Asia-Business

News from China

Singapore's business mission to explore opportunities in China

15th April 2016

Singapore Business Federation (SBF) and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore will jointly lead a delegation of 29 companies to explore business opportunities in China's Chongqing from Friday to Sunday, said SBF and IE Singapore in a joint press release on Thursday.

This is the largest Singapore business delegation to visit the Chinese municipality since the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative (CCI) was launched in November 2015, according to the joint release.

The Singapore delegation comprises almost 50 senior representatives of companies from the financial services, aviation, transport and logistics, as well as information and communications technology (ICT) sectors, which are the focus sectors for the CCI.

Also on the trip are the Industry Advisors to the CCI, who will lend their corporate and professional industry expertise to the project.

During the three-day mission, the Singapore delegation will meet local government officials and enterprises, develop a better understanding of Chongqing's business environment, as well as gain insights to the CCI. The delegation will also attend the "Chongqing Connectivity Initiative Seminar" on Saturday.

CEO of IE Singapore Lee Ark Boon said China's West is now among the top investment destinations for Singapore companies. The CCI will further strengthen business ties between Singapore and China's Chongqing.

"The launch of daily flights will see more travels between Singapore and Chongqing, while newly introduced cross-border RMB initiatives will result in increased transactions. Singapore companies can leverage the momentum generated by the CCI to seize new opportunities in this region to meet potential partners and explore business collaborations." Lee added.

SBF Chairman and CCI Industry Advisor Teo Siong Seng also noted that the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative will further enhance collaboration between Singapore and China, bringing opportunities and investments that will benefit both countries.

In recent years, there has been strong economic cooperation and investment interest from Singapore companies in China's West. The CCI is the third Government-to-Government project between Singapore and China, which is focused on the western region of China, also propels the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the Chongqing Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Commission, by the end of 2015, there were 245 projects, accumulating to a total investment value of 5.68 billion U.S. dollars in Chongqing. Singapore also became Chongqing's largest source of foreign direct investment.

Source: Xinhua

China central bank pumps more funds into financial system

14th April 2016

The central bank on Wednesday pumped 285.5 billion yuan (about 44 billion U.S. dollars) into the financial system in open market operations via medium-term lending facility (MLF).

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said the operations were aimed at maintaining liquidity in the financial system at a "reasonably abundant" level.

The MLF is a tool introduced in 2014 to help commercial and policy banks maintain liquidity by allowing them to borrow from the central bank by using securities as collateral.

The fresh funds were injected into 17 financial institutions, according to the PBOC.

Among the new funds, 127 billion yuan is for 3 months, and 158.5 billion yuan is for 6 months, at interest rates of 2.75 percent and 2.85 percent.

The interest rates were left unchanged to "guide financial institutions to boost support for key areas and vulnerable links of the national economy," the central bank said.

To bolster the lukewarm economy, China has adopted a more pro-growth policy stance, cutting benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) multiple times since 2014.

At a press briefing last month, a central bank spokesperson described its monetary policies as "prudent with a slight easing bias."

The Chinese economy posted its lowest annual expansion in a quarter of a century at 6.9 percent in 2015, and the National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release data for the first quarter this year on Friday.

Source: Xinhua

Top legislator stresses enforcement of food safety law

13th April 2016

Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, presides over a plenary session of the inspection group for the enforcement of the food safety law in Beijing, capital of China, April 12, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiang has urged government organs and the food industry to fully enforce and obey the country's food safety law prior to a law enforcement inspection.

Zhang made the remarks Tuesday while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on the upcoming enforcement inspection for the food safety law.

Noting that China's food safety situation is still "grave," Zhang stressed the role of both Party and government organs in coordinating efforts in law enforcement and supervision so as to effectively eliminate anomalies in the food industry.

A major revision to the food safety law was adopted in April 2015 that saw articles increased from 105 to 154, imposing heavier civil, administrative and criminal penalties for offenders and their supervisors. It came into effect on Oct. 1.

According to Zhang, law enforcement inspection is a crucial form of NPC's supervision that helps ensure full functioning of a law.

This inspection will see five groups sent to ten provincial-level regions, while 21 provincial-level people's congresses will carry out inspections within their own jurisdictions.

Source: Xinhua

World Bank projects China's economy to grow 6.7 pct this year

12th April 2016

The World Bank expects the Chinese economy to slow to 6.7 percent in 2016, the bank said in a report on Monday.

The projection is on par with its last estimate in January. The bank has kept its projection for 2017 at 6.5 percent.

"China's orderly transition to slower but more sustainable growth has continued despite some volatility in financial markets," according to the East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, which is published by the bank twice a year.

The growth deceleration was especially pronounced in the real estate and manufacturing sectors. Excess capacity has been a drag on a wide range of industries, while service sector remains robust, the report noted.

Despite slower GDP growth, the urban job creation exceeded the annual target in 2015 and the household disposable income grew faster than GDP growth.

"The overall capacity of China's economy to create jobs is extremely high," said Sudhir Shetty, Chief Economist of the World Bank's East Asia and Pacific Region at a video conference.

The bank warned that credit growth continues to outpace GDP growth and leverage is still building. Monetary and fiscal policy stances are expected to remain accommodative to limit risks of a rapid growth slowdown that could trigger disorderly adjustments in accumulated imbalances.

The bank also expects growth in East Asia to ease from 6.5 percent in 2015 to 6.3 percent in 2016 and 6.2 percent from 2017 to 2018.

"Developing East Asia and Pacific continues to contribute strongly to global growth. The region accounted for almost two-fifths of global growth in 2015, more than twice the combined contribution of all other developing regions," said Victoria Kwakwa, incoming World Bank East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice President.

Source: Xinhua

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