant Unilever reported that its global turnover increased
5.8 per cent in the first half of the year, with underlying sales growth
of 3.4 per cent.

Improved distribution and innovations related to brands such as Omo,
Zhonghua, Lux and Pond's helped Unilever secure a greater slice of the
market and contributed to its share gains.

The company enjoyed underlying sales growth of 30 per cent in China in
the first half of 2006.

"We are still underweight in China. Our business there is only one-third
the size of that in India," said Unilever Group Chief Executive Patrick
Cescau. "But thanks to high-quality innovation and better distribution,
Unilever's share of wallet in this huge consumer market is growing fast,"
he added.

Page: 1 2 3

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Learn mandarin

Chinesepod - Frontline orders two Suezmax tankers from China

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Frontline orders two Suezmax tankers from China
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-07-25 14:39

The world's biggest independent oil tanker group Frontline has ordered
two new Suezmax tankers from China's Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries
Group Co. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum, Frontline said on Monday.

"The vessels will be delivered in November 2008 and February 2009,"
Frontline Ltd. said in a statement.

It added that it had secured options for a further four similar Suezmax
tankers.

Frontline said that the new vessels were priced more than $15 million
lower than the indicated price level for 2006 delivered tonnage.

It said the new vessels would help to renew the fleet and reflected an
"opportunistic investment approach with great flexibility."

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Chinesepod

Chinese Online Class - Dow concludes water-treatment firm purchase

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Dow concludes water-treatment firm purchase
By Fu Chenghao (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-14 15:59

Dow Chemical Co yesterday completed its acquisition of a leading Chinese
water-treatment company to further strengthen its portfolio in the sector.

The purchase of Zhejiang Omex Environmental Engineering Co, based in
Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, is believed to be the first privately run
firm to be acquired by Dow in the Chinese market.

Terms of the deal were not revealed as the sum fell below US regulatory
requirements for disclosure, said Ian M. Barbour, general manager for Dow
Water Solutions.

The acquisition will help Dow expand its presence in the growing global
market for filtration systems and equipment and give OEE easier channels
to the international market, said Barbour.

The demand for environmentally sustainable water treatment equipment is
growing fast in China and around the world, and many giant international
companies such as Siemens AG and General Electric Co are involved in the
business.

"We very focus on technology ... Siemens is actually our customer,"
Barbour said. "In one sense, we are competing with them, but in another,
we supply our technology to them."

Frankie Ko, vice president of business development for Dow China, said
the company intends to carry out more acquisitions in the country.

Midland, Michigan-based Dow has so far invested more than US$500 million
in China, the third biggest market after its home turf and Germany. Last
year, China contributed about 5 percent to Dow's global sales of US$46
billion.

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Chinese Online Class

Monday, December 24, 2007

Chinesepod - CITIC 21CN to have store desks

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

CITIC 21CN to have store desks
By Lillian Liu (China Daily HK)
Updated: 2006-07-04 15:36

Telecom and property investment firm CITIC 21CN Co will set up about
5,000 consumer service terminals in 200 department stores in 100 mainland
cities with Beijing Oracle Software System Co's technological support.

The move is aimed at giving consumers free access to information on
various commodities, CITIC 21CN said yesterday.

It declined to specify the investment involved though, only saying that
each device would cost between 3,000 and 10,000 yuan.

"It is very hard to predict the precise sum of investment now. Each
terminal device would cost us some 3,000 to 10,000 yuan, and the type of
devices could be several and depended on the kind of department stores.
Moreover, we don't know yet how long it will take to install all those
machines," CITIC 21CN chief financial officer Allen Mak said.

Hoping to cash in on the mainland's rapid economic growth, the Chinese
arm of Oracle the world's leading database management service provider
Beijing Oracle Software Systems, said it would work with CITIC 21CN and
serve as a multi-lingual service desk to provide technical assistance.

The two companies yesterday signed a memorandum on strategic partnership
for business and technological cooperation on the mainland.

