Guizhou province to become Big Data champion
May-29-2018 By : fcccadmin
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for enhanced international exchange and cooperation in the development of the Big Data industry in a congratulatory letter to the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2018 in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, which is vigorously promoting the big data industry. The rapid development of new-generation information technologies such as the internet, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) has a significant and far-reaching impact on social and economic development , state governance, social management, and people’s life in all countries, Xi said. He added that more communication and cooperation is needed in the big data sector to handle challenges such as data security and cyberspace governance.
China is implementing a national big data strategy centered on building the country’s strength in cyberspace and nurturing a digital China and smart society, which will aid the transition of the country’s economy from high-speed growth to high-quality development, President Xi said. China is expected to become the world’s largest data owner by 2020, accounting for 20% of global data. Information technologies are playing an increasingly important role in fueling economic growth. In 2017, China’s digital economy accounted for CNY27.2 trillion, or 32.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Lin Nianxiu, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said that China will boost the application of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
The latest 5G technology and the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the world’s largest radio telescope, were two of the highlights of the 2018 China International Big Data Expo in Guiyang. The global event exhibited 51 cutting-edge scientific and technological achievements and more than 1,000 cutting-edge products and technologies. Held for the fourth time since 2015, the expo attracted a record 47,000 representatives, including 536 overseas attendees from 28 countries and 388 big data companies. Guizhou Huaxintong Semiconductor Technology Co, a joint venture between Qualcomm and the Guizhou provincial government, exhibited the first-generation server chip, built using an advanced chip manufacturing process with an accuracy of 10 nanometers.
Guizhou is constructing a national big data demonstration center in Guiyang and the inauguration ceremony of the Apple iCloud China (Gui’an) Data Center Project was held in the Guian New Area last week. Apple will invest USD1 billion in the project, the China Daily reports. Guizhou has more than 8,900 big data enterprises with a total output value exceeding CNY110 billion and announced 100 key investment projects in the sector.
China draws up five-year plan for the financial sector
By : fcccadmin
China has mapped out a national financial development plan, setting the goal of building a modern financial system by 2020 and preventing systemic risks. The plan was jointly drawn up by nine ministry-level bodies led by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank. The release of the five-year development plan (2016-20) for the financial sector has been delayed by almost two years, due to the restructuring of the nation’s top financial regulatory framework and the fast-changing global financial environment. Compared with the draft version proposed in August 2016, specific sections on further financial opening-up measures were added in the final version.
The plan also clarifies the duty of the Financial Stability and Development Committee under the State Council, which was launched last November. Monetary policy targets will be further optimized, with more emphasis to be put on maintaining price stability The interest rate will gradually replace M2, the broad measure of money supply, as the key factor for monetary policy implementation. The newly-established Committee will supervise financial regulatory departments as well as local governments, which will be held accountable for financial risks. The regulation of “shadow banking” business will be strengthened through greater supervision and wider coverage of the regulation, while irregular financial activities such as illegal fundraising will be combated, media reports said. Prevention of financial risks will continue to be the policy priority in the coming years.
Chen Wenhui, Vice Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), said at a forum at Tsinghua University that China is stepping up efforts to roll out detailed opening-up measures, including easing restrictions on foreign investment and expanding the business scope of foreign-funded banks. Zhu Min, former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that “a modern supervision and regulation system can only be established with an open market”, the China Daily reports.
An example of the opening of the financial sector is the green light given to S&P Global to set up a ratings business in China, a market closed to foreign players for two decades. So far, foreign rating agencies have had to work with a Chinese partner, and S&P had a partnership with Shanghai Brilliance Credit Rating & Investors Service Co. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, on a visit to Beijing last week, said she welcomed recent announcements that China would further open its financial sector to foreign participation, adding that she hoped “concrete progress” could be made on an investment treaty between China and the EU to show both sides’ commitment to free trade.
Foreign investment in China-listed stocks is also expected to rise in the near future. For years, foreign ownership of China’s A shares, or renminbi-denominated equities traded on the stock exchanges in the Chinese mainland, has been static around 2% or less, despite the fact that China’s stock market, whose capitalization is over USD8.5 trillion, is the world’s second largest. Foreign participation was also minimal in the Chinese bond market, the world’s third-largest valued at USD8 trillion as of April. But this will change as Chinese stocks and bonds are poised to be included in major global indices and Chinese regulators intend to further open up the markets by loosening controls on two-way capital flows.
China to cut tariffs on cars and car parts from July 1
By : fcccadmin
China will cut import tariffs on cars and auto parts from July 1, the Ministry of Finance announced. Import tariffs will be cut to 15% from 20% to 25% for most vehicles. Import tariffs on auto parts would be cut to 6% from 8% to 25%. “Lowering auto import tariffs is a major step for China to further expand its reform and opening-up,” the Ministry said. After the reduction, the average tariff rates for vehicles and auto parts will be 13.8% and 6%, respectively. The latest move will boost foreign car manufacturers, especially those companies which import premium and high-end vehicles to China.
Luxury carmaker BMW said the company “highly welcomes the government’s announcement.” Volkswagen’s luxury subsidiary Porsche told Shanghai Daily: “We believe it shows the world a more open Chinese market. More importantly, Chinese customers will have the chance to enjoy an more optimized price and pursue more personalized options when buying a car,” the German carmaker said. Porsche said it has already started the evaluation process for the necessary price adjustment based on the new tariff policy. Japan’s Toyota said it would adjust retail prices for imported cars that benefited from the lower tariffs.
