In brief

Workers put up a new advertisement for Nokia phones at an electronics mall in Beijing. The mobile phone maker's second-quarter handset shipments in China fell to 11.3 million, less than half those of the previous quarter. Provided to China Daily

DATA

Nation in top five of global ODI table

China climbed up the world rankings to become the fifth-largest outbound

The report showed China's ODI grew 17 percent over the year to $68 billion (46.9 billion euros) but statistics by the Ministry of Commerce said China's ODI in 2010 surged 36.3 percent year-on-year to $59 billion.

The World Investment Report released on July 26 also said that China will continue to remain the top destination for foreign direct investment over the next two years, despite growth in this sector declining over the last six months.

Offshore financial assets expand 7%

China's offshore financial assets rose 7 percent in the year to March to $4.4 trillion (3 trillion euros), primarily propelled by rising foreign-exchange reserves.

According to the nation's balance sheet of foreign-exchange assets and liabilities, also known as the International Investment Position, offshore financial liabilities increased 5 percent to $2.5 trillion as of the end of March. That resulted in net assets of $1.9 trillion, according to a statement on the website of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on July 26.

It was the first time that SAFE, manager of China's $3.2 trillion in foreign reserves, updated the figures on a quarterly basis. Previously, the balance sheet was released annually.

FINANCE

Lending to property industry slows down

China's new lending to the real estate industry totaled 791.2 billion yuan (84.8 billion euros) in the first half of 2011, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

The central bank data shows the new loan growth during the past half-year was 598.5 billion yuan less than the growth volume in the same period of last year. The remaining loan sum, as of the end of the second quarter, increased 16.9 percent year-on-year, 4.4 percentage points lower than the end of the first quarter.

The new lending to the indemnity housing project amounted to 90.8 billion yuan in the first half, up 54.8 percent from the beginning of the year, and its growth rate was much quicker than commercial real estate.

INVESTMENT

CIC investment return tops 11% in 2010

The China Investment Corp (CIC), the country's sovereign wealth fund, said it made a return of 11.7 percent on its global investment portfolio in 2010 even though the investment environment was complicated by various factors.

The rate was unchanged from the 2009 level, reversing losses in 2008 when the rate was negative 2.1 percent, the CIC said in its third annual report on July 26.

The fund's investment return totaled $55.39 billion (38.2 billion euros) last year, up from $44.88 billion in 2009. Its net profit jumped to $51.56 billion from 2009's $41.66 billion, the report said.

The CIC made $35.7 billion of new investments last year, after adding $58 billion in 2009.

IFC to continue investments in China

International Finance Corp (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group which focuses on the development of the private sector in emerging markets, plans to invest more than $500 million (348 million) in China during its next fiscal year.

The funds will be mainly used to support private enterprise in western China in the fields of renewable energy, rural finance and agribusiness, according to Karin Finkelston, the company's vice-president for the Asia-Pacific region.

IFC's investment in China reached $670 million during its last fiscal year. The company supported 25 projects related to energy-efficiency financing, wind-power production and development, agribusiness and rural financing.

Insurance

Insurers need cash injection, S&P says

Chinese insurers will need more than 110 billion yuan (12 billion euros) of external funding to fuel their rapid development in the next three years, insurance analysts from Standard & Poor's said.

Based on 2010 financial figures, at least eight Chinese non-life insurers had an indicative ratio (of shareholders' funds to total assets) of less than 30 percent, which is low compared with international peers. And capital injections of 82 billion yuan would mean a more respectable 40 percent ratio with an assumed premium growth of 15 percent over three years, according to Standard & Poor's.

In the life insurance sector, at least seven companies had an indicative ratio of less than 4 percent. A capital infusion of about 32 billion yuan would boost the ratio to 5 percent and meet an assumed premium growth of 15 percent over three years.

ENERGY

Sinopec boosts oil processing

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) increased oil processing by 5 percent in the first half from a year earlier to meet rising domestic demand.

Refining increased to 108.53 million tons, or 4.4 million barrels a day, according to a company statement on July 22. The company aims to raise volume by 5 percent to 222 million tons this year, according to its annual report.

The nation's total refining gained 7 percent to 223 million tons in the first half, according to the government.

TELECOM

Nokia's dominance continues to erode

Nokia Oyj isn't just losing mobile-phone market share to iPhone maker Apple Inc. The Finnish company's dominance in China, the world's largest wireless market, is being eroded as prices sink.

Nokia's second-quarter handset shipments in China fell to 11.3 million, less than half the previous quarter's number and 41 percent less than a year earlier. That, combined with a 30 percent drop in European sales, contributed to a greater-than-estimated 20 percent slump in Nokia's handset sales worldwide.

Nokia's market share in China was 19.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with 23.5 percent a year earlier, according to Gartner Inc estimates.

AUTO

Mercedes opens global design center in Beijing

German automaker Daimler AG opened a Mercedes-Benz Global Advanced Design Center in Beijing, a sign of the growing importance of the Chinese automobile market's influence on the changing needs and trends in vehicles. It is Mercedes' fifth such design center in the world.

The complex is the first functional design center established by a premium vehicle brand in China.

"We opened this center because we recognize the increasing importance of the Chinese market and the influence it is having on design trends and mobility solutions worldwide," said Ulrich Walker, chairman and chief executive officer of Daimler Northeast Asia Ltd.

The other four Mercedes-Benz design centers are in Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

metals

Danieli to get boost from industry restructure

Danieli & C Officine Meccaniche SpA, one of the world's leading equipment suppliers for the metals industry, said it will significantly increase its investment in China to cash in on the growth in demand coming from the government's efforts to adjust the industry's structure.

The Italian company's total investment in China will reach 130 million euros by 2012, up from the current 80 million euros, said Bavaresco Matteo, CEO of Danieli China.

He said the increase is due to the booming demand coming from increased steel production and the country's steps to upgrade the industry to meet goals in energy conservation and emissions reductions.

China Daily-Agencies