WM raises CNY1 billion to launch electric car
Aug-29-2016 By : fcccadmin
Freeman Shen, who left Volvo Cars owner Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2014 and last year founded WM Motor, has secured CNY1 billion in funding from both domestic and overseas investors to launch its first electric car in 2018 and boost production to more than 100,000 units annually within the following three years. WM will be competing with more than 200 other Chinese electric-vehicle companies, some of them backed by Alibaba Group, Foxconn Technology Group and Tencent Holdings. WM was named after the German word “weltmeister”, which means global champion. Its management team has extensive experience in China’s auto industry, ranging from product development, parts procurement, production, and sales, according to Shen. WM plans to apply for a production license later this year and set up a factory in eastern China. Chehejia, founded by internet entrepreneur Li Xiang, said on August 10 it began constructing an assembly plant with an eventual capacity of 300,000 vehicles a year, while LeEco, backed by billionaire Jia Yueting, announced plans to invest as much as CNY20 billion in a vehicle plant in eastern China and an auto theme park, the China Daily reports.
Expats worried about disappearance of English road signs
By : fcccadmin
Expatriates are worried that authorities in Shanghai may remove road direction signs in English. Foreigners say this would cause problems, especially for drivers from overseas, as most of them cannot read Chinese characters. The Shanghai Road Administration Bureau is considering the removal of road signs bearing English-language interpretations, pinyin in most cases. These signs are usually hung above the center of major roads or close to exits on ring roads and elevated highways. English or pinyin signs will remain in and around scenic spots, in central business districts, and in transportation hubs, as will street signs in pinyin at all junctions.
CBRC launches crackdown on P2P lending sector
By : fcccadmin
The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) unveiled aggressive measures to restrain the country’s fast expanding peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sector, warning that almost half of the 2,349 online lending platforms are “problematic”. The USD93 billion P2P lending sector has been a source of funds for individuals and small businesses overlooked by the country’s traditional financial services institutions that prefer big borrowers with better credit history and collateral. But China’s approach to promote the sector as a form of financial innovation has led to a rash of high-profile P2P failures, scandals and frauds. Some P2P firms are running Ponzi schemes and raising funds illegally. Under new rules, an individual can borrow up to a maximum of CNY200,000 from each P2P platform, with a maximum of CNY1 million, the CBRC said. Corporate borrowers face a ceiling of CNY1 million from each P2P site and a limit of CNY5 million. The new rules bar online lending platforms from taking public deposits or selling wealth-management products. They require P2P sites to appoint eligible banks as custodians and improve their information disclosure. The regulations also ban P2P firms from providing guarantees for investment principal or returns, a common marketing practice to lure funds from unsophisticated retail investors. New companies with internet-finance related names are banned from registration in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. China’s P2P industry extended CNY982 billion in loans in 2015, almost quadruple the amount in 2014 and a 10-fold jump from 2013, according to Online Lending House. James Zheng, Chief Financial Officer at Lufax, the number one P2P lending platform in China, said the 3,000 P2P companies probably will be consolidated into 200-300 by this time next year, the Shanghai Daily reports.
90% of U.S. companies in China profitable
By : fcccadmin
Despite China’s economic slowdown and increasing competition from local companies, most U.S. businesses in China remain profitable and are optimistic about the market, according to the latest survey by the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC). The 2016 China Business Environment report found that 90% of companies remained profitable, but at lower margins that reflected increasing competition, rising costs, regulatory hurdles, and in some sectors, overcapacity. The 90% profitability level is the second highest in the last five years, surpassed only by the 91% in 2013. About 30% of the companies expected increased profitability in the current year, while 35% expected the same as the previous year. The remaining 35% expected profitability to fall. The report found that some 62% of the surveyed companies anticipated continued growth this year, 21% expected no change, and 17% expected a revenue decline. It found that 65% of companies surveyed reported revenue increases in 2015, while 10% saw no change, and 26% saw sales fall. About 36% of the companies expected their head count to increase this year, while 44% expected no change. On the five-year outlook for business in China, optimism prevails. The findings were that 72% of companies were optimistic or somewhat optimistic, while only 10% were pessimistic or somewhat pessimistic, the China Daily reports.
High-level conference on health promises progress
By : fcccadmin
The highest-profile national health conference in two decades was held on August 19-20, attended by President Xi Jinping and colleagues from the Communist Party Politburo, the National Peoples’ Congress (NPC) and the Procuratorate. It marks an important milestone in the protection of the people’s health. The health system has been criticized as inaccessible and unaffordable for vast numbers of people. President Xi Jinping called for full protection of the public’s health and underlined the need to make public health a central part of the country’s development strategy. Not addressing critical health issues risked undermining economic development and social stability, Xi said. Eric Chong, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Asclepius Hospital Management, said he expected Xi would shift the focus of medical reform from treating illnesses to preventing them. Also, most patients still headed to big hospitals in cities because of the lack of confidence in local facilities. China needs to redistribute medical resources so more more patients can be treated at a local level.
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