Archive for ‘Economics’

27/08/2012

* China keen to boost mutual investments with India

The Hindu: “Calls to reshape ‘increasingly unsustainable’ trade model amid growing imbalance

China has called for a move to boost mutual investments with India as a measure to strengthen trade ties and reshape what officials have acknowledged is an increasingly unbalanced and strained business relationship, as trade talks between both countries begin in New Delhi on Monday.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry told The Hindu in a written interview ahead of the visit of Commerce Minister Chen Deming, who will lead the Chinese delegation in Monday’s talks, that the relatively strong foreign exchange reserves of both countries and an increasing desire of businesses to go overseas should drive the future of trade ties.

“There is great space for China and India to cooperate in mutual investment,” the Commerce Ministry said.

Both countries will hold the ninth round of the Joint Economic Group (JEG) dialogue in New Delhi on Monday. India’s trade deficit and Chinese concerns about the investment environment in India, particularly in the power and telecom sectors, is expected to be at the focus of the talks.

In an apparent attempt to ease concerns about strains in the trade relationship, Chinese officials have suggested a new approach. Boosting mutual investments would be one way of shifting the relationship from the current model. Trade over the past decade, which has grown from a few billion dollars to US$ 74 billion last year when China became India’s biggest trade partner, has largely been driven by Chinese appetite for Indian ores and Indian need for Chinese machinery.”

via The Hindu : News / National : China keen to boost mutual investments with India.

26/08/2012

* India coal scandal: Hundreds protest against PM Singh

BBC News: “Police in the Indian capital Delhi have baton-charged hundreds of anti-corruption protesters angered by the government’s sale of coalfields without open bidding.

An auditors’ report last week said the mis-selling cost India $33bn (£20bn).

Police also used water cannon and tear gas to turn back protesters trying to reach the house of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Opposition calls for Mr Singh to resign have deadlocked parliament.

In the report last week, government auditors said private companies had made “windfall gains” by the allocation of coal mining rights from 2005-9 in a process that “lacked transparency”. India is one of the largest producers of coal in the world.

The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says Mr Singh should quit because he was head of the coal ministry at the time of the sales.

The call has left parliament deadlocked since Tuesday. The Congress-led government insists there was no wrongdoing.”

via BBC News – India coal scandal: Hundreds protest against PM Singh.

25/08/2012

* Authorities deny remarks relating to fatal bridge collapse

Xinhua: “Authorities in Harbin have denied that officals had previously said no contractors could be found to take possible responsiblity for a fatal bridge collapse.

A ramp on the multi-million-dollar bridge in Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China, collapsed early Friday morning, causing four trucks to plunge 30 meters to the ground, killing three people and injuring five.

Following the collapse, there were claims on the internet that officials from the Harbin municipal commission of housing and urban-rural development said the bridge construction headquarters had dissolved and no contractors could be found.

On Saturday, Huang Yusheng, secretary general of the Harbin municipal government, denied there had been any such remarks.

Huang said the government had provided relevant materials from the designer, contractor and supervisor to the investigation team. After the investigation ends, names of the designer, contractor and supervisor will be made public, he told a press briefing.

On Friday, Huang suggested that overloading of some vehicles could be one of the possible causes for the accident. The remarks drew a fierce backlash from the public as many saw it as an attempt to shirk responsibility.

The collapse of the bridge, which cost 1.88 billion yuan (296 million U.S. dollars) and opened to traffic in November 2011, has also caused public outcry over the safety of public facilities and inadequate management and supervision by government agencies.”

via Authorities deny remarks relating to fatal bridge collapse – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

12/08/2012

* VanceInfo, HiSoft to merge to create China outsourcing leader

Reuters: “VanceInfo Technologies Inc and smaller rival HiSoft Technology International Ltd agreed to merge to create what they said would be the largest China-based offshore IT services provider by revenue.

Hi-SOFT牛奶軟糖

Hi-SOFT牛奶軟糖 (Photo credit: SimonQ錫濛譙)

Image representing VanceInfo Technologies as d...

