Category Archives: Business

business news from China, Sweden and the world.

Business, China, News

China creates leading group for enhancing manufacturing prowess

Leave a comment

China creates leading group for enhancing manufacturing prowess

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) — The State Council, China’s cabinet, will set up a leading group for its ambitious plan to enhance manufacturing prowess and change the reputation of “Made in China” goods.

The group, led by vice premier Ma Kai, will coordinate, deliberate and implement plans for becoming a world manufacturing power, according to a statement published on the government website.

The group will be headquartered in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the statement said.

The decision came a month after the release of the “Made in China 2025” plan, which aims to transform China from a manufacturing giant into a world manufacturing power.

The plan lays out strategies for upgrading from low-end manufacturing to more value-added and tech-intensive production, and encourages domestic manufacturers to achieve technological breakthroughs across a number of emerging industries from numerical control tools and robotics to aerospace equipment and new energy vehicles.

Nine tasks have been identified as priorities: improving manufacturing innovation, integrating technology and industry, strengthening the industrial base, fostering Chinese brands, enforcing green manufacturing, promoting breakthroughs in 10 key sectors, advancing restructuring of the manufacturing sector, promoting service-oriented manufacturing and manufacturing-related service industries, and internationalizing manufacturing. Enditem

 

 

Business, China, culture, Environment, News, World News

Jiangxi’s Vice Governor Zhu Hong attends tourism promotion fair in Stockholm

Leave a comment

By Xuefei Chen Axelsson

STOCKHOLM, June 25(Greenpost)–Vice Governor Zhu Hong of Jiangxi Provice, East China has attended the tourism promotion fair in Brommavik Hotel in Stockholm.

IMG_7667

 

(Front left, Mr Liu Shaohui, manager of Brommavik Hotel and President of Stockholm Chinese Association, right, Magnus Gustafsson from Karmmar, behind standing: Zhu Hong, Vice governor of Jiangxi Province)

He spoke at the meeting about Jiangxi’s beautiful scenery.

“Jiangxi’s scenery is very special because it has many special mountains and rivers. The landscape is really spectacular.” said Zhu Hong.

The famous revolutionary site Jinggangshan mountain is one of them. The Lushan Mountain is also a famous conference resort. Chairman Mao used to have meeting there.

The Tengwang Pavillion is another famous tourist site even famous since Tang Dynasty when famous poet Wang Bo wrote his famous prose  the Preface of Tengwang Pavillion.

IMG_7719

(Right, Wang Jianrong exhibits Dala Horse to Zhu Hong, middle.)

Wang Jianrong, President of Swedish Chinese Federation of Industry and Commerce expressed welcome to Zhu Hong.

IMG_7694

 

(Left: Guo Yanhang talks with Zhu Hong.    Photo by Xuefei Chen Axelsson)

Guo Yanhang, couselor at the Chinese Embassy in Sweden also spoke at the fair.

“I think talking about Jiangxi, man cannot help thinking of Jingdezhen town where famous China came from. Jiangxi is China’s name card due to its fine china. I used to visit Jiangxi and it was really beautiful and impressed me so much.” Guo said.

IMG_7767

IMG_7712

IMG_7709During the meeting, the two sides signed a couple of agreements for future cooperation.

About 40 people from various Chinese associations or companies including China-Europe Cultural Association and Green Post attended the meeting.

Business, China, culture, Environment, News, World News

WSSCC supports hygiene, health and well-being in China

Leave a comment

Stockholm, June 25(Greenpost)– WSSCC, a UN organization for water and sanitation has stretched its hand to help Chinese women to pay attention to hygiene and health during their menstrual period.From left to right: Archana Patkar, WSSCC Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management; Ulf Söderström, President SCA Asia Pacific; Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President Sustainability, SCA; and Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director, Vinda International. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Some 76% of Chinese women are uncomfortable in a social setting — a dinner with friends or family, for example – while having their period, participants learned today at a special seminar hosted by the global hygiene company SCA and its affiliate Vinda International together with WSSCC.

