Archive for March, 2013

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16/03/2013

* Shell, Samsung in China pilot to ease currency controls

Reuters: “China has eased strict cross-border currency rules for 13 multi-national firms including Samsung and Shell in a scheme that further cranks open its tightly controlled capital account, financial sector sources told Reuters.

A Shell fuel leaves the Kingsbury fuel terminal, central England June 11, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Staples

The experiment, which has not been publicly announced by the government, gives firms freedom to shift funds worth up to 30 percent of their invested capital in China across its borders, bankers directly involved in the scheme said.

The move responds to growing demand from international firms operating in China for freedom to use soaring stores of yuan, also know as the renminbi, to boost the efficiency of their management of capital while keeping speculative pressure at bay.

“It’s a way of opening up the capital account which helps companies deal with the real flows of the economy,” Michael Vrontamitis, head of product management of transaction banking for East Asia at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong, told Reuters.

“Those are the real flows. These companies are not speculating on the currency,” said Vrontamitis, whose bank is handling transactions for Shell under the pilot program.

Six of the firms involved are foreign, eight company executives and bankers with knowledge of the matter said. They are Shell, Samsung, Intel Inc, Alcatel-Lucent, Schneider Electric and Caterpillar Inc.

The other seven companies are Chinese state-owned enterprises: Sinochem Corp, China Minmetals Resources, China Shipping Group, COFCO Group, Baosteel Iron & Steel, Shanghai Electric Group Co. and China Eastern Airlines.

Some of the names of participating companies and banks have been reported in the Chinese media, but the full list has not been disclosed. The currency regulator declined to comment.

via Shell, Samsung in China pilot to ease currency controls: sources | Reuters.

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15/03/2013

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15/03/2013

* China confirms Li Keqiang as premier

BBC: “China’s leaders have named Li Keqiang premier, placing him at the helm of the world’s second-largest economy.

Mr Li, who already holds the number two spot in the Communist Party, takes over from Wen Jiabao.

Mr Li was elected for a five-year term but, like his predecessor, would be expected to spend a decade in office.

On Thursday, Xi Jinping was confirmed by legislators as the new president, completing the transition of power from Hu Jintao.

Li Keqiang’s widely-signalled elevation was confirmed by 3,000 legislators at the National People’s Congress, the annual parliament session, in Beijing. He received 2,940 votes to three, with six abstentions.

From humble beginnings, Li Keqiang has risen high in politics, but his career has not been without controversy. During the mid-1990s a scandal of stunning proportions devastated many rural communities in Henan. Thousands of farmers and their families contracted HIV after receiving contaminated blood transfusions. Most infections in the government-backed blood-selling scheme happened before Li Keqiang became the province’s party boss. But he was widely criticised for silencing those speaking out.

Many villagers still travel to Beijing every year to protest about the issue. One demonstrator told the BBC she hoped Li Keqiang would pay more attention, saying she had still not received any compensation. But others have seen a different side to the politician. One gay-rights activist told the BBC that Li Keqiang was very “easy-going” during a recent meeting. “He didn’t act at all like a government official,” said Kong Lingkun. “During the discussion he wanted everyone’s opinion and he encouraged us to speak freely.”

China’s new premier likes to project an image that he’s modern, sophisticated and ready to listen. But he has also shown he can be ruthless when the party’s reputation is at risk.

As premier, he will oversee a large portfolio of domestic affairs, managing economic challenges, environmental woes and China’s urbanisation drive.

The appointments seal the shift from one generation of leaders to the next. A raft of vice-premiers and state councillors will be named on Saturday, before the NPC closes on Sunday.

Mr Li, 57, who is seen as close to outgoing leader Hu Jintao, speaks fluent English and has a PhD in economics.

He has called for a more streamlined government, eliminating some ministries while boosting the size of others.

The son of a local official in Anhui province, he became China’s youngest provincial governor when he was tasked to run Henan.

But his time there was marked by a scandal involving the spread of HIV through contaminated blood.

Mr Li is expected to end the NPC with a press conference on Sunday, given by Wen Jiabao in the past.

via BBC News – China confirms Li Keqiang as premier.