Image via CrunchBase

Shares of VanceInfo, with a market value of $444 million as of close on Thursday, fell as much as 13 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, while those of hiSoft, with a market value of $373 million, fell 7 percent on the Nasdaq on Friday.

VanceInfo and HiSoft shareholders will each own about 50 percent of a company, valued at about $875 million under the terms of the tax-free, all-stock deal, the companies said.

“I think it is good news for Vance, it might not be good news for hiSoft,” Roth Capital Partners analyst Kun Tao said.”

via VanceInfo, HiSoft to merge to create China outsourcing leader | Reuters.

10/08/2012

* China Deal to Acquire U.S. Battery Maker A123 is Just the Beginning

WSJ: “As the script now reads, Wanxiang — China’s largest auto parts maker — plays the role of a clever opportunist in the unfolding tragedy of American competitiveness.

Here is an excerpt from the most recent episode:

A leading American maker of batteries for electric vehicles, A123 Systems, secures hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from Washington D.C and the State of Michigan.

A123 Systems, recently offered a $450 lifeline by China’s Wanxiang Group, makes lithium-ion car batteries at this plant in Michigan.

A123 quickly earns awards for both its innovative culture and its technical advances. But before long, the company encounters business difficulties, faces imminent bankruptcy and scrambles for money.

Wanxiang arrives with fistfuls of cash, takes control of A123 and inherits some of the world’s most advanced battery technology. Wanxiang is further encouraged as policy makers in Beijing promise $10,000 rebates to Chinese electric car buyers. The future is bright.

It is fair to say that Wanxiang, a private company based in Zhejiang, has broken no rules. Wanxiang sees a straight-up business deal in which it pays market price for a cash-starved company that is on the verge of failure.

However, what many American taxpayers see is bad business, a sham. And they sense a deeply troubling pattern for the future: America develops technology – subsidized with generous tax dollars – only to see it purloined, borrowed or, in this case, purchased on the cheap by firms from competing nations.

How can America possibly sustain its culture of innovation when assets are so vulnerable to cherry picking by cash-rich Chinese companies? This issue — not last month’s unemployment rate — should be the central issue as the U.S. tries to decide who will be its president for the next four years.”

via China Deal to Acquire U.S. Battery Maker A123 is Just the Beginning – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

10/08/2012

* China starts construction on 5.8 mln low-income housing units

Xinhua: “China started building 5.8 million low-income housing units in the first seven months of this year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said Friday.

Construction on 3.6 million affordable homes has been basically completed in the period, the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.

The government vowed to start construction on more than 7 million low-income housing units this year, part of its five-year plan to build 36 million such units by 2015.

The government has stepped up its efforts in the construction of affordable housing in recent years, aiming to cool the country’s runaway property prices.”

via China starts construction on 5.8 mln low-income housing units – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

09/08/2012

* Defects found on 12 rail lines

China Daily: “Seven of the 12 lines have been put into service, including high-speed passenger railways between Wuhan and Guangzhou and between Zhengzhou and Xi’an, according to the document.

The problems were discovered during routine inspections. The construction defects on the seven lines included cracks and leaks on tunnel arches, tilted communications towers and poorly arranged electronic cables, the Chinese news portal eeo.com.cn reported on Tuesday.

Other problems were found on five lines currently under construction, including one linking Lhasa and Xigaze in the Tibet autonomous region, which is an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway.

The ministry severely criticized some contractors for building with low-quality materials and not using enough iron bars in reinforced concrete.

Media reports quoted anonymous experts as saying the defects might threaten railway safety.

Cracks on the railway tunnel’s arch could cause concrete chunks to break off when a high-speed train passes, destroying the train’s power supply equipment, they said.

A ministry official who spoke to China Daily on the condition of anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the document, saying it was meant to be circulated inside the ministry and to relevant parties.

He said the ministry is paying great attention to quality issues, and has organized regular inspections on railway construction and operations.”

via Defects found on 12 rail lines |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.

