The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is drafting a raft of measures to encourage mainland firms to use Hong Kong as a springboard for offshore investment. Speaking at the Second China Overseas Investment Summit in Hong Kong, NDRC Vice Chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang said one measure would be to encourage more mainland firms to list in Hong Kong and issue yuan-denominated bonds in the city to finance overseas projects. Another would be to encourage mainland firms to set up operations in Hong Kong specifically for overseas investment. Zhang said the NDRC would support joint investment by mainland and Hong Kong firms in overseas infrastructure, mining, energy, high-tech, advanced manufacturing, and logistics projects via equity investment, mergers and acquisitions (M&As), and greenfield investment. Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying told summit delegates that 65% of mainland overseas direct investment went through Hong Kong, while the city’s investment on the mainland totaled USD37.3 billion in the first half, accounting for 63% of all investments in the mainland for the period.

China’s exports grew at a marginal 1% in July from a year earlier to USD176.9 billion, the General Administration of Customs (GAS) said, down from the 11.3% gain in June. Imports rose 4.7% year-on-year to USD151.8 billion last month, compared with the June increase of 6.3%, indicating slowing domestic demand. The trade surplus narrowed to USD25.1 billion last month from USD31.7 billion in June. That marked the second straight month that both exports and imports slowed. Exports to Europe fell by 3.6% to USD192.4 billion in the first seven months of the year from the same period last year, extending the 0.8% decline in the first half of the year. Shipments to the United States rose 11.4% on year in the seven months through July to USD195.4 billion. “With the export sector losing speed faster than expected, the government’s current investment stimulus plan looks woefully inadequate,” IHS Global Insight Economists Ren Xianfang and Alistair Thornton wrote in a research note. Zhang Zhiwei, Economist with Nomura International (HK), expects exports to remain weak in the coming months as suggested by flat growth in imported parts for re-export purposes in July. A slowdown in consumer price inflation in July for the fourth straight month is seen as giving authorities more room to further loosen monetary policy in a bid to boost the slumping economy. The consumer price index rose 1.8% last month year-on-year, easing to the lowest level since January 2010. The government announced that industrial production and retail sales both slowed in July. Fixed-asset investment (FAI) rose 20.4% on year in the first seven months of the year, a rather weak performance by Chinese standards. The lower-than-expected increase in investment was in part due to a further cooling in China’s property market. In the first seven months, bilateral trade between China and the European Union fell 0.9% from a year earlier to USD315.7 billion. In comparison, deals with the United States jumped 10.5% to USD271.4 billion. China’s exports to the EU dropped by 16.2% in July from a year earlier, while exports to the U.S. edged up by 0.56% year-on-year in July. The U.S. replaced the EU in the first half of this year as China’s biggest export market.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a report that the nation filed more than 1.6 million patent applications in 2011, but just 32% met the highest threshold for patent quality — new inventions. The study noted that while China’s innovation potential is “impressive,” its actual innovation is “overhyped.” “This explosion (of patent applications) has come with a price in terms of the quality and mix of patents. This is not in the right direction,” Chamber Secretary General Dirk Moens said. 65% of patent applications filed by medium and large-sized Chinese state-owned enterprises in recent years have been for the lower end design or utility model patents. The study noted that at least 20 countries have greater innovation potential than China.

The True Hero trademark registered by Liaoning Renxin Trade Co includes a graphic allegedly based on an image of Usain Bolt – the world’s fastest runner – and uses his iconic celebration gesture of stretching his arm to the sky as if he is about to shoot an arrow. Specializing in clothes wholesaling and auto maintenance, Renxin applied for its new trademark True Hero with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) in 2010 on clothes, running shoes and sports equipment. The administration rejected the application on clothes because another company had already applied for the same name in that category, but the application for shoes was approved in 2011. Bolt’s team instructed a Beijing-based trademark agency to file an objection with the trademark office against the trademark application on sports equipment. Using celebrity names as trademarks “seems unreasonable but applications always get approved”, said Zhao Zhanling, a lawyer and researcher at China University of Social Science and Law. “According to the trademark law, whoever applies for a trademark first is likely to have it and the law allows using people’s names as trademarks,” he explained. Celebrities can file objections during the three-month trademark review period and can also later file to revoke trademarks.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for China rose 0.7 in July to 236.4, the New York-based Conference Board said. The index was flat in June and gained 1.1 in May. Government loans to banks to help boost infrastructure investment propelled the index’s growth, the Board said. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index for China, a gauge of current economic activity, rose by 0.8 in July to 222.5 — a sign the economy is stabilizing. “Although other leading indicators, such as real estate, exports and consumer sentiment, remained weak through July, the leading and current indicators point to a modest rebound in the second half of 2012,” said Andrew Polk, Resident Economist at the Conference Board China Center in Beijing. Local governments have unveiled investment plans recently to shore up the sluggish national economy, the Shanghai Daily reports.