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Room for more spending to boost economy: researcher

With the budget deficit at a reasonable level, there is "relatively large" room to boost fiscal spending, a government researcher said.

The fiscal deficit can actually widen, if necessary, to a size similar to the level in 2009 when the government undertook a stimulus program, Zhang Peng, a researcher with the Fiscal Research Institute at the Ministry of Finance, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in March that the government plans a deficit of 800 billion yuan ($126 billion) this year. The shortfall in 2009 was 950 billion yuan, according to the ministry.

LG Chem profit falls on feedstock costs

LG Chem Ltd, South Korea's biggest chemical manufacturer, reported a 40 percent fall in second-quarter profits, amid rising feedstock costs and weakening demand from China, its biggest market.

Net income fell to 373.9 billion won ($327 million) in the three months to June 30 from 624.5 billion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said on Wednesday in a regulatory filing. The quarterly result, the smallest since it adopted international accounting rules in 2011, fell short of the 382.8 billion won average of 20 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales rose 5.2 percent to 6 trillion won.

Health chief recognized for campaign to tackle nicotine

Health Minister Chen Zhu was recognized by the World Health Organization for his efforts in combating nicotine addiction in a country of 300 million smokers.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan praised Chen's contribution to tobacco control in China.

About 1 million people in China die annually from diseases, including heart attacks and cancer, related to smoking, the Geneva-based organization said on Wednesday.

Chen, 59, said in March that he is trying to improve the way tobacco companies are regulated.

China Shipping advances after increasing rates

China Shipping Container Lines Co, the nation's second-biggest cargo-box carrier, advanced in Hong Kong trading after announcing rate increases. Starting next month, the carrier is adding charges of $300 on 20-foot containers to Europe and $500 on 40-foot boxes to the US west coast from Asia.

Restricted capacity and pooled ships are helping container lines to raise rates as they end price wars that caused industry-wide losses last year.

Beijing boosts holdings of US treasuries to $1.17 trillion

China, the largest foreign US creditor, boosted its holdings of government securities in May to the most in six months as the US economy stalled and Europe's sovereign-debt crisis deepened.

Chinese holdings rose 0.4 percent to $1.1696 trillion, Treasury Department data released on Tuesday show. Those of Japan, the second-largest lender to the US, climbed 1.4 percent to an all-time high of $1.1052 trillion. Net foreign purchases of Treasuries increased $54.2 billion, or 1 percent, to a record $5.264 trillion in May, the data show.

"From China's perspective, US Treasuries are a much lower risk compared with holding European bonds," said James Su, who oversees $50 million of fixed income assets as a fund manager at SinoPac Asset Management in Hong Kong.

Hotel builder SPG Land asks to relax bond terms

SPG Land Holdings Ltd, the builder of the Peninsula Shanghai hotel on the Bund, is asking bondholders to relax restrictions that limit its asset sales as the central government keeps a tight rein on real estate speculation.

The builder of the 235-room hotel wants to amend the terms of its $200 million 13.5 percent bond due in April 2016 to help it sell undeveloped or incomplete projects, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last week. SPG Land is seeking the changes to bolster its finances in case of changing market conditions, it said.

Its request to bondholders reflects increased pressure on developers' finance. Greentown China Holdings Ltd, whose dollar-denominated bonds mature in November 2013, sold a stake to raise funds, and Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd disposed of mainland assets to help repay $150 million of debt.

CEO says Dell sees growth slowing in China

Dell Inc Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said the computer maker is seeing a slowdown in China, adding to the list of companies dealing with slackening growth in the world's most populous country.

"There are some challenges in China right now," Dell said on Wednesday at a conference in Aspen, Colorado. He and the company's board plan to visit the country in early September. Asked whether sales were slowing there, Dell said, "that would be an accurate statement".

Dell's comments add the Round Rock, Texas-based company to a growing list of technology businesses facing lackluster sales growth in China.

Insurers' revenues increase 5.9% in the first half

China's insurance companies revenues hit 853.23 billion yuan ($135.4 billion) in the first half of the year, up 5.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The growth was 1 percentage point higher than that of the end of the first quarter, the commission said, adding that the insurance market is gradually stabilizing.

As of the end of June, the total assets of the nation's insurers came in at 6.78 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.3 percent compared with that of the beginning of the year, while net assets gained 21.2 percent to 674.66 billion yuan, the commission said.

Railways giant announces manufacturing center

China's leading railways manufacturer, China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd, unveiled a plan on Wednesday to set up its ASEAN manufacturing center in Malaysia, citing great market potential in the region as well as close China-Malaysia relations.

CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co Ltd, a subsidiary of CSR and an active player in Malaysia's mass transit projects, announced the plan for the facilities located in Batu Gajah, Perak State, some 200 kilometers from the capital Kuala Lumpur.

The company is investing up to 400 million ringgit ($126.7 million) in the "CSR ASEAN Rail Center", which would cover production, assembly, testing, overhaul and refurbishment, said Luo Chongfu, the company' s vice-president of investment and strategic development.

Lottery sales rise 27.6% in 1st half to reach 129b yuan

Lottery sales in China rose 27.6 percent year-on-year in the first six months to reach 129.06 billion yuan ($20.49 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

In June alone, sales increased by 23.8 percent from a year earlier to 21.61 billion yuan, the ministry said in an online statement.

Welfare lottery ticket sales reached 75.2 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 27.5 percent from a year ago, and sports lottery tickets gained 27.8 percent year-on-year to 53.86 billion yuan.

The ministry attributed the increase in June to new lottery games going on sale and increasing outlets for quiz-style games, as well as the opening of the European Championships.

Xinjiang Bayi's net profits drop 50% in the first half

Xinjiang Bayi Iron & Steel, a subsidiary of China's largest iron and steel producer, Baosteel Group, reported a profit decline of more than 50 percent in the first half of the year as a result of falling demand as the country's economy slows.

The Shanghai-listed company said its unaudited net profits dropped 51.13 percent year-on-year to 190.24 million yuan ($30.2 million) in the first six months, according to a financial report posted on the China Securities Regulatory Commission's website on Tuesday.

Earnings per share shrank by 51 percent to 0.25 yuan. But sales revenues posted a slight increase of 0.83 percent to 14.14 billion yuan in the first half.

Postal industry reports 24.4% rise in H1 revenue

China's postal industry reaped a business revenue of 97.34 billion yuan ($15.45 billion) in the first half of the year, up 24.4 percent year-on-year, the State Post Bureau said Wednesday.

The postal industry has witnessed rapid progress in the first half, with better structuring and improved enterprise capabilities, said the bureau at a mid-year work conference.

The country's above-scale logistics enterprises made nearly 2.4 billion deliveries in the first half