The seminar, “Hygiene Matters 2014” focused on the findings of a recent survey of the same name and assembled 30 people, including representatives of elderly welfare associations in seven Chinese cities, to the SCA Pavilion in Sanya. The pavilion is hosting a range of events during the two-week stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race in this southern coastal city.

Archana Patkar, WSSCC Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management, discussed the links between hygiene, aging and disability at the Hygiene Matters Workshop in the SCA Pavilion. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

WSSCC’s Archana Patkar, Programme Manager for Networking and Knowledge Management, was one of three keynote speakers at the event. She joined Ulf Söderström, President SCA Asia Pacific; Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President Sustainability, SCA; and Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director, Vinda International.

Ms. Patkar discussed the links between hygiene, aging and disability. She noted that for men, and particularly for women, there are distinct hygiene-related needs that coincide with the human lifecycle, from birth to old age and including periods of disability, both physical or mental, that most people eventually encounter.

“We must unlock dignity for all people in all the stages of their lives,” said Ms. Patkar. “For women and for men, this means not being afraid to talk about issues linked to childbirth, puberty, menstruation, menopause and old age, including incontinence.” Do public facilities, for example, consider lifecycle differences, she asked, such as lower wash basins which can be reached by wheelchair-bound people?

Kersti Strandqvist, Senior Vice President for Sustainability at SCA, presented results emanating from the 13-country Hygiene Matters Consumer Survey conducted in 2014. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Ms. Strandkvist and Mr. Söderström gave global and Chinese results emanating from the 13-country Hygiene Matters Consumer Survey 2014. The survey is designed to glean insights which can be used to raise awareness among decision makers, experts and the general public on hygiene and health, as well as improve the quality of the company’s products, 80% of whom are women.

Ulf Söderström, President of SCA Asia Pacific, revealed that personal hygiene, according to one of many survey responses, was the greatest worry of growing old in China. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

In China, personal hygiene, according to one of many survey responses, was the greatest worry of growing old – with issues such as elderly incontinence ranking higher than sickness, Mr. Söderström said.

“Compared to other surveyed countries, Chinese people are quite worried of becoming ill due to poor hygiene – more than half of the respondents worry often or always. In China, SCA and Vinda aim to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere by providing innovative solutions to the market that improve the quality of life for millions of people; from developing professional nursing services to championing elderly education and providing assisted living expertise,” said Mr. Söderström during the presentation of the local survey results.

There are also economic impacts, Ms. Strandkvist revealed. As people live and work longer, untreated incontinence reduces quality of life and causes enormous costs to society by reducing working people’s productivity an average of 12.6 days per year. In addition to this, caregiving relatives lose in average 3.7 hours work per week while attending to their relative. In just Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong, this value loss is estimated at USD 1.7 billion in 2014.

Whether the issue is incontinence or menstrual hygiene, Ms. Yu said the aim for SCA and Vinda International is to “raise awareness about the connection between hygiene, health and well-being, and to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere.”

Cynthia Yu, Marketing Associate Director at Vinda International, underlined the organisation's aim to raise awareness about the connection between hygiene, health and well-being, and to strengthen the possibility of improved hygiene for people everywhere. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

Since November 2014, SCA, a leading global hygiene and forest products company, and WSSCC have teamed up in an innovative public-private partnership to break the silence around menstruation for women and girls around the world. In connection with the all-female Team SCA’s participation in the around-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, WSSCC and SCA (a member of the UN Global Compact) are campaigning for greater attention to the issue, as well as hosting educational and training events designed to leave practical skills in the stopover sites.

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, WSSCC, SCA, Vinda International and the Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government will conduct a menstrual hygiene teacher training, as well as an educational workshop with school girls in the capital city of Haikou. Photo credit: Ana Caroline de Lima

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the two partners together with Vinda International and the Office of Women and Children Affairs of Hainan Provincial Government will conduct menstrual hygiene teacher training, as well as an educational workshop with school girls in the capital city of Haikou. Similar activities took place last November with The Volunteer Centre, a local NGO, in Cape Town, South Africa, for young girls from local townships.

