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05/03/2016

China Sets Economic Growth Target of 6.5% to 7% for 2016 – China Real Time Report – WSJ

China has set an economic growth target of between 6.5% and 7% for 2016 and an average of at least 6.5% over the next five years, goals that acknowledge slowing momentum in the world’s second-largest economy but which still could be difficult to reach.

As WSJ’s Mark Magnier reports:

By adopting a range for the first time in two decades, China has given itself more flexibility in a system where hitting goals set far in advance, regardless of conditions on the ground, remains politically important.

The targets released here on Saturday at the opening of the National People’s Congress, China’s annual parliament, weren’t a surprise given that senior officials from President Xi Jinping on down had flagged them in recent months.

But they underscore that the government continues to prioritize stability, as output in the world’s second-largest economy downshifts faster than expected.

Last year, China’s economy grew 6.9%, its slowest pace in 25 years, compared with the 2015 target of about 7%. This year could bring a new quarter-century low, as traditional growth engines continue to lose traction.

Source: China Sets Economic Growth Target of 6.5% to 7% for 2016 – China Real Time Report – WSJ

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02/03/2016

A look back at the 25 goals of 2015|Government|chinadaily.com.cn

Amazing achievement.  How many countries declare goals in such clear numerical form and then exceed 23, meet 1, and fail on only 1 out of 25!

A look back at the 25 goals of 2015

1 Revitalize more than 212.4 billion yuan in central finance fund stock. Fulfillment: 237 billion yuan revitalized.

2 Investment within central budget increased to 477.6 billion yuan. Fulfillment: Investment of 521.1 billion yuan.

3 Railway investment to exceed 800 billion yuan. Fulfillment: Investment of 823.8 billion yuan was completed.

4 Utilize more than 8,000 km of newly built rail. Fulfillment: Newly built rail of 9,531 km was put into use.

5 Start construction of 27 major hydro projects. Fulfillment: Construction of 28 initiated.

6 Cancel all non-administrative approvals. Fulfillment: 453 items were cancelled or adjusted.

7 Cut items limiting foreign investment by half. Fulfillment: 41 of 79 items were deleted.

8 Keep grain yields above 550 million tons and increase deep-plough land by 13.33 million hectares. Fulfillment: Grain yields reached 621 million tons, Deep-plough land increased by 13.648 million hectares.

9 Construct or reconstruct 200,000 km of highways in rural areas. Fulfillment: Rural areas saw 251,000 km of newly constructed or reconstructed highways.

10 Build bridges to replace sliding-chairs to cross remote mountainous areas in the West. Fulfillment: All 288 projects have started construction.

11 Ensure that the more than 200,000 people in the country with no access to electricity get access. Fulfillment: 238,000 got access to electricity.

12 Provide safe drinking water to 60 million rural people. Fulfillment: 64.336 million rural people got access.

13 Eliminate all the 1.162 million heavy-emission vehicles with yellow stickers put into operation before the end of 2005. Fulfillment: 1.26 million such vehicles were eliminated.

14 Reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions by 3.1 percent or more. Fulfillment: Energy use was reduced by 5.6 percent, while carbon dioxide emissions were cut by 6.6 percent.

15 Cut chemical oxygen demand emissions by 2 percent, ammonia emissions by 2 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions by 3 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 5 percent. Fulfillment: Chemical oxygen demand emissions were cut by 3.1 percent, ammonia emissions by 3.6 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions by 5.8 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 10.9 percent.

16 Return 667,000 hectares of farmland to forest and grassland. Fulfillment: 667,000 hectares of farmland were returned.

17 Plant 6 million hectares of forests. Fulfillment: 6.3245 million hectares were planted.

18 Build 7.4 million units in government-subsidized housing projects, renovate 5.8 million units in shanty-towns and 4.32 million dilapidated houses in rural areas. Fulfillment: 7.83 million units in government-subsidized housing projects were built, 6.01 million units were renovated in shanty-towns and 4.68 million dilapidated houses in rural areas.

