The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and the Province of East-Flanders are organizing a seminar focusing on ‘An Update on the Economic & Financial Landscape and the Internationalization of the RMB’. This seminar will take place from 12h00 to 14h00 on 14 February 2017 at het Provinciehuis, Gouvernementstraat 1, 9000 Ghent.

Speakers: Jason Lee, General Manager KBC Bank NV Shanghai Branch
Bernard Van Hees, General Manager KBC Bank NV Hong Kong Branch

In the recent months, the growth of the Chinese economy appears to have stabilized, albeit that growth is not even across all sectors. Jason Lee will provide his views regarding the outlook for the China economy and how various sectors are affected differently. He will also provide an update of the financial landscape and the related impact for foreign companies active in China. To conclude, Bernard Van Hees will provide an update on the internationalization of the RMB and the related opportunities or threats.
Programme:

12h00     Registration & Sandwich lunch
12h30     Welcome by Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce

12h35     Update on the Economic & Financial Landscape and the Internationalization of the RMB by:
Mr Jason Lee, General Manager KBC Bank BV Shanghai Branch
Mr Bernard Van Hees, General Manager KBC Bank NV Hong Kong Branch
Followed by question and answer session
14h00     End of seminar

If you are interested in attending this seminar, we kindly invite you to sign up here.

Participation fee (incl. 21% VAT):
Members: 66,55 €
Non-members: 90,75 €

Hainan Airlines has climbed two notches to reach third place in a global airline safety rating list, the best-ever ranking for a mainland China-based airline, according to a report by the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Center (JACDEC), a German airline safety institute. The JACDEC report reviewed the performance of more than 60 leading airlines in 2016. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific ranked No 1 in this year’s assessment. The safety index is based on airlines’ annual revenue, passenger kilometers, International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit membership, and the transparency of its controlling aircraft accident investigation authority. Depending on the age of the airline, the data can reach up to 30 years into the past. Hainan Airlines made the list’s top 10 for a fifth consecutive year. Established in 1993, the airline has been expanding rapidly, now operating 180 aircraft and 700 international and domestic air routes that connect with more than 100 cities. The airline has logged 5 million hours of safe flights and has operated for 23 years without incident. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has also honored the airline with its Five-Star Flight Safety Award. “Safety is the most important factor for the aviation industry,” said Wei Changrong, Safety Director of Hainan Airlines, as reported by the China Daily.

According to analysts, it will be quite some time before a genuine rival to Tesla, the American electric vehicle market leader, emerges in China. “It’s too early to say if Chinese electric vehicle makers can challenge Tesla, I don’t even see their cars on the roads and don’t know their prices. I am skeptical about how many of them can survive and move onto mass production,” said Yale Zhang, Managing Director at consultancy Automotive Foresight. “They are keen to be labelled as Tesla challengers as they need brand awareness, but they can’t compare with Tesla in the fields of brand recognition or consumers craze, and that’s partly down to Elon Musk’s halo effect.” John Zeng, Managing Director of consultancy LMC Automotive, said even the best known Chinese electric vehicle makers, like BYD, are a long way off posing a serious threat to Tesla. Many of the Chinese electric car start-ups are currently only at the concept or prototype phase, aiming to draw investors’ attention and raise funds, Zeng said. “There is still a long way to go before any of them can mass produce their vehicles,” he added.

Premier Li Keqiang attended a gathering in Beijing of foreign experts working in China one week ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Li expressed China’s strong hope to “fully tap into the wisdom and creativity of every individual” to nurture new dynamism to propel economic growth, upgrade traditional industries and boost the transformation and upgrading of China’s economy. Sir James Fraser Stoddart, the Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for 2016, who now works at Tianjin University, suggested that China establish a long-term program to support creative young researchers and their teams. Foreign experts make more than 600,000 visits to China each year, according to Zhang Jianguo, Director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs. Denis Depoux, Asia Vice President of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, said China has become an innovation powerhouse, as a growing domestic market and middle class are fueling “incredible creativity and business model ingenuity”.

After having welcomed 57 member countries, the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) would still welcome the U.S. to join its ranks, the bank’s President Jin Liqun has said. Approximately 30 economies are waiting to join, Jin added. The lender, with USD100 billion of pledged capital, backed nine projects in seven countries last year. The bank lent USD1.73 billion in 2016, exceeding an earlier target of USD1.2 billion. Jin said 75% of the bank’s projects so far are proposed and co-financed with existing lenders, including the Washington-based World Bank, Manila-based ADB and London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).