This year, China will also ease restrictions on shares that foreign automakers can own in joint ventures of new-energy and special-purpose vehicle firms. In 2020, the country will relax foreign ownership limits in joint ventures that produce commercial vehicles. In 2022, China will scrap rules that limit foreign automakers to no more than two joint ventures with Chinese partners.
Last year, China imported 1.22 million vehicles, some 4.2% of total sales. Most of the imports were from the United States, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.
China’s move to reduce tariffs on imported cars to 15% makes little difference to U.S carmakers. Traditional Detroit brands such as Chevrolet collectively exported fewer than 100,000 vehicles to China last year. The 25% tariff that carmakers faced for years led them to open plants with partners in the country to avoid import taxes altogether. “I don’t think it changes much,” Kevin Tynan, Car Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, said. “The companies are already established in terms of manufacturing and dealer networks. And 15% is still a significant tariff.” Ford did the most exporting among U.S. carmakers by shipping almost 74,000 cars to China last year, mostly for its premium brand Lincoln. But Toyota Motor and BMW both imported almost three times more, while General Motors imported fewer than 2,600 vehicles last year. The impact of the tariff reductions will therefore be different for each carmaker. Tesla will benefit because China’s government provides incentives to new-energy vehicle buyers, and the electric-car maker relied entirely on imports for the more than USD2 billion in sales it generated in the country last year.
The U.S. on the other hand is contemplating imposing new tariffs on car imports after the Trump administration has initiated a national security investigation into car and truck imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The inquiry will determine whether vehicle and parts imports were threatening the domestic industry’s health and ability to research and develop new, advanced technologies. “There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, promising a “thorough, fair and transparent investigation”. Roughly one-third of all U.S. vehicle imports last year were from Asia. Roughly 12 million cars and trucks were produced in the United States last year, while the country imported 8.3 million vehicles worth USD192 billion. The United States exported nearly 2 million vehicles worldwide worth USD57 billion.
China and U.S. discuss settlement over ZTE ban
By : fcccadmin
China and the U.S. are discussing the “broad outline” of a settlement to the seven-year ban on ZTE buying American technology, ending a punishment that threatened to put the company out of business. The details are still being worked out but would include major changes to management, the board of directors and potentially significant fines, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate Banking Committee however, overwhelmingly supported an amendment to block the removal of penalties on ZTE unless President Trump certifies to Congress that ZTE was complying with U.S. law. Trump said he would “envision” a revised penalty for the company including a requirement that it appoint a new board of directors and a “very large fine” of perhaps USD1.3 billion.
ZTE has been forced to halt major operations after the U.S. slapped a ban on the company for violating a settlement on breaching sanctions and then lying about it. While ZTE was being punished over the sales to Iran, the ban has become entwined in the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The Shenzhen-based company, which employs about 75,000 people, depends on U.S. components, such as chips from Qualcomm, to build its smartphones.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the White House was considering options other than placing crippling penalties on ZTE after the House of Representatives passed a bill to punish the company in the new annual defense policy bill. The U.S. is considering a plan to require compliance officers to be installed at ZTE, who would “report back to the Department of Commerce. The bill must still be passed by the Senate and signed by U.S. President Donald Trump before coming into force.
U.S. President Donald Trump also claimed that China agreed to buy “massive amounts” of American agricultural products – “practically as much as our farmers can produce” – as well as reducing trade barriers and tariffs, but details of the agreement are still murky. China confirmed it had agreed to “substantially reduce” America’s trade deficit but denied the reduction would be by USD200 billion. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is continuing negotiations this week in Beijing. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said the biggest outcome of the talks was that the two sides had reached a consensus not to start a trade war. But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. expected American agricultural exports to China to rise by between 35% and 40% this year and energy purchases to double over the next three to five years.
Another robust year ahead for mergers and acquisitions by Chinese businesses
By : fcccadmin
Chinese mergers and acquisitions activity is expected to have another “robust” year in 2018, according to a report by global accounting firm EY. Trade tensions have failed to hold back companies from pursuing their “go global” ambitions and M&A activity by private equity firms. Chinese companies are more optimistic about economic and market conditions, and expect the M&A market to remain upbeat, EY said in its latest “Capital Confidence Barometer”, a global survey of more than 2,500 senior executives in 43 countries conducted twice a year since 2009. For the first time, 99% of Chinese respondents said they saw an improving or stable economy, at home and abroad.
“We do not see rising protectionist action by governments as having a major impact on M&A activity, as executives understand that dealing in a globalized market is necessary,” said Bernard Poon, Managing Partner of Transaction Advisory Services at EY in Hong Kong and Macao. The survey was conducted in March and April, at a time when there were signs of a full-blown trade war between China and the United States.
About 40% of respondents said changes in trade policy and protectionism were near-term threats to business growth. However, Chinese businesses still ranked portfolio transformation at the top of their agenda. A majority of Chinese companies said they had confidence in the M&A market, on the back of a record first quarter of deal making in 2018.
Mainland China and Hong Kong reported a 32.8% fall in outbound M&As from a historical high of USD204.2 billion in 2016 to USD137.1 billion in 2017, according to a report by Mergermarket. “Current M&A activities are no longer dominated by corporate acquirers, but private equity, which has rebounded since 2017,” said Erica Su, Managing Partner at EY Transaction Advisory Services in Greater China, the South China Morning Post reports.
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