Quick view

Mounting unemployment looms and some academics say China should not continue its economic restructuring at the expense of labor-intensive manufacturers. Page 2

Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Huggies diapers, Kleenex napkins and Scott paper towels, forecasts that its turnover in China would grow at least 40 percent this year. But the target is not an easy mission, the company said. Page 6

The sweeping financial crisis has taken only a mild bite out of beauty salons in Shanghai, and industry players are upbeat about the future. Page 7

China's economic growth slumped to 6.8 percent last quarter, dragging down the pace of expansion for all of 2008 to a seven-year low of 9 percent in gross domestic product (GDP) to 30.07 trillion yuan, the lowest rate since 2001 due to the global financial crisis, said the National Bureau of Statistics on Jan 22. Meanwhile, consumer inflation surged 5.9 percent year-on-year in the same period, the highest in 12 years. The nation's industrial output grew 12.9 percent in 2008, compared with 18.5 percent in 2007. Fixed asset investment surged 25.5 percent in 2008 to 17.23 trillion yuan.

The Chinese government will spend 850 billion yuan in the next three years to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the country's 1.3 billion people, said the State Council on Jan 21. The council approved the final draft of the long-awaited healthcare reform at its executive meeting, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao. The aim of the reform is to make the government bear most of the medical expenses of the people by 2011. "Primary healthcare and medical services will become accessible to more people (and) people's medical expenses will be visibly reduced," the draft plan says.

A 200-billion-yuan currency swap deal was signed between the mainland and Hong Kong, the mainland's central bank said. The move will promote financial stability and economic growth in the special administration region. The deal, which will last for three years and can be extended upon the agreement of the two sides, "will enhance outsiders' confidence in and promote Hong Kong's financial stability", the People's Bank of China said.

Mainland investors will be able to access Taiwanese stocks after the respective bourses iron out the modalities for cross-listing exchange traded funds (ETEs). Taiwan Stock Exchange Chairman Schive Chi said that the Shanghai and Taiwan bourses would start talks on cross-listing ETFs and indicated that a memorandum of understanding would be signed soon.

(China Daily 02/09/2009 page1)