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15/03/2013

* Beans means bonanza as oil frackers turn demand for guar into gold rush | The Times

The Times: “Just as America’s booming shale gas industry has helped to wean the country off an unhealthy dependence on imported Middle Eastern oil, a new national addiction is emerging — to the Indian guar gum on which the industry depends.

A merchant paints numbers on sacks of guar as a laborer loads them onto a truck at a grain market in Jodhpur, India

Soaring demand for guar from US oil companies — whose apparently insatiable appetite stems from its use in making the drilling fluids used in the process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for shale gas — triggered a 374 per cent surge in Indian exports between January 2011 and January 2012.

With 80 per cent of global production of guar — which means cow feed in Hindi — India has a near monopoly on the bean, a fact that has led to a bonanza for Indian farmers who witnessed a ninefold increase in prices during 2012. “The price increase has been just astronomical,” says Naveen Mathur, commodities analyst at Angel Broking in Mumbai.

For decades, apart from cow feed, powdered guar has been used as a thickener in toothpaste, pet food and ice cream, but global demand has mushroomed in recent years because oil companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger have required huge quantities for use as a thickening agent in the fluid needed to squeeze shale gas out of rock formations deep underground.

Almost overnight, guar has become India’s biggest agricultural export, shipments of which were worth $4.9 billion between April and January 2012, roughly double the value of the country’s exports of basmati rice and cotton combined.

Like the Texan oil booms of the 19th century, the guar rush is having a similar effect on the desert state of Rajasthan, where most of it is grown and where some farmers have earned more in a single season than the previous ten put together.

Guar beans, which are milled and powdered to produce gum that is eight times more viscous than cornstarch, grows only in rare climatic conditions — arid areas watered by intermittent but heavy monsoon rains.

But the huge surge in prices and exports has prompted some to ask whether the boom can last.

As Indian farmers frantically plant new areas to meet demand, US oil scientists in Houston are desperately trying to come up with synthetic alternatives, such as carbon methyl cellulose, which could rival guar on both price as well as efficacy.

Others are trying to develop new strains of guar that can be grown in different climatic conditions.

So far, they have not managed to do so — and India’s guar boom looks set to continue.

via Beans means bonanza as oil frackers turn demand for guar into gold rush | The Times.

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14/03/2013

* VW ramps up China production to offset weak Europe

Reuters: “Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, plans to almost double production capacity in China over the next five years to grab a bigger slice of fast-growing emerging markets and offset declining demand at home.

A logo of Volkswagen is pictured a car dealer in the western city of Hamm January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

The German company said on Thursday it aimed to have the capacity to make over 4 million vehicles in China, already its largest market, by 2018.

Volkswagen (VW), which delivered around 9.1 million vehicles in total last year, has said previously it hopes to snatch the global sales crown from Toyota Motor Corp in 2018.

“VW’s future is increasingly being decided in China, Russia, India, the Americas and Southeast Asia,” Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said as the company published its annual report. “This is where we will generate most of our growth in future.”

Carmakers across the world are relying on emerging markets for growth amid a protracted slump in recession-hit Europe, which if anything has got worse in recent months.

VW said last month, alongside its 2012 results, that growth in group operating profit might stall this year due to weakness in Europe, which would be the first time group earnings have not risen for four years.

In the annual report, which gave details on 2012 results for the first time, the company said operating profit at its main VW brand fell 4.1 percent to 3.64 billion euros last year despite higher sales, reflecting big discounts to lure European buyers.

The VW brand, which provides almost a third of group earnings, also saw western European deliveries drop 11.6 percent in the first two months of this year.

“We have to really put our shoulders to the wheel and give our very best,” Winterkorn said. “The environment is definitely a tough challenge, especially for European car makers.”

Operating profit at VW’s two Chinese joint ventures, in contrast, surged 42 percent last year to 3.7 billion euros.

VW has said previously the ventures would spend almost 10 billion euros ($13 billion) through 2015 on new plants, products and technologies.

The company said on Thursday it would set up a new assembly plant in southern China, adding to the dozen component, engine and production factories it already has in the country.