At any given moment, 800 million women around the world are menstruating, and in many countries, millions of them are left to manage their periods with unhygienic solutions such as cloth, paper or clay, and without access to private toilets, water or soap. Sanitary products like pads are unaffordable or unavailable, and urinary or reproductive tract infections are common. As a result, girls miss valuable days in school, and women are unable to work, stifling productivity and advancement.

Source  WSSCC website

Editor Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, News, World News

H & M Six-month report shows increases

Leave a comment

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Six-month report

STOCKHOLM, June 25(Greenpost) Due to well-received collections for all brands in the H&M group, the H&M group’s sales excluding VAT increased by 23 percent to SEK 86,143 m (69,970) during the first six months of the financial year. In local currencies the increase was 12 percent.
Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 13,158 m (11,129), an increase of 18 percent. The group’s profit after tax increased to SEK 10,066 m (8,458), corresponding to SEK 6.08 (5.11) per share, an increase of 19 percent.

Sales in the period 1 June – 23 June 2015 increased by 14 percent in local currencies compared to the same period last year.

H&M’s first store in Macau was very well received on its opening in June.The H&M group plans a net addition of around 400 new stores for the financial year 2014/2015. In total, H&M will expand its retail stores into five new markets in 2015, Taiwan, Peru, Macau, South Africa and India.

Starting from July 2015, H&M Beauty will gradually be launched in 900 H&M stores in 40 markets as well as online.

“The strong sales development has continued for all our brands with a sales increase in SEK of 23 percent excluding VAT during the first half-year. Including VAT, this means that sales in the first half amounted to more than SEK 100 billion, ” said CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

Profits have also developed well in the first half-year, with an increase of 19 percent – this despite the fact that the increasingly strong US dollar has resulted in increased purchasing costs and that we have continued to increase our long-term investments compared to last year.

In March and April we also opened eight new H&M online markets – Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary and Belgium – which were all very well received. With the opening of H&M shop online in Switzerland in the autumn, H&M will have 22 online markets.

In parallel with our online expansion, we are continuing to open stores at a fast pace.

“We are aiming to open approximately 400 new stores net this year. We have had many successful openings so far this year. For example, the opening in Lima, Peru, is one of our strongest ever when it comes to sales. Other places where we have also had great store openings include New York’s Herald Square – we opened the group’s largest store in terms of floor space here in May – and Macau, where we opened in June. Later in the second half of the year we are looking forward to opening in two interesting and large markets – India and South Africa, where we will open in New Delhi and Cape Town.” he said.

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M’s business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories as well as H&M Home. The H&M group has more than 3,600 stores in 59 markets including franchise markets. In 2014, sales including VAT amounted to more than SEK 176.6 billion and the number of employees was more than 132,000. 

 

Business, News, World News

Svenska H&M Sexmånadersrapport visar ökning

Leave a comment

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Sexmånadersrapport

STOCKHOLM, den 25 Juni (Greenpost)–Svenska kläder jätten H&M ABs första sexmånadersrapport visade ökningar, enligt press medellande  från H&M.

H&M omsättning exklusive moms ökade med 23 procent till 86143 million SEK.

Resultatet efter finansiella poster uppgick till 13158 million SEK, en ökning med 18 procent.

Koncenens resultat efter skatt ökade till MSEK 10066, en ökning med 19 procent.

  • Försäljningen under perioden 1 juni – 23 juni 2015 ökade med 14 procent i lokala valutor jämfört med motsvarande period förra året.
  • H&M:s första butik i Macao fick ett mycket bra mottagande vid öppningen i juni. För räkenskapsåret 2014/2015 planerar H&M-koncernen ett nettotillskott om cirka 400 butiker. Sammanlagt tillkommer fem nya H&M-butiksmarknader under 2015: Taiwan, Peru, Macao, Sydafrika och Indien.
  • H&M Beauty lanseras succesivt i 900 H&M-butiker på 40 marknader samt online med start under juli 2015.