"This strategic partnership is a ground-breaking business opportunity
both for CITIC 21CN and Oracle in China. As the world's largest
enterprise software company, Oracle is delighted to become a strategic
partner of CITIC 21CN on the project and takes pride in (being able
to)... bring greater business opportunities," Oracles's China and Asia
division vice-president of technology business Stantley Chew said.

CITIC 21CN vice-chairwoman Amy Chen said: "This strategic partnership
with Oracle will indeed contribute to the long-term working benefits of
CITIC 21CN. At present, many outstanding corporations are actively
seeking our services and engaging in some preparation work."

The Hong Kong-listed CITIC 21CN teamed up with a home partner in May to
provide digital television service in North China's Hebei Province.

The joint venture, with CITIC 21CN holding 49 per cent stakes and Hebei
Board of Radio and Television the rest, has a registered capital of 100
million yuan (US$12.5 million) and is the only system builder and service
provider for digital television in the province.

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Chinesepod

Learn Chinese online - China to widen investment channels

BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

China to widen investment channels
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-06-23 14:56

China is poised to issue new regulations that would greatly broaden
investment channels for the country's insurers, the China Securities
Journal said on Friday.

The new rules would allow insurers to invest in more stocks, asset-backed
securities and property and take part in venture capital projects, the
paper quoted unnamed industry sources as saying.

The State Council, the cabinet, would soon issue the new guildelines in a
document on boosting development of the insurance industry.

Chinese insurers can invest up to 5 percent of their assets in the
domestic stock market. The insurance regulator said earlier this month
that insurance firms had invested an average 3 to 4 percent of their
total assets in stocks.

"According to the guidelines, and on condition that risks are controlled,
insurers will be encouraged to invest in the capital market and
investment limits will gradually be increased," the paper cited one
source as saying.

Also in June, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said it would
start letting insurers take stakes in local banks.

Separately, the paper said the insurance regulator was working to flesh
out details on investment into banks.

In the future, insurers would only be able to invest in banks that had
capital adequacy ratios exceeding 8 percent, whose total assets stood
above 50 billion yuan and whose non-performing loan ratio was below 5
percent, it said.

The insurance regulator would also issue revised regulations on overseas
investment by insurance firms.

The authorities said in April that insurers could buy certain quotas of
foreign exchange to invest in overseas fixed-income and money market
instruments. The insurance regulator later set the quota at 15 percent of
an insurance firm's total assets.

The insurance regulator would also expand the overseas investment scope
for insurers to include other products, such as equity and funds, the
China Securities Journal said.

Insurance premiums in China in the first five months of this year rose
12.84 percent from a year earlier to 247.66 billion yuan, according to
earlier state media report.

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Learn Chinese online

Learn Chinese - Dubai Ports World to build container terminal in Tianjin

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Dubai Ports World to build container terminal in Tianjin
(People's Daily Online)
Updated: 2006-06-16 10:53

Dubai Ports World (DPW), the world's third largest port operator,
announced on June 13 of local time that it will invest US $500 million in
Tianjin Municipality to build container terminal to expand its investment
in China.

DPW have six ports in China, with a total handling capacity reaching 11
million TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units)

On June 13 of local time, Huang Xingguo, vice mayor of Tianjin, signed a
letter of intent in Dubai to establish the DPW Tianjin Holdings Limited,
a joint venture by DPW and Tianjin Port Group (TPG), with each party
holding 50 percent of shares.

For DPW, China is a key market due to it huge throughput.

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Learn Chinese

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Chinese School - SAFE lifts forex quotas

BIZCHINA / Center

SAFE lifts forex quotas
By Zheng Lifei (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-09 07:06

China will scrap quota restrictions on how much foreign exchange domestic
companies can buy to finance their overseas investments, the latest move
in a string of measures to relax the country's forex controls.

Under the new rules, which will take effect on July 1, domestic companies
will be allowed to use their own foreign exchange holdings, buy foreign
currency from regulators or borrow from both overseas or domestic lenders
to invest abroad, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)
said in a statement posted on its website yesterday.