It also has another three assembly plants and two component facilities starting operation in 2013.

With 10.6 billion euros in net cash resources, VW is open to making acquisitions, Winterkorn told Reuters in an interview, noting “there are always opportunities one cannot pass up.””

via VW ramps up China production to offset weak Europe | Reuters.

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14/03/2013

* Xi Jinping named president of China

BBC: “Leaders in Beijing have confirmed Xi Jinping as president, completing China’s 10-yearly transition of power.

Mr Xi, appointed to the Communist Party’s top post in November, replaces Hu Jintao, who is stepping down.

Some 3,000 deputies to the National People’s Congress, the annual parliament session, took part in the vote at the Great Hall of the People.

The new premier – widely expected to be Li Keqiang – is scheduled to be named on Friday, replacing Wen Jiabao.

While votes are held for the posts, they are largely ceremonial and the results very rarely a surprise.

Mr Xi, who bowed to the delegates after his name was announced but made no formal remarks, was elected by 2,952 votes to one, with three abstentions.

He was named general secretary of the Communist Party on 8 November and also given the leadership of the top military body, the Central Military Commission.

China’s parliament engaged in a political ceremony that involved all the hallmarks of a real election: a ballot box, long lines of delegates queuing to vote, and a televised announcement of a winner. However, no-one was surprised to hear the results: with a whopping 99.86% of the vote, Xi Jinping was anointed President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the People’s Liberation Army.

In November, Mr Xi was elevated to the top spot in China’s Communist Party. However, he did not become the country’s official head of state until his candidacy was approved by China’s parliament.

According to China’s constitution, almost 3,000 NPC delegates are allowed to “elect” candidates for the state’s top positions. However, in practice, delegates merely endorse the names put forward by the party.

Perhaps the only interesting result of the election is that Mr Xi did not receive 100% of the ballot. One person voted against him and three people abstained. The result leaves some in China to wonder: perhaps, in an act of modesty, Mr Xi voted against himself.

This vote, handing him the role of head of state, was the final stage in the transition of power to him and his team, the slimmed-down, seven-member Standing Committee.

The largely symbolic role of vice-president went to Li Yuanchao, seen as a close ally of Mr Hu and a possible reformist.

The 61-year-old, who is not a member of the Standing Committee, has in the past called for reforms to the way the Communist Party promotes officials and consults the public on policies.”

via BBC News – Xi Jinping named president of China.

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13/03/2013

* Unsafe bridges get a face-lift nationwide

China Daily: “More than 21,600 hazardous bridges in China have been renovated in the past 12 years, and transportation authorities across the country are attaching more importance to this issue, said the Ministry of Transport.

“Bridge construction and safety is an issue of public concern and one of the key tasks of transport departments across the country,” said a statement published on Tuesday on the ministry’s website.

A total of 43.88 billion yuan ($7.05 billion), including 17 billion yuan from the ministry, was invested in the renovation of 21,610 hazardous bridges from 2001 to 2012, curbing the high incidence of bridge accidents, according to the statement.

By the end of 2011, China had nearly 689,000 bridges, with almost 58,000 being large or ultra-large. The length of these two categories accounts for 51.8 percent of the total length of China’s bridges.

“With some bridges undergoing long-term, overburdened operation, we have been witnessing a high incidence of bridge accidents in our country,” the ministry said.

“Overloaded vehicles or those carrying items, which may damage the road surface, have often been observed, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the safety of bridges.”

A succession of high-profile bridge accidents in recent years has attracted a wave of attention and criticism from the public.”

via Unsafe bridges get a face-lift nationwide |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

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13/03/2013

* Rains or Not, India Is Falling Short on Drinkable Water

NY Times: “CHERRAPUNJI, India — Almost no place on Earth gets more rain than this small hill town. Nearly 40 feet falls every year — more than 12 times what Seattle gets. Storms often drop more than a foot a day. The monsoon is epic.

Water containers are lined up at a community tap in Cherrapunji. Some people must walk long distances to get water.