”Den starka försäljningsutvecklingen har fortsatt för alla våra varumärken med en försäljningsökning i SEK om 23 procent exklusive moms under första halvåret. Inklusive moms innebär det att försäljningen för första halvåret uppgick till drygt 100 miljarder SEK, kommentade  Karl-Johan Persson, vd

Vi har också haft en bra resultatutveckling under första halvåret, med en ökning om 19 procent. Detta trots att den allt starkare US-dollarn har gett ökade inköpskostnader och att vi fortsatt att öka våra långsiktiga satsningar jämfört med föregående år. Dessa långsiktiga satsningar kostar nu men vi ser dem som avgörande för att bygga ett ännu starkare H&M. Bland annat investerar vi mycket i att kunna vara en naturlig del i kundernas allt mer digitaliserade värld där gränsen mellan att handla online och i fysiska butiker blir allt mer flytande. Vårt mål är att ge kunderna en shoppingupplevelse där online och butikshandel är tätt sammanvävda, vilket stärker vårt kunderbjudande ytterligare.

Under mars och april har vi också öppnat åtta nya H&M-onlinemarknader; Polen, Portugal, Rumänien, Tjeckien, Bulgarien, Slovakien, Ungern och Belgien – vilka samtliga har fått ett mycket bra mottagande. Med öppningen av H&M shop online i Schweiz under hösten kommer H&M att ha 22 onlinemarknader.

Parallellt med vår online-expansion fortsätter vi att öppna butiker i snabb takt. Totalt sett siktar vi på att öppna cirka 400 nya butiker netto i år. Vi har haft många framgångsrika öppningar hittills i år. Till exempel är öppningen i Lima i Peru, en av våra försäljningsmässigt starkaste någonsin. Andra städer där vi också har fått fina mottaganden är i New York, där vi i maj öppnade koncernens till ytan största butik vid Herald Square samt i Macao som vi öppnade i juni. Vi ser nu fram emot att under senare delen av andra halvåret öppna på två intressanta och stora marknader – Indien och Sydafrika, där vi öppnar i New Delhi och i Kapstaden.

Så vi har en intensiv höst framför oss då vi även kommer att lansera vår senaste satsning H&M Beauty, som successivt rullas ut i 900 butiker på 40 marknader och online med start under juli. H&M Beauty erbjuder ett brett sortiment av make-up, hår- och kroppsprodukter – där även en premium-linje och en conscious-linje med Eco-certifierade hållbara produkter ingår. H&M Beauty är ett exempel i raden av satsningar som vi gör för att ytterligare bredda H&M:s produktutbud.

Vi har idag ett starkt kunderbjudande med alla våra varumärken; H&M, COS, & Other Stories, Weekday, Monki och Cheap Monday, som alla har sin egen identitet som kompletterar varandra väl. Detta gör att H&M-koncernen kan erbjuda många olika stilar och trender i olika prisklasser. Tillsammans delar våra varumärken passionen för mode och att erbjuda kunderna mode på ett hållbart sätt. Vårt hållbarhetsarbete är en mycket viktig del i vårt kunderbjudande och har så varit under många år. Eftersom hållbarhetsarbetet genuint genomsyrar vårt dagliga arbete och de beslut vi tar – är det naturligt att det nu också finns med i H&M:s affärsidé: mode och kvalitet till bästa pris på ett hållbart sätt.”

 

 

Business, China

Spotlight: China’s growth brings fresh opportunities for world economies

1 Comment
PETERSBURG, Russia, June 19 (Greenpost) — China’s economic growth will bring new development opportunities for the world, especially for cooperation in Euro-Asia regions, a Russian official said here Thursday.

Boris Titov, chairman of the Russian part of the China-Russia Friendship Committee for Peace and Development, said in an interview with Xinhua that “China’s economic momentum is unstoppable and its growth will bring fresh development opportunities for world economies including Russia.”

China has become the world’s second largest economy by nominal total gross domestic product (GDP), Titov noted, adding that the most prominent characteristic of China’s economic “new normal” is the transformation of its economic development mode.

Under the “new normal” status, the export-driven economy will now need to refocus on boosting domestic consumption, which will unleash the full potential of China’s economy.