Overseas investments refer to companies setting up subsidiaries, mergers
and acquisitions, the foreign exchange regulator said.

"The policy revisions will help companies' 'go abroad' strategies and
meet their increasing demand for conducting overseas investments," it
said in the statement.

"The move is not surprising and is in line with the country's changing
forex management policy," said Li Yongsen, an economist with the Renmin
University of China, referring to the country's new policy of encouraging
households and businesses to hold more foreign exchange.

"The new rules, which reflect domestic enterprises' growing need for
foreign exchange usage, will facilitate their overseas business
expansion," Li said.

But he said the move would not see an immediate surge of overseas
investments by domestic companies, as "the new rules only simplify the
procedures for firms to buy foreign exchange."

China is currently encouraging domestic companies to expand into the
global market. China's overseas investment amounted to US$64.5 billion by
the end of last year, up from US$52.7 billion the previous year,
according to figures released by the SAFE last month.

However, it only accounted for a meagre 0.5 per cent of global foreign
direct investment last year.

Yesterday's move is China's latest step to loosen its once rigid foreign
exchange controls, a sign that reform of the foreign exchange regime is
gaining steam.

(China Daily 06/09/2006 page9)

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Chinese School

Chinese language - Three Gorges Dam takes the strain

BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

Three Gorges Dam takes the strain
By Guo Nei (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-06 08:53

The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest dam, takes the strain for the
first time today when the temporary dam that has protected it throughout
construction is demolished.

A network of electronic triggers was completed on Sunday for today's
demolition of the last cofferdam holding back the Yangtze upstream from
the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, Central China's Hubei Province.

The electronic trigger network is attached to 2,540 detonators, which
will set off nearly 1,000 consecutive explosions using a total of 192
tons of dynamite to blow up the cofferdam.

Zhang Chaoran, chief engineer of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project
Development Co, said the demolition was a challenging job, but he was
confident it would be a success.

Song Ling, general manager of Chongqing Gezhouba Yipuli Chemical Company,
who will oversee the demolition, told the Xinhua News Agency that all
preparatory work was now completed.

Zhao Gen, a senior engineer with the Yangtze River Academic Institute and
designer of the demolition project, said the demolition of the vast
temporary dam would only take about 12 seconds.

The removal of the cofferdam means the Three Gorges Dam, completed on May
20 this year, will begin its flood control role two years ahead of
schedule and in time for the 2006 flood season, which usually begins in
June.

The cofferdam, which has held the reservoir since 2003, is 580 metres
long, 140 metres high and 8 metres wide at the top.

Debris from the explosion has been estimated at 180,000 cubic metres.

The Three Gorges Dam has been engineered to prevent and control floods
and "even in the rare occurrence of a 1,000 year flood, mass damages or
injuries can still be prevented," according to Zhang.

Page: 1 2

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Chinese language

Chinese Online Class - Dear fuel

BIZCHINA / Photo

Dear fuel

Updated: 2006-05-29 17:21

The #97 petroleum in Jinan, Shandong Province, rose to 5.29 yuan/litre
after the price adjustment on May 24, 2006. [newsphoto]

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Chinese Online Class

Chinese School - Car-parts firm Visteon goes to Dalian

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Car-parts firm Visteon goes to Dalian
By Zhou Weirong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-25 10:09

The world's second largest car-parts supplier, Visteon Corporation, has
set up a new factory in Dalian, a port city in Northeast China's Liaoning
Province.

Covering 90,000 square metres, the Halla Climate Control Dalian Co Ltd
will produce air conditioning components including compressors and
sub-components for major carmakers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Total investment for the plant, which has a designed annual production
capacity of one million compressors, reached US$65 million, said Donald
Stebbins, president and chief operation officer of the US-based firm.

"The opening of the plant is proof once again of Visteon's continued
commitment to China and the Asia-Pacific region. Visteon has been
actively expanding in China and Halla Climate Control Dalian is another
important step in our growing manufacturing footprint," he said.