19 Create more than 10 million jobs in urban areas. Fulfillment: 13.12 million jobs were created in urban areas.

20 Raise standard of financial assistance for basic medical insurance of urban residents to 380 yuan per person per year. Fulfillment: Average standard has been raised to 446 yuan.

21 Raise standard of financial assistance for the new rural cooperative medical system to 380 yuan per person per year. Raise standard of financial assistance for per capita funding for basic public health services to 40 yuan. Carry out pilot projects for public hospital reform in 100 cities at and above prefecture level. Fulfillment: Standard of financial assistance for the new rural cooperative medical system was raised to 390. 24 yuan per person per year. Standard of financial assistance for per capita funding for basic public health services reached 42 yuan. Pilot projects for public hospital reform were carried out in 100 cities at and above prefecture level.

22 The registered urban unemployment rate should not exceed 4.5 percent. Fulfillment: Registered urban unemployment rate was 4.05 percent

23 Cut the rural poor population by at least 10 million. Fulfilled.

24 Employment opportunities for 7.49 million college graduates. Fulfillment: The employment situation was the same as the previous year.

25 Increase imports and exports by 6 percent. Failed to meet the goal: Import and export volumes in 2015 were $3.95864 trillion, down 8 percent. Exports decreased by 2.9 percent, still making China the best performer in major economies. China is still the world’s biggest trading power and export power.

Source: A look back at the 25 goals of 2015|Government|chinadaily.com.cn

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02/03/2016

Indians Are Among the Most Satisfied at Work, Says a Study. Here’s Why – India Real Time – WSJ

Indians are among the most highly stimulated and satisfied at work, a new report claims.

Some 28% of workers in the South Asian nation reported being highly engaged and fulfilled in the office, a full 15% above the global average, in a survey of workers in 17 countries conducted by Ipsos for furniture and workspace systems company Steelcase Inc.

Other nations with the largest proportions of satisfied workers were Mexico, at 22%, the UAE and South Africa, where around one in five people described themselves in that way and Saudi Arabia, with 18%.

American offices came sixth. About 14% of those surveyed there reported being highly engaged and satisfied at work.

Only 4% of Indian workers were highly dissatisfied and disengaged, compared with 11% on average globally.

Indians also provided the second-highest average score, of 7.4, when they rated their quality of life at work out of 10. Only Mexico scored higher with 7.5.

The authors of the report said the secret to the happiness of Indian workers could be to do with the fact the country’s employers haven’t yet embraced open-plan work spaces and also a result of  the hectic pace of life outside the office walls.

Only 14% of the offices the employees worked in were open plan. Meanwhile, 70% of the workers surveyed sat in a private or shared private office at work.

“Culturally, having a workspace of one’s own, even if it is compact and modest, is a signal of belonging and importance, which may explain the overall high degree of workplace satisfaction,” the report said.

In densely populated countries like India, the workplace can be a haven, the report said.

Indians are much more likely to say, for instance, that their work environment allows them to feel relaxed and calm. A total of 73% agreed with that in the survey, much higher than most other countries, the report said.

Workers in Indian offices are also likely to have access to shared spaces like meeting rooms, cafeterias and canteens. They also have the most access to sport or exercise facilities.

Indians’ enthusiasm about their office spaces might be relative. The most highly engaged employees came from emerging economies, the report said.

“Many Indian employees’ expectations may be shaped by their comparatively modest living conditions,” the report said.

And they are more likely to say that they work remotely–55% said they sometimes work away from the office, and 20% said they did so every day.

They also believed that their employer took a genuine interest in employees, with 79% agreeing with the statement.

All of this might reflect employers’ efforts to keep their workers happy, the report said. “In India’s highly competitive and fluid job market, providing a desirable workplace can be a powerful strategy for attracting, retaining and engaging the talent that can help an organization thrive,” the report said.