However, Titov said, a substantial amount of Chinese investment will find its way to markets around the world as the country’s economy keeps growing.

China’s Silk Road Economic Belt initiative is conducive to the infrastructure development of the countries concerned in the Euro-Asia region, he said, adding that benefit-sharing is the most prominent characteristic of this strategy.

“The strategy will do nothing to harm the interests of the countries concerned. Instead, it will help these countries develop their own economies, and that is why the strategy gets very strong support from them,” Titov said.

As for bilateral cooperation, Titov said that energy is a key area of Russia-China economic cooperation, and the two countries’ cooperation in the area of small- and medium-sized businesses is also quite promising.

Titov said that a Russian-Chinese forum on small- and medium-sized businesses was successfully held in Beijing in April, adding that China’s economic growth will give impetus to the development of Russia’s small- and medium-sized businesses and will also help the country exit the recession at an earlier date.

According to official statistics, China’s investment in Russia has been growing steadily over the past few years. Chinese direct investment in Russia, including those via third countries, totaled 33 billion U.S. dollars by 2014.

At the 19th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which opened on Thursday, a group of Chinese and Russian companies officially signed a contract on jointly conducting the pre-construction survey and design of the Moscow-Kazan high-speed railway.

The 770-kilometer railway is a key infrastructure development project for Russia. It is estimated to cost more than 20 billion dollars. Upon completion in 2018, the rail link will dramatically reduce the travel time between Moscow and Kazan from 14 hours to three and a half hours. Moreover, it will become part of the planned Beijing-Moscow high-speed transport corridor.

Besides the high-speed railway, China and Russia are also working on such large-scale cooperation projects as cross-border natural gas pipelines, the development of large, wide-body airplanes and a development strategy for the Far East region.

Both China and Russia have injected more and more financial resources into these cooperation projects. The central banks of the two countries signed a currency swap agreement worth 150 billion RMB or 815 billion rubles (24 billion dollars) last October. The amount of RMB currency used in bilateral trade settlement at the Russian branch of Bank of China grew more than six times last year, according to branch chief Zhao Lianjie.

The National Development Bank of China, a state-owned bank for financing overseas investment by Chinese companies, has signed cooperation agreements with three major Russian banks in May to finance large-scale cooperation projects and the development of the Far East region.

China and Russia have also stepped up financial cooperation on such multilateral platforms as the Silk Road Fund and the Asia Infrastructure Development Bank.

Under the direct guidance of top leaders of both countries, investment and financial cooperation have become a new growth point for the China-Russia all-round strategic cooperation partnership. Two-way trade is expected to top 100 billion dollars this year after reaching an all-time high of 95.3 billion dollars in 2014.

Source   Xinhua

Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China

China Focus: Key China-U.S. dialogue set for next week

Leave a comment

China Focus: Key China-U.S. dialogue set for next week

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — High-ranking officials from China and the United States will meet next week in Washington D.C. to discuss issues ranging from security to the economy and people-to-people exchanges, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The two countries have decided that the seventh China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) and the sixth China-U.S. High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) will take place on June 23 and 24, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

The S&ED will be co-chaired by Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who will act as special representatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, who will act for U.S. President Barack Obama.

The CPE will be co-chaired by Vice Premier Liu Yandong and Kerry.

“China is ready to work with the United States to implement the consensus reached by their leaders, enhance strategic communication, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, properly handle differences, so as to push for new progress in the building of a new model of major power relationship,” said Lu.

The CPE will discuss cooperation in education, science and technology, culture, health, sports, women and youth, according to the spokesperson.

The S&ED and CPE, among more than 90 dialogue mechanisms between China and the United States, have become the most important regular platforms between the two countries, gathering dozens of influential officials in fields ranging from trade and finance to diplomacy and defense.

“The coming S&ED and CPE will help enhance mutual understanding and build trust, promote cooperation and make preparations for President Xi Jinping’s visit to the United States in September,” Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said on Friday.

Xi accepted U.S. President Barack Obama’s invitation for a state visit during a phone conversation in February.

It will be Xi’s first state visit to the United States since he became president in 2013.