Headquartered in Daejeon of South Korea, Halla Climate Control (HCC) is a
leading producer of automotive air conditioning components in South
Korea, taking up at least 50 per cent of market share in the country. In
1999, Visteon became the majority shareholder of HCC, owning 70 per cent
of its equity shares. The remaining 30 per cent are public shares
circulating in the local stock exchange.

The Dalian plant is the second such plant for Visteon in China. The
first, Visteon Climate Control Beijing, was a US$29.8-million joint
venture, co-established by Visteon and Beijing Automotive Industry
Holding Corporation. It opened in August 2004. Visteon owns 80 per cent
of the facility.

Both the Beijing and Dalian plants will serve as suppliers for Beijing
Hyundai Motor Company, as well as other major automakers in China and the
Asia-Pacific region, such as Daewoo, said Shin Young Ju, president and
chief executive officer of HCC.

Page: 1 2

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Chinese School

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Learn Mandarin online - Geely to raise output 20-fold in 10 years

BIZCHINA / Li Shufu

Geely to raise output 20-fold in 10 years
By Gong Zhengzheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-08 10:43

Geely, the mainland parent of Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile Co Ltd,
yesterday forecast a 20-fold increase in annual output by 2015 with
two-thirds to be sold in the international market.

The group, owned by Li Shufu who is listed by Forbes as one of China's
richest people said it aims to boost output to 2 million cars a year by
2015 from 100,000 units last year.

Of that, 1.4 million cars are expected to be exported or manufactured
overseas by then, Geely said.

To parade its prowess to the world, Geely will display five
self-developed new car models during the 61st Frankfurt International
Motor Show from September 13 to 25.

This will be the debut of Chinese car makers at one of the world's top
car exhibitions.

The five models include the 1.0-litre right-steering Haoqing 203A, the
1.5-litre Freedom Cruiser, the 1.8-litre FC-1, the 1.8-litre China Dragon
and the 1.8-litre Maple Marindo 303H.

"We want to prove Chinese car makers don't copy foreigners by showing off
our own designs during the Frankfurt motor show; and also hope to attract
international publicity," Li said in a statement.

Geely, a motorcycle producer which entered the car industry in 1998, is
one of only a few independent Chinese car makers. Most of the country's
major automakers, such as First Automotive Works Corp, Shanghai
Automotive Industry Corp and Dongfeng Motor Corp, assemble foreign-brand
cars.

Geely, which has three car plants in Shanghai and East China's Zhejiang
Province, has sold cars to some 30 countries and regions.

This year, it aims to produce 125,000 cars, including 10,000 units for
export.

Benjamin Asher, an analyst with Automotive Resources Asia Limited, a
consultancy with offices in Bangkok and Shanghai, said: "Geely is China's
most entrepreneurial automotive company. Its resolve to export should not
be underestimated.

"But to sustain its momentum, it must lift its quality, safety and
emissions levels to international standards."

Zhao Jie, Geely's vice-president responsible for overseas operations,
said the company would start to produce the Freedom Cruiser in December
at a joint venture plant in Malaysia. Output is expected to reach 10,000
units next year.

"We are also preparing to enter the European and US markets," Zhao told
China Daily.

China's exports of cars, including those built abroad with
domestically-made spare parts, have been growing rapidly in recent years
with domestic manufacturers speeding up efforts in the international
market. But most of them are to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and
Africa.

The nation exported 9,600 cars in the first half of this year, a surge of
183 per cent from a year ago.

Chery, another independent car maker in Anhui Province, plans to produce
its cars in Iran later this year.

The company also plans to exports its cars to the United States through
Visionary Vehicles LLC, a US auto trader, starting from 2007 with a
planned annual volume of 250,000 units.

In April, China Brilliance Auto, BMW's partner in Liaoning Province,
agreed with an Egyptian partner to produce its Zhonghua sedans in the
African country.

However, Jia Xinguang from China Automotive Industry Corp, warned of
price wars between domestic car makers in overseas markets, possible
anti-dumping charges and other safeguard measures.

"As new players in the international market, Chinese car makers should
pay close attention to these problems," Jia said.