Source: Indians Are Among the Most Satisfied at Work, Says a Study. Here’s Why – India Real Time – WSJ

Posted in Economics, India alert, workers | 1 Comment »

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02/03/2016

Today’s ‘Kings Without Crowns?’ — The Growing Powers of Xi’s Party Disciplinarians – China Real Time Report – WSJ

After hunting corrupt cadres over the past three years, the Communist Party’s much-feared graftbusters are switching gears to political policing.

In the process, they have emerged with an authority perhaps unparalleled since ancient China.

With President Xi Jinping’s blessing, the already-powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is stationing inspectors in all central party and government departments, extending its reach into the top echelons of China’s bureaucracy.

In addition to targeting graft and waste, the CCDI has also become a kind of thought police for officials, academics and propagandists. Its inspectors are increasingly denouncing those deemed disloyalty to the party leadership.

The agency’s expanded scope reminded the Procuratorial Daily (in Chinese), a newspaper run by China’s top prosecutorial agency, of how Ming Dynasty rulers in the 14th century fortified a body of imperial censors who hunted errant officials in the name of the emperor.

Embedded in the Ming court’s six ministries, the censors could make direct representations to the emperor, despite their relatively junior rank, and assist the monarch in administrative tasks.

“But their most important power was to inspect the six ministries and impeach ministers,” the newspaper said. “It was this special status that made them ‘kings without crowns’ in the Ming Dynasty court.”

Recent developments, legal experts say, suggest that Mr. Xi is transforming the agency from a party watchdog into an arm of government.

“In effect, Xi Jinping is creating a parallel bureaucracy that can go around existing party and government institutions, to make things happen,” said Carl Minzner, a law professor at Fordham University who studies the Chinese legal system.

Disciplinary inspectors have also found a role in imposing party ideology beyond the traditional corridors of power.

Source: Today’s ‘Kings Without Crowns?’ — The Growing Powers of Xi’s Party Disciplinarians – China Real Time Report – WSJ

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29/02/2016

India unveils fire-fighting budget to placate voters, sustain growth | Reuters

The government unveiled a fire-fighting budget on Monday that seeks to win back support among rural voters for Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government and sustain growth against a grim global backdrop – all without borrowing more.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley‘s third budget marked a strategic shift by addressing rural distress in a country of 1.3 billion, where two-fifths of families rely on farming and are reeling from two years of drought.

At the same time it hiked public investment in India’s woeful infrastructure by 22.5 percent, while taking further steps to revive corporate investment that Modi needs to create new jobs for India’s burgeoning workforce.

“We have a shared responsibility to spend prudently and wisely for the people, especially for the poor and downtrodden,” the 63-year-old finance minister told lawmakers in his 100-minute address.

India holds several state elections this year, including in the farming state of West Bengal, with the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, going to the polls in 2017. A strong showing will be vital to Modi’s chances of a second term.

Despite commanding a large majority in parliament’s lower house, Modi’s government has failed to pass several key measures since sweeping to power almost two years ago, raising doubts over the impact of its reform agenda.

Jaitley called Asia’s third-largest economy a bright spot in a gloomy global landscape, and reiterated a forecast that it would grow by 7.6 percent in the fiscal year that is drawing to a close.

Source: India unveils fire-fighting budget to placate voters, sustain growth | Reuters

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29/02/2016

China expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in coal, steel sectors | Reuters

China said on Monday it expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries, or about 15 percent of the workforce, as part of efforts to reduce industrial overcapacity, but no timeframe was given.

It was the first time China has given figures that underline the magnitude of its task in dealing with slowing growth and bloated state enterprises.

Yin Weimin, the minister for human resources and social security, told a news conference that 1.3 million workers in the coal sector could lose jobs, plus 500,000 from the steel sector. China’s coal and steel sectors employ about 12 million workers, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics.

“This involves the resettlement of a total of 1.8 million workers. This task will be very difficult, but we are still very confident,” Yin said.