“This year’s strategic dialogue will cover a wide range of topics,including bilateral, regional and global issues of common concern,” Zheng said.

Hot topics include climate change, China-U.S. interaction in the Asia-Pacific region, management of differences and sensitive issues, United Nations and multilateral issues, science and innovation, green ports and ships and the illegal trade in animals and plants.

Ahead of the strategic dialogue, Chinese and U.S. representatives of the military and related departments will meet to discuss security, Zheng said.

“The major task for the economic dialogue is to reach agreement on economic issues and create a good environment for the presidential summit in September,” China’s vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao said.

At the economic dialogue, officials will have in-depth discussions on macro-economic policy and restructuring, promoting trade and investment and stabilizing and reforming the financial market, according to Zhu.

As the world’s two largest economies, the United States and China are increasingly economically interdependent, with their trade volume hitting 550 billion U.S. dollars last year.

U.S. investment in China has amounted to nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars, while Chinese investment in the United States has also grown, official data indicates.

“Increasing China-U.S. economic cooperation is not only in tune with the requirements of the two peoples, but also a reflection of two countries’ efforts to shoulder their responsibilities as world powers,” Zhu said.

The fact that the CPE and S&ED are being jointly held in the United States for the first time this year shows the seriousness in which the two sides are aiming to build their new-model relationship, according to Chinese Vice Minister of Education Liu Limin.

He said people-to-people exchanges are irreplaceable and he is looking forward to the upcoming consultation.

A range of China-U.S. events will take place in America during the Chinese leaders’ time there.

Liu Yandong will address a forum for university presidents of the two countries. Twenty-six Chinese university chiefs and 23 from the United States are scheduled to attend.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and also victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Chinese Embassy to the United States will hold a joint exhibition to commemorate cooperation between China and the United States in World War II, Liu Limin said.

Liu Yandong will deliver a speech at a dialogue with female leaders from the two countries.

She will attend a seminar aiming to help African countries improve their healthcare systems and the opening ceremony of a competition for young technology enthusiasts.

According to Liu Limin, one of the achievements of the CPE is expected to be a plan for China to invite 100 American youth leaders to visit China for a study tour in the coming five years.

The coming activity will follow a U.S. visit by Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, earlier this month. Fan said during the trip that the the two nations “should take the higher ground to look into the future and gain perspective on regional and international issues”.

His U.S. meetings saw discussion of a “mutual trust mechanism” covering encounters in the air, building on such mechanisms for land-based and maritime encounters, Zheng said.

The main goal of Fan’s visit was to create “a positive atmosphere” for Xi’s September U.S. visit, according to Guan Youfei, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the National Defense Ministry. Enditem

Source   Xinhua

Editor    Xuefei Chen Axelsson

 

Business, China, News, World News

China relaxes e-commerce investor rules for foreigners

Leave a comment

China relaxes e-commerce investor rules for foreigners

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — China has decided to give foreign investors greater freedom in the booming e-commerce industry by allowing them to fully own e-commerce companies in the country, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced Friday.

The MIIT said in a brief statement that it would open up the online data processing and transaction processing businesses to foreign investors.

The new policy will enable more foreign companies to compete with local firms, thereby driving the sector to higher standards, the MIIT said.

The move is an expansion of a pilot scheme launched in January in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

Currently, China’s lucrative e-commerce business is dominated by big homegrown firms. The e-commerce market hit 13.4 trillion yuan (2.2 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014, and China is aiming to almost double the value of the sector in two years. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor    Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, News

China allows foreign equities to have 100pct stake in online data processing and transaction processing biz

Leave a comment

China allows foreign equities to have 100pct stake in online data processing and transaction processing biz

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a circular on Friday that foreign equities could have 100 percent stake in the country’s online data processing and transaction processing business (operating e-commerce).

The move signals that the Chinese government has gradually lifted its restrictions on foreign equities’ access to the e-commerce sector, which can help create a competitive environment for the business and promote its development.

Online data processing and transaction processing business is one of the value-added telecom businesses, which need a business license granted by the government.

