China will set up a joint session system to ensure better inter-department coordination on reforms in the country’s free trade zones (FTZs). To be led by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), the joint session will gather 30 state departments and units including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the national regulators for banking, securities and insurance as well as customs and tax authorities. The joint sessions will coordinate reforms in the FTZs.

Nine Australians have contracted hepatitis A linked to eating contaminated berries from China. Manufacturer Patties Foods has recalled four products including Nanna’s Frozen Mixed Berries and Creative Gourmet brands and Nanna’s raspberries. They are sold in major supermarkets across the country, having been packed in China. Poor hygiene among the workers and potentially contaminated water supplies in China are likely to have caused the outbreak. Hepatitis A is a viral disease that affects the liver, causing abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and jaundice. It has an incubation period of up to 50 days.

“The average pace of economic growth for the next five years is likely to be 7%, and a potential growth of 7% to 7.5% is also achievable,” Fan Gang, Director of the National Economic Research Institute and former Advisor to China’s central bank, said at the annual meeting of the Chinese Economists 50 Forum. The meeting aimed to sketch out plans for the 13th Five Year (2016-2020) Plan under the “new normal” state of the economy. Growth should be of higher quality and efficiency, driven by innovation, with a greener mentality. The 13th Five Year Plan is China’s last one to complete the construction of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020 and for achieving decisive results in deepening reforms.

China’s private companies are set to be the key engine to drive another robust year of merger and acquisition (M&A) agreements in the region after a record run of deals last year. The shift in the identity of the buyers from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to private companies comes after President Xi Jinping vowed to restructure the economy and boost productivity of SOEs, which are busy following the call to introduce more private capital under the “mixed ownership” program. “Slowing economic growth in China is one of the major factors to drive the robust M&A activities as companies can no longer grow their business organically,” said David Brown, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Paul Chan, Fund Manager at Invesco, explained that China’s reform of state-owned enterprises will lower the possibility of buying overly priced assets overseas, leading to less demand for mega acquisitions. China’s M&A activities surged 55% year-on-year to a record USD407.2 billion last year, according to PwC. Outbound investments by state enterprises dropped 29% to USD27.9 billion in 2014, while private companies spent 29% more at USD14.7 billion for the same period, the South China Morning Post reports.

Mainland investors are making a cautious return to Hong Kong’s top-end residential property sector, about 28 months after heavy taxes on non-permanent residents cooled the market, having become used to the extra stamp duties as they chase a limited supply of prime assets, property agents said. A buyer’s stamp duty of 15% on non-permanent residents was imposed in October 2012. The demand for luxury properties is seen rising further if Beijing continues its high-profile anti-corruption campaign. According to Centaline Property Agency, luxury homes bought by mainlanders accounted for 25.4% of the value of new homes sold last year, up one percentage point. It expects the share will rise to 30% this year. The percentages are on the increase but they remain below the record 47% reached in 2012. The recent sales of top-end homes included houses at Twelve Peaks and the historic Ho Tung Gardens – both on the Peak. Sun Hung Kai Properties sold four of the 12 houses at Twelve Peaks. The recent sale of House 6 was at HKD119,000 per square foot, making it the third-most expensive house sold in Hong Kong. Last month, the 120,000 sq ft site of the former historic Ho Tung Gardens was sold for a record HKD5.1 billion. The buyer is understood to be mainland businessman Cheung Chung-kiu, who is also known as the “Li Ka-shing of Chongqing”.