IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Cross-border deals pushed

China will push to ease control over its capital account this year while encouraging more cross-border deals conducted in yuan, its foreign exchange regulator said on Tuesday.

In a statement issued on its website outlining its 2011 priorities after a recent meeting, the regulator said it would also combat inflows of hot money - speculative cash - which it worries could cause the yuan to rise too quickly.

Yuan falls to two-week low

China's yuan fell the most in two weeks after Commerce Minister Chen Deming rejected calls for faster appreciation from countries including the United States.

The central bank set the reference rate for yuan trading weaker for the first time in four days. It is "totally unreasonable" to say the yuan is undervalued and China does not use its exchange rate to gain a competitive advantage, Chen said.

Clean power ratio to rise

China Huaneng Group Corp's power generation capacity will rise to 150 million kilowatts by 2015, Cao Peixi, the company's president, said in Beijing on Tuesday.

Clean-fuel power will account for more than 25 percent of capacity by 2015, compared with about 17 percent currently, he said at a meeting of the National People's Congress.

State to issue special bonds

China's central government should issue special bonds to finance the affordable housing plan and reduce reliance on bank loans, Li Daokui, an adviser to the central bank, said on Tuesday in Beijing.

China should be cautious in using private capital for affordable housing, which will hamper the execution of the scheme, Li said.

Gas exports put on hold

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp's biggest refinery in Guangdong province halted gasoline exports because of tight supply on the domestic market.

"We haven't been instructed to export gasoline," Yu Xizhi, president of the 270,000 barrel-a-day Maoming plant, said on Tuesday in Beijing. "Domestic gasoline supplies are a bit tight. We are taking measures to boost output of the fuel."

Luxury spending to double

China's luxury spending may more than double by 2015, surpassing Japan to become the world's largest market for branded goods, according to McKinsey & Co.

Sales of luxury items in China, including clothes, handbags, watches and fine jewelry, are expected to increase to about 180 billion yuan ($27 billion) in 2015 from 80 billion yuan last year, McKinsey said in a report Tuesday. The 2015 estimate would be equivalent to 20 percent of global luxury spending, the consulting company said.

Bloomberg News - Reuters

(China Daily 03/09/2011 page13)