In January 2015, MIIT decided to allow foreign equities to have 100 percent stake in the online data processing and transaction processing business in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ). (Edited by Zhang Yuan, zhangyuan11@xinhua.org)

 

Source  Xinhua

Editor   Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, Indepth, News, World News

China Focus: Chinese shares in biggest weekly drop since 2008

Leave a comment

China Focus: Chinese shares in biggest weekly drop since 2008

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — Chinese shares plummeted on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 6.42 percent to finish at 4,478.36 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index lost 6.03 percent to close at 15,725.47 points.

The major Shanghai index dived by 13 percent from the previous week, in the biggest weekly drop in seven years. Nearly one thousand shares on the two bourses slumped by the daily limit of 10 percent.

During Friday’s trading, losers outnumbered winners by 903 to 25 in Shanghai, and by 1,295 to 96 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover for the two bourses shrank to 1.29 trillion yuan (210.23 billion U.S. dollars) from Thursday’s 1.5 trillion yuan.

Stocks relating to nuclear power, transportation, medical care, online education, mobile games and reform of state-owned enterprises were the biggest losers.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Company dived by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 17.77 yuan per share. Shanghai Electric Group Company lost 9.98 percent to end at 17.23 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, dived 5.41 percent to end at 3,314.98 points.

Analysts attributed the plunge mainly to four factors. Firstly, new listings of stocks, especially large-cap shares have kept drawing money away from the market.

On Thursday, Chinese securities trader Guotai Junan Securities Co., Ltd. became the largest domestic IPO in nearly five years after launching on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company will sell up to 30.1 billion yuan (4.92 billion U.S. dollars) at 19.71 yuan per share, according to its IPO prospectus filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Secondly, market regulator the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) last week banned illicit loans for stock purchases, and announced that margin trading outside the brokerage system would be strictly punished. It is estimated that the move will prevent around 500 billion yuan from entering the market.

Thirdly, companies need to settle their account balance and complete payment to banks in the middle of the year, resulting in a shortage of funds and hence the fall of the major index.

Last but not least, the stock market has posted dramatically large gains since the beginning of the year, with the ChiNext Board index rising 170-percent rise at its peak without a proper callback, until the current correction comes.

Analysts warned that the biggest threat to the market is the high-rate rise, and the current nosedive could help release accumulated risks.

The Chinese stock market has seen an impressive rebound since the second half of 2014 after being stuck in the doldrums for about six years.

The major Shanghai index closed at fresh seven-year highs for several consecutive days last month, before posting another nosedive on record turnover on May 28.

On June 5, the major Shanghai index surpassed the 5,000-point landmark for the first time in over seven years, jumping to 5,023.1 points. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, Energy, Green-tech, News

NDRC to propose plan on construction of global logistics channel

Leave a comment

NDRC to propose plan on construction of global logistics channel

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) – China’s top economic planner – the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website on Friday that it intended to come up with a plan on constructing the grand global logistics channel to solve the major problems troubling Chinese companies.

NDRC made the decision at a recent symposium which China Railway Corp. China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group), China Merchants Group, SinoTrans&CSC Holdings Co., Ltd., COSCO Group, China Post Group, and S.F. Express and China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing were asked to attend to report their progresses and difficulties in “going global” in logistics sector and give suggestions for constructing the global logistics channel.

The NDRC said it would propose a feasible plan on this regard after further study of advices from these businesses. (Edited by Duan Jing, duanjing@xinhua.org)

 

Business, China, Green-tech, News, World News

China’s software sector presents new features

Leave a comment

China’s software sector presents new features

DALIAN, June 19 (Greenpost) – China’s software industry has exhibited new trends and features alongside the rapidly developing global software and information services market, according to a report released on China International Software and Information Service Forum 2015 held here Friday.

In 2014, the country’s software export continued to rise at a fast pace and industrial structure was further optimized together with service taking up a steadily rising proportion in the entire software sector.

Meanwhile, software developers revealed an eye-catching profitability when labor costs rose constantly.

