Sixteen large state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have agreed to form an alliance that will develop and created standards for electric and hybrid vehicles. The plan was announced by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which oversees China’s 125 largest SOEs. SASAC said the alliance would have an initial budget of $200 million, but some [...]
Taiwan’s parliament has approved a trade pact with the mainland that will reduce tariffs on hundreds of products and deepen economic ties between the two sides. Even though opposition lawmakers argued against the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) – claiming that it will take away local low-income jobs and that it supports Beijing’s political aim [...]
China’s holdings of South Korean debt have more than doubled this year as Beijing continues to diversify away from the US dollar. Korean Treasury bonds held by Chinese investors rose 111% to $3.4 billion in the first half, according to Seoul-based Financial Supervisory Service. The spike in demand has led to the longest rally in [...]
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has launched a pilot project to allow more foreign participation in the country’s largely closed domestic interbank bond market. Foreign central banks, lenders in Hong Kong and Macau that already conduct renminbi clearing and overseas banks that participate in the cross-border trade settlement scheme will be permitted to trade [...]
China’s property prices rose year-on-year in July for the 14th consecutive month, but remained unchanged from the previous month. Prices in 70 large and medium-sized cities rose 10.3% from the previous year, less than the 11.4% year-on-year rise in June, and the slowest rate in six months. The National Bureau of Statistics said real estate [...]
The world’s largest copper producer Codelco said it expected China’s copper demand to slow in the second half as Beijing’s efforts to control inflation and curb lending take effect. Diego Hernandez, the chief executive of the Chilean miner said that copper prices would fluctuate around current levels. Demand for copper has been affected particularly by [...]
China’s banking regulator said Thursday that the stress tests it required for Chinese banks’ property credit do not reflect the government’s assessment of market trends or potential loan policy changes. The comments were intended to ease worries after property and bank shares dropped on news that lenders were testing the possible impact of a plunge [...]
Beijing and Seoul are likely to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement in 2011, a move that will help reshape East Asian trade, according to an interview with South Korea’s ambassador to China Yu Woo-ik. The two countries have been conducting a four-year feasibility study among governments, industrial associations and academies. The free trade [...]
Beijing’s policymakers have identified 1,457 unused plots of land, many which could be repossessed by the government, in a continued effort to crackdown on developers leaving sites idle for speculative land banking purposes. The Ministry of Land and Resources compiled a list of unused plots and the China Banking Regulatory Commission will conduct risk assessments [...]
Washington has told China to stop exploiting the UN sanctions regime against Iran by taking advantage of opportunities left by departing European companies. Iran is China’s third largest oil supplier, while Beijing invests heavily in the Islamic republic’s energy fields and refineries. Robert Einhorn, US special advisor for non-proliferation and arms control, said a priority of his [...]
