People’s Bank cuts interest rates and reserve ratio
Oct-26-2015 By : fcccadmin
China’s central bank cut interest rates on October 24 for the sixth time in a year and reduced the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for all banks. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) lowered the one-year benchmark bank lending rate by 25 basis points to 4.35% and the benchmark rate for one-year bank deposits by the same margin to 1.5%. The bank also cut the RRR by 50 basis points for all banks, taking it to 17.5% for the country’s biggest lenders. The “double cut” can provide a maximum of CNY900 billion in additional liquidity to the Chinese investment market. As a result of the announcement the Chinese offshore yuan rate fell against the U.S. dollar, hitting a four-week low of 6.3958. China market analysts said the “double cut” may help to stimulate economic growth in the last two months of the year. Mark Williams, Chief Asia Economist at Capital Economics, said China will probably cut its benchmark interest rates and the RRR once more before the end of the year to further stimulate growth, the China Daily reports.
Contracted FDI up more than 50% in first nine months
By : fcccadmin
Contracted foreign direct investment (FDI) in China surged more than 50% in the first nine months of this year. American investments were worth USD5.83 billion in the first three quarters. Several well-known firms including Ford Motor, Air Products and Chemicals, Eli Lilly & Co, and Amazon have decided to raise their investment in China. Contracted investments from South Korea jumped 66.5% in the January-September period and those from Germany surged 41.1%. China’s utilized FDI rose 9% from a year earlier to USD94.9 billion in the first nine months, with 18,980 new foreign-invested firms being established, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). FDI in China’s eastern areas totaled USD80.5 billion, an increase of 10.1% from a year earlier. FDI in central areas rose 0.3%, and in western areas it increased by 2.2%. In the first three quarters, FDI being channeled into the service sector jumped 19.2% to USD57.9 billion, leading the growth and taking up 61.1% of the total. Capital going into high-tech services increased 57.6%, the Shanghai Daily reports.
China’s exports down 5.6% in third quarter
By : fcccadmin
In the third quarter, China’s exports declined by 5.6% year-on-year, and further extended the 2.9% contraction in the second quarter. An even faster drop in imports resulted in a trade surplus expansion to USD424.1 billion in the first nine months, which has exceeded last year’s total surplus of USD382.4 billion. In September, the trade surplus increased to USD60.3 billion, reaching the highest level since May, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Government support of hospitals insufficient
By : fcccadmin
The central government is not giving enough money to public hospitals to help with reforms that have cut their revenue significantly, experts say. The Ministry of Finance said this month it had allocated CNY11.1 billion this year to finance the reform of public hospitals. In rural areas, counties received CNY3 million each to overhaul their public hospitals. They have experienced a big drop in revenue as government reforms bar them from marking up the price of prescription drugs. Public hospitals were previously allowed to mark up prescription drugs by up to 15% to supplement their income. Drug sales account for about 40% of the total revenue of public hospitals in China, but the reforms aim to cut that figure to 30% by 2017.
China home to most self-made women billionaires
By : fcccadmin
China is the biggest creator of self-made dollar billionaire women this year, with Zhou Qunfei, Chairperson of touchscreen maker Lens Technology, leading with CNY50 billion in personal wealth, the Hurun Richest Self-Made Women in the World 2015 report shows. The women’s ultra wealth club expanded almost 50% over last year to include 73 dollar billionaires as of August 14. 49, including eight in the top 10, live in China, a country that “is setting the global benchmark for women in business,” according to Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun’s Chairman and Chief Researcher. Real estate continues to be the biggest money spinner for rich women in China, with up to a quarter of them involved in the sector.
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