Besides, software business in central and west China saw faster revenue growth than in other places of China. (Edited by Duan Jing, duanjing@xinhua.org)

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, Green-tech, World News

China’s first standards for civil unmanned aerial vehicles unveiled

Leave a comment

China’s first standards for civil unmanned aerial vehicles unveiled

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) — A group of 17 research institutes and enterprises founded an alliance for technical innovation of unmanned aerial vehicle industry in Shenzhen on Thursday, during which a set of civil unmanned aerial vehicle standards, the first of its kind in China, was released, according to a report by Nanfang Daily.

Civil unmanned aerial vehicles will be increasingly in line with the country’s relevant policies in terms of design, production, manufacturing and application after the release of the standards.

Analysts from Guangzheng Hang Seng Securities hold that the civil unmanned aerial vehicle market is at an ascending channel with a market of over 100-billion yuan to be tapped, and the introduction of the standards will help boost the market.

Source Xinhua

Editor  Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Business, China, Environment, Green-tech, News

MOA posts guideline to develop markets in farm produce’s production places

Leave a comment

MOA posts guideline to develop markets in farm produce’s production places

BEIJING, June 19 (Greenpost) – China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) publicized Friday on its website a guideline to develop markets in the production places of farm produce to boost modern agriculture.

The ministry proposed to build by 2020 a large number of marketplaces in advantageous production zones or production areas for characteristic agricultural products to directly serve farmers.

Under the objective, 30 nationwide production place-based markets, 300 regional markets alike and 1,000 field-based markets will be constructed to create a three-layer production place-based markets system for farm produce.

Essence Securities said in a recent report that the Internet is accelerating traditional agriculture’s transformation to modern agriculture and alongside popularization of the Internet in rural areas, E-commerce operators are predicted to hail a market of 460 billion yuan by 2016.

In the future, some stock investment opportunities may appear for related Chinese listed firms including Shenzhen Agricultural Products Co., Ltd. (000061.SZ), Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (002470.SZ), Anhui Huilong Agricultural Means of Production Co., Ltd. (002556.SZ), and Zhejiang Netsun Co., Ltd. (002095.SZ), the broker said. (Edited by Duan Jing, duanjing@xinhua.org)

 

Business, China, News, World News

Across China: Shanghai FTZ to speed up customs clearance for imported products

Leave a comment

Across China: Shanghai FTZ to speed up customs clearance for imported products

SHANGHAI, June 18 (Greenpost) — China’s border inspectors and customs authorities said Thursday that they will streamline clearance for products to be sold within the Shanghai free trade zone, the latest of a string of measures to encourage cross-border e-commerce to resuscitate tumbling trade growth.

The streamlined process would shorten the time between products’ arrival at the port to being put on the shelves in the FTZ by up to 80 percent.

China’s foreign trade growth came in way below the 7.5 percent target set for last year and latest official data also show trade slumping 7.8 percent during the first five months this year from the same period a year ago.

Speedier customs clearance is particularly important for farm produce, meat and fishery products as they have shorter shelf life and require more sophisticated and costlier storage to stay fresh.

Authorities also gave the greenlight on Thursday to allow companies in the FTZ to sell imported fresh products such as fruits and meat.

Imported seafood, wines, fruits and other fresh food sold at the store in Shanghai FTZ have been popular and were often sold out last year, as Chinese consumers are showing a growing appetite for what they see as quality products from countries like United States and Japan.

Authorities added that the speed of clearance will be based on the origin country’s quality safety record and the company’s quality control, meaning that importers with stringent quality control will move faster.

Shanghai customs will allow importers to deliver samples to be screened by air before the whole shipment arrives by sea, to shorten the time for clearance.

The process was used earlier this month to clear a batch of milk powder from Ireland, which was put on sale in the FTZ 11 days after reporting to customs, compared with 55 days before.

Cross-border sales have grown tenfold in the past four years in China to 20 billion dollars last year, according to research firm eMarketers. China’s Ministry of Commerce has predicted sales through cross-border e-commerce to hit 1 trillion next year and will eventually take up one fifth of the country’s total trade volume. Enditem

Source Xinhua

Xuefei Chen Axelsson