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Learn Mandarin online

Chinesepod - Semiconductor manufacturer launches joint lab

BIZCHINA / Overseas Investment

Semiconductor manufacturer launches joint lab
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-19 10:35

Infineon Technologies AG, the world's fourth largest semiconductor
manufacturer, recently announced the launch of the Tianjin
University-Infineon Automotive Electronics Joint Lab in Tianjin.

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Chinesepod

Learn Chinese - Alibaba targets search market, eyes IPO

BIZCHINA / Company Events

Alibaba targets search market, eyes IPO
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-18 09:07

China's Alibaba.com, whose biggest shareholder is Yahoo Inc, aims to hold
an initial public offering, but has no timetable yet for listing its
shares, chairman and founder Jack Ma said on Wednesday.

Ma, who is an outspoken Chinese Internet pioneer rarely given to
understatement, said his ambition, a decade from now, is to make his
company one of the world's top three most powerful Internet companies and
a Global Fortune 500 company.

"Like GE, Microsoft or IBM, we want to make Alibaba a company that can
last long and influence people," Ma told an audience of Wall Street
investors, analysts and news media at Yahoo's annual analyst day briefing
in San Francisco.

"I think we will be a public company," Ma said but backed away from
offering any specific schedule. "Now there is so many things we need to
do," he said, adding as an aside that, "We have to fix Yahoo first, be
the No. 1 search engine."

Ma said he wants to introduce a new version of Yahoo search technology in
September. Market researchers say Yahoo is a distant No. 3 in the Chinese
market, behind market leader Baidu Inc., with roughly half the market,
and Google Inc. .

Yahoo invested $1 billion in Alibaba.com last August in return for a 40
percent stake.

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Learn Chinese

Learn Chinese online - Talks start over gov't contracts

BIZCHINA / Center

Talks start over gov't contracts
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-05-17 06:40

China will start negotiations about joining a global organization that
will allow its firms to bid for government contracts around the world.

Yu Guangzhou, China's vice-minister of commerce, said yesterday the
country would join the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) by the end
of next year.

When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it promised to
initiate negotiations for membership in the GPA "as soon as possible."

The GPA allows companies from any member economies to bid for government
procurement contracts in other member economies.

Yu said China had carried out a series of measures to prepare the way for
joining the GPA.

China has issued the Government Procurement Law and relevant regulations
as the basis of the country's procurement system.

The government is also trying to improve transparency in government
procurement, the vice-minister said.

"In all sectors that have so far been opened to foreigners, non-Chinese
suppliers enjoy the same opportunities as local firms when they compete
for government projects," he said.

The country has also begun talking to GPA members.

It recently began a series of technical co-operation activities with the
European Union in a bid to provide both sides with a better understanding
of each other's procurement policies.

"The European Union is a major trading partner and China has become our
second largest supplier, so opening up our government procurement markets
to each other's suppliers would be a natural extension of these
developments," said Charlie McCreevy, the European Commissioner
responsible for the internal market.

However, the country still faces a number of problems before it can join
the GPA.

Yu said China's government procurement system was not as complete as in
certain Western countries.

China's legal framework is not good enough, and the sector lacks
specialists and complete operational mechanisms.

China should open the government procurement market gradually, suggested
Feng Chun, an expert with the Central University of Finance and Economics.

He said the timetable for opening up would vary according to different
regions and different industries.

The government should also pay attention to the protection of domestic
companies at the same time as opening up the market, Feng said.

Government procurement is a significant part of a national economy,
covering a range of sectors, such as commodity trade, service trade and
public works.

(China Daily 05/17/2006 page9)

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Learn Chinese online

Friday, December 21, 2007

Chinese Mandarin - Bell Tower in Xi'an

BIZCHINA / Shaanxi

Bell Tower in Xi'an

Updated: 2006-05-16 14:20

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Chinese Mandarin

Learn mandarin - Pasture in winter

BIZCHINA / Qinghai

Pasture in winter

Updated: 2006-05-16 11:23

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Learn mandarin

Learn mandarin - Continued Effects of Market Reform

BIZCHINA / Guizhou ABC

Continued Effects of Market Reform
(china.org)
Updated: 2006-05-16 10:05

Imports & exports
The annual value of imports and exports totaled US$1.51 billion, 53.8%
up from the year before.