But during the dry season from November through March, many in this corner of India struggle to find water. Some are forced to walk long distances to fill jugs in springs or streams. Taps in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya State, spout water for just a few hours a day. And when it arrives, the water is often not drinkable.

That people in one of the rainiest places on the planet struggle to get potable water is emblematic of the profound water challenges that India faces. Every year, about 600,000 Indian children die because of diarrhea or pneumonia, often caused by toxic water and poor hygiene, according to Unicef.

Half of the water supply in rural areas, where 70 percent of India’s population lives, is routinely contaminated with toxic bacteria. Employment in manufacturing in India has declined in recent years, and a prime reason may be the difficulty companies face getting water.

And India’s water problems are likely to worsen. A report that McKinsey & Company helped to write predicted that India would need to double its water-generation capacity by the year 2030 to meet the demands of its surging population.

A separate analysis concluded that groundwater supplies in many of India’s cities — including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai — are declining at such a rapid rate that they may run dry within a few years.

The water situation in Gurgaon, the new mega-city south of Delhi, became so acute last year that a judge ordered a halt to new construction until projects could prove they were using recycled water instead of groundwater.

On Feb. 28, India’s finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram, proposed providing $2.8 billion to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in the coming fiscal year, a 17 percent increase.

But water experts describe this as very little in a country where more than 100 million people scrounge for water from unimproved sources.

Some water problems stem from India’s difficult geography. Vast parts of the country are arid, and India has just 4 percent of the world’s fresh water shared among 16 percent of its people.

But the country’s struggle to provide water security to the 2.6 million residents of Meghalaya, blessed with more rain than almost any place, shows that the problems are not all environmental.”

via Rains or Not, India Is Falling Short on Drinkable Water – NYTimes.com.

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13/03/2013

* China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river

BBC: “Officials say the number of pig carcasses found in Shanghai‘s Huangpu River has risen to nearly 6,000.

In a statement, Shanghai authorities said that 5,916 dead pigs had been removed from the river by Tuesday.

But they said water from the river was safe, with water quality meeting government-set standards.

It is believed that the pigs may have come from Jiaxing in the neighbouring Zhejiang province, although the cause of their deaths is still not clear.

In a statement, the Shanghai municipal government said that the water in Huangpu River, which is a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was safe. It also said that no diseased pork had been detected in markets.

However, the news has been met with scepticism by some users on weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, where the hashtag “Huangpu River dead pigs” has emerged.

“Cadres and officials, we are willing to provide for you, but please don’t let us die from poisoning. Otherwise who will serve you? Please think twice,” said netizen Shi Liqin.

“This river’s colour is about the same as excrement, even if there weren’t dead pigs you couldn’t drink it,” said another, with the username Yuzhou Duelist.

The general mood is of concern, rather than outrage or panic, reports the BBC’s John Sudworth in Shanghai, as the Chinese public are well used to food scandals, such as the use of oil scraped from sewers for cooking, and plasticiser found in baby formula.”

via BBC News – China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river.

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12/03/2013

* China’s Xi flexes muscle, chooses reformist VP

Reuters: “A reformist member of China’s decision-making Politburo, Li Yuanchao, is set to become the country’s vice president this week instead of a more senior and conservative official best known for keeping the media in check, sources said.

Xi Jinping (front), general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Li Keqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier, arrive at the third plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 10, 2013. REUTERS/China Daily

Li’s appointment would be a sign that new Communist Party leader and incoming president Xi Jinping‘s clout is growing, a source with ties to the leadership said. Xi fended off a bid by influential former president Jiang Zemin to install propaganda tsar Liu Yunshan in the job, the source said.

Jiang was a major power behind the scenes in the administration of outgoing President Hu Jintao.

The post of vice president is largely symbolic. However the job would raise Li’s profile, give him a role in foreign affairs and further bolster Xi, who took the top jobs in the party and military at the Communist Party congress in November.

The promotion of Li may also signal a willingness on the part of Xi to pursue limited reforms that Li is known to have advocated in his previous posts, such as making the selection of Communist officials more inclusive.”

via China’s Xi flexes muscle, chooses reformist VP: sources | Reuters.

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