Good news: in the past such information would not have seen the light of day; bad news: too many defects in a key transport and communications system.

See also: 

09/08/2012

* China factory output growth at three-year low, spurs easing hopes

Reuters: “Annual growth in China’s factory output slowed to its weakest in more than three years in July, missing market forecasts and increasing expectations that Beijing will take further policy steps to support an economy that has been sliding for six straight quarters.

Official data released on Thursday also showed China’s annual consumer inflation fell to a 30-month low in July, suggesting that the central bank has ample scope to ease policy again after rate cuts in June and July to keep the economy on track to meet an official 2012 growth target of 7.5 percent.

China’s economy faces powerful headwinds as the euro zone debt crisis and a sluggish U.S. recovery keep global growth at a low ebb, the main factor that pushed China’s new export orders in July into their steepest fall in eight months.

“The government underestimated the pace of slowdown and there needs to be more aggressive stimulating policies,” said Alistair Thornton, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Beijing.

“The government has signaled that it’s taking a more aggressive line on stimulus measures … But it’s yet to feed into the real economy, which is why we are seeing such weak activities data for July.”

Hopes of further easing from China boosted riskier assets, with Asian shares rising to a three-month high and the commodity-sensitive Australian dollar testing a 4-1/2-month peak.

China’s industrial output growth slowed to 9.2 percent year-on-year in July, its weakest since May 2009, down from 9.5 percent in June and below the 9.8 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.

Annual growth in fixed-asset investment, in the likes of real estate, roads and bridges, came in at 20.4 in January-to-July, unchanged from the January-to-June period and just below the 20.5 percent forecast.

Growth of retail sales, the biggest driver of the economy’s expansion in the first quarter, eased to 13.1 percent, short of the forecast of 13.7 percent.”

via China factory output growth at three-year low, spurs easing hopes | Reuters.

09/08/2012

* China inflation rate dips to a 30-month low in July

BBC News: “China’s inflation dipped to a 30-month low in July, giving policymakers a bigger cushion to boost stimulus measures to spur economic growth.

Consumer prices rose by 1.8% in July, from a year earlier. That was down from a 2.2% growth rate in June and a 3% rise in May.

China has been looking to spur domestic consumption amid a slowing global demand for its exports.

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in three years in second quarter.

The drop in prices of pork and meat and poultry products, which fell by 18.7% and 6.1% from a year earlier respectively, were the key drivers of the slowdown in the rate of inflation.

China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 7.6% in the April to June period, down from an 8.1% expansion in the previous three months.

There are fears that growth in the world’s second-largest economy may slow further in the coming months.

As a result, Beijing has taken various measures to spur growth.”

via BBC News – China inflation rate dips to a 30-month low in July.

08/08/2012

* Dollar losing its attraction

The Times: “Soft power is sometimes defined as a way of achieving the outcome you desire without using force. In Britain’s case, this has traditionally been exercised using subtle diplomacy, cultural and legal institutions.

The United States exercises soft power through its culture, films and music, too, but it also does through the ubiquity of the US dollar.

With power comes responsibility. There is a danger now that, in seeking to use the dollar’s reserve currency status to achieve US foreign policy aims, America is undermining that power. A key criticism of the US sanctions on Iran, particularly the ban on Iranian banks from using the Swift payments system, is that it has created incentives for other countries to trade with Iran without using dollars. Iran itself has exploited this by using its own currency in bilateral trade deals with India, China, Russia and Japan.

It is a small step from finding ways of trading with Iran without using dollars to trading with each other without using dollars, something that has been noted by the People’s Bank of China, whose officials are talking increasingly loudly about how and when the yuan might become a global reserve currency.

The aggression shown by the New York State Department of Financial Services towards Standard Chartered has just created another incentive to avoid doing business in dollars.”

via It may be unfair, but the damage is done | The Times.

It’s called shooting oneself in the foot. It’s also another case of the Law of Unintended Consequences.  See also:

 

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