For China’s stability-obsessed government, keeping a lid on unemployment and any possible unrest that may follow has been a top priority.

The central government will allocate 100 billion yuan ($15.27 billion) over two years to relocate workers laid off as a result of China’s efforts to curb overcapacity, officials said last week.

Source: China expects to lay off 1.8 million workers in coal, steel sectors | Reuters

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28/02/2016

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Punjab — Kejriwal vows to curb mining mafia in Punjab – The Hindu

Alleging that a “mining mafia” in Punjab was extorting money from owners of stone crushing units, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday vowed to put an end to the menace “within 24 hours” if his party comes to power in the 2017 Assembly election.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses the people at Dhilwan in Punjab on Sunday.

“I am shocked to know that legal crusher owners have to pay ‘goonda tax or jizya’ to the mining mafia in Punjab. I vow that within 24 hours of AAP’s coming into power, this will be curbed in the state,” Mr. Kejriwal, who is on a five-day tour of Punjab to reach out to voters ahead of the Assembly elections, said at a rally here.

Members of the business community, including owners of crushing units, on Sunday met Mr. Kejriwal and alleged that no action was being taken against the extortionists. They also claimed that false cases were being registered against them.

Mr. Kejriwal said once voted to power, AAP would set up a commission to review such cases and take action against officials who had lodged them.

Reacting to reports of a large number of posters which had sprung up in Jalandhar questioning his governance record, the Delhi Chief Minister hit out at the Akali Dal saying they had ruined the state during their 10-year rule.

“People know who has ruined his state for about 10 years and who is a failed CM,” he said.

Mr. Kejriwal also claimed that no government could have achieved in 65 years what his government had accomplished in one year in Delhi.

“What we have done in our one year rule in Delhi, I challenge that no state government could have done in the last 65 years. I am confident if Delhi goes to polls today, other parties will not be able to win even a single seat,” he said.

He also met people from different walks of life, including industrialists, advocates, shopkeepers and members of the Christian community.

Earlier, BJP workers led by district president Suresh Bhatia and Municipal Council president Naresh Mahajan, tried to gherao Mr. Kejriwal at Gandhi Chowk, but were stopped by police who resorted to mild lathi-charge, in which one person was injured.

Around 80 protesters were detained later released after the Delhi Chief Minister left, police said.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Kejriwal visited the Golden Temple and Durgiana Mandir in Amritsar.

Talking to media in Amritsar on Saturday night, he said he met various associations of traders who were not “happy” with the ruling government in Punjab because of “rampant corruption” in government departments. Moreover the state government had failed to “support” traders, he alleged.

Source: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to Punjab — Kejriwal vows to curb mining mafia in Punjab – The Hindu

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24/02/2016

China cuts more red-tape – Xinhua | English.news.cn

I wish the UK government would follow this excellent lead.

“The State Council, China’s cabinet, has decided to abolish another 13 items of administrative approval to reduce intervention in the economy.

The items released on Tuesday involve finance and business qualification reviews.

The decision will help vitalize the economy and strengthen growth, the State Council said.

Facing a complicated global landscape and pressure from an economic slowdown at home, the central government has made transforming government functions a top priority.

State Council agencies have canceled or delegated administrative approval powers on 599 items since March 2013, meeting the target to cut the number of items requiring approval by one-third within the term of this government ahead of schedule.”

Source: China cuts more red-tape – Xinhua | English.news.cn

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24/02/2016

U.S. Design Company Redesigns the Cycle Rickshaw to Make it ‘Sexy’ – India Real Time – WSJ

It is not quite reinventing the wheel, but one company is trying to overhaul an old-fashioned form of public transport–the cycle rickshaw.

Funded by the Asian Development Bank, Colorado-based Catapult Design has produced a new, flashy design for the vehicle — ubiquitous in Indian and other South Asian cities — that includes electrical assistance and gears for tricky hills.

Cycle rickshaws, or pedicabs, in South Asia provide backbreaking but vital work for the drivers who pedal passengers often on short “last mile” trips from other forms of transport to their final destination.

Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, has half a million cycle rickshaws alone, Bradley Schroeder, who is leading the $340,000 project to develop an open-source design of the pedicab, said. But the design hasn’t improved much in 40 years.

The ADB will spend $150,000 on manufacturing 60 prototype vehicles and testing them in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, and Lumbini, a tourism hotspot in the Himalayan nation and the birthplace of Buddha, over the coming months.

Half of the new rickshaws will be pedal-only, and the rest will have built-in electrical assistance provided by a lithium-ion battery, the company said.

Most rickshaws are currently made from tubular steel and if they have electrical assistance, it is provided by a heavy car battery, Mr. Schroeder said. Exposed parts of the rickshaw’s mechanics mean that clothes such as saris can become caught and cause accidents.

The new design is made from stainless steel and the mechanics are fully enclosed and include gears. The lithium batteries are more lightweight and the electrics comply with European Union standards, he added. The vinyl cover on the rickshaw provides protection from the elements.

“We wanted to make the body very sexy,” Mr. Schroeder said. The designers talked about adding seatbelts but decided against it since the the speeds were so low.

The new cabs are more expensive – they will cost $750, compared with about $400 for an average rickshaw. That cost, Mr. Schroeder says, is a result of the reduced weight and the addition of smartphone vehicle-hailing and driver-evaluation technologies as well as touch screens that can deliver tour guides to passengers.

“Weight is everything in the pedicab industry,” Mr. Schroeder wrote in an emailed response. The lighter model will mean that the pedicab will have a top speed of 15.5 miles an hour, but, Mr. Schroeder wrote, “essentially the vehicle will go as fast as the wallah (driver) can pedal and since the vehicle is lighter and now has gears, the wallah should be able to go faster.”

The drivers of the rickshaws for the trial in Nepal will be taken from the existing pool of the cities’ rickshaw chauffeurs, Mr. Schroeder said.

His team spent several months interviewing drivers, owners and garages. “There are a lot of questions, it’s not always easy. But over time we win them over and they are happy,” he said.

“They live on the fringes of society and are very concerned about making money every day,” he said. “They can see their industry is in decline.’

But although the cycle rickshaw is steeped in tradition, its drivers aren’t resistant to change.

“If you show them a 3-D printed model of the design, they’re blown away,” Mr. Schroeder said.

After the trial, Mr. Schroeder hopes a bicycle, motorcycle or auto company picks up the unpatented design and uses it to manufacture the product.

Source: U.S. Design Company Redesigns the Cycle Rickshaw to Make it ‘Sexy’ – India Real Time – WSJ

Posted in Economics, India alert, Manufacturing, Transport | 1 Comment »

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24/02/2016

China Inc.’s Nuclear-Power Push – China Real Time Report – WSJ

China wants to shift from customer to competitor in the global nuclear industry as it seeks to roll out its first advanced reactor for export, a move that adds new competition for already struggling global firms.

As WSJ’s Brian Spegele reports:

  • Two state-owned firms teamed up to design the advanced indigenous Hualong One reactor with plans to sell overseas. On Tuesday, one of them, China General Nuclear Power Group, hosted dozens of business executives from Kenya, Russia, Indonesia and elsewhere, as well as diplomats and journalists, at its Daya Bay nuclear-power station to promote the Hualong One for export.
  • Asked how much of the global market share for new nuclear reactors CGN wants Hualong One to win, Zheng Dongshan, CGN’s deputy general manager in charge of international business, said: “The more the better.”
  • The move marks a turnaround for China and the nuclear-power industry. For three decades, China served as a big market for nuclear giants including U.S.-based, Japanese-owned Westinghouse Electric Co. and France’s Areva SA. More than 30 reactors have been built across China since the 1990s with reliance on foreign design and technology.

Source: China Inc.’s Nuclear-Power Push – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Posted in China alert, Economics, exports, nuclear energy | Leave a Comment »

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