Foreign investment
The foreign direct investment which was materialized during the year
stood at US$65.33 million, up by 16.1%.

(Statistics as of 2004)

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Learn mandarin

Learn Chinese online - Social Undertakings

BIZCHINA / Chongqing ABC

Social Undertakings
(china.org)
Updated: 2006-05-16 09:48

Science and technology
The annual investment in research and development totaled 3.1 billion
yuan, accounting for 1% of the city's GDP. 6 municipal laboratories and
10 engineering and technology research centers were put into operation.

Education
There were 35 institutions of higher learning, 1,414 middle schools and
9,558 primary schools in Chongqing at the end of 2005. The number of
students enrolled in institutions of higher learning during the year
stood at 121,400. About 99.9% of school age children had access to
primary school education.

Culture
By the end of 2005, Chongqing had a total of 29 arts performance
organizations, 41 cultural and arts centers, 43 public libraries, and 16
museums. About 96% of the municipal population had access to TV programs.

Public health
At the end of the year, there were 2,447 medical and health institutions
staffed with a work force of 78,780 people and equipped with 64,382 beds.
7 urban districts and counties were involved in piloting the new
cooperative medical service system, which covered 2.3 million, or 60.5%
of, rural residents at the year-end.

Sports
Athletes from Chongqing won 2 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 2.5
bronze medals at the 10th National Games.

Poverty relief
A total of 130,000 people were relocated during the year. About 523
million yuan were allocated for poverty relief endeavor. The population
in absolute poverty was reduced from 660,000 to 550,000. 222,000 rural
residents began to have easier access to drinking water.

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Learn Chinese online

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Chinese Mandarin - Major Economic Indices of State ETDZ in 2002

BIZCHINA / Development Zones

Major Economic Indices of State ETDZ in 2002

Updated: 2006-05-10 16:02

In the year of 2002, 49 China��s national Economic and Technological
Zones (ETDZs) scored a GDP of 310.950 billion yuan, industrial value
added of 220.995 billion Yuan (Accounting for 71.07% of GDP), total
industrial output (current price) of 786.674 billion Yuan, tax revenue of
50.018 billion Yuan, export value of 27.535 billion US$, import value of
26.099 billion US$, contractual foreign investment of 14.973 billion US$
and actually-utilized foreign investment of 7.737 billion US$; up by
29.40%��28.32%��25.50%��23.11%��33.78%��37.75%��30.99% and 23.42%
respectively as compared with the same period in 2001; 21.40
��15.72��9.80��10.98��11.48��16.55��11.37��10.91 percentage points higher
than the national growth margin respectively.

Of which: 33 eastern state-level ETDZs along seas realized a GDP 279.142
billion Yuan, industrial output (current price) of 724.228, industrial
value added of 201.059 billion Yuan, tax revenues of 46.381billion Yuan,
export value of 27.055 billion US$, import value of 25.425 billion US$,
contractual foreign investment of 14.074 billion US$ and
actually-utilized foreign investment of 7.284 billion US$, bulging by
27.40%��24.08%��25.22%��22.12%��33.92%��37.31%��29.75% and 20.66% as
compared with the same period in 2001.

16 middle western state-level ETDZ reported a GDP of 31.808 billion Yuan,
total industrial (current price) of 62.446 billion Yuan, industrial value
added of 19.936 billion Yuan, tax revenues of 3.637 billion Yuan, export
value of 0.48 billion US$, import value of 0.674 billion US$, contractual
foreign investment of 0.899 billion US$, actually-utilized foreign
investment of 0.453 billion US$, expanding by
50.12%��44.67%��70.99%��37.31%��25.98%��56.38%��53.94% and 95.26% than
the same period of previous year, which are higher than those of 33
eastern state-level ETDZs along seas except export value.

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Chinese Mandarin

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