IN BRIEF (Page 10)

High speed rail nearly done

The world's longest high-speed railroad, from Beijing to Shanghai, is nearing completion, Xinhua reports.

The Ministry of Railway spokesman Wang Yongping said 91 percent of the track, or 1,203 km, is finished, with some bridge projects to be completed.

Upon completion, it will take passengers less than 5 hours to travel between the two major cities rather than the current 14 hours.

New Shanghai policies

The Shanghai municipal government is set to announce new polices in hopes to attract more international companies to set up units in the city, Sha Hailin, head of the business affairs commission of the municipal government, said recently.

The new policies, involving governmental subsidies, capital management, and minimum registered capital, will be announced soon, he said.

The municipal government would provide a bounty of 5 million yuan for those who set up a new investment company and 10 million yuan for a new national headquarters, he said.

Guangdong financial plan

Guangdong province approved a financial plan recently to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to survive the global financial crisis.

The provincial government will inject more than 10 billion yuan as of next year in loans, tax reduction, business transformation and upgrading and improving government services for SMEs, which are facing "unprecedented business difficulties and challenges", Wang Yang, Guangdong's Party chief, said at a working conference on SMEs.

The fund includes 1 billion yuan for technological innovation, 1 billion yuan as government mortgage for bank loans, and 200 million yuan to expand exports, according to the plan. Other details are yet to be announced.

HKSAR helping SMEs

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced earlier this month it would raise its commitment for a loan guarantee program aimed at helping small- and medium-enterprises with HK$100 billion.

The HKSAR says it will also create more than 60,000 job opportunities next year by speeding up infrastructure projects, recruiting civil servants as well as measures that are expected to create temporary posts, said HKSAR Chief Executive Donald Tsang.

The HKSAR previously announced a special loan guarantee plan for SMEs worth HK$10 billion, in addition to expanding a plan that has been in place since late 2001.

Unemployment insurance

Guangzhou will reduce unemployment insurance premiums for enterprises next year, aiming to partly offset the impact of the global financial crisis.

Cui Renquan, head of the city's bureau of labor and social security, said recently "unemployment insurance premiums will be reduced by a big margin starting in January to alleviate the burden of enterprises, especially those labor-intensive ones".

However, he did not specify what the margin would be.

Currently, Guangzhou enterprises pay an unemployment insurance premium for an employee at an amount equivalent to 2 percent of the employee's salary.

Five star hotel upgrade

The Jinjiang Hotel in Chengdu, Sichuan province, is investing 400 million yuan to build a 26-story building in its courtyard. Upon completion of the building within two or three years, the Jinjiang Hotel, which is southwest China's first five-star hotel, will become a platinum five-star hotel with nearly 1,000 guest rooms and also the largest hotel in Chengdu.

(China Daily 12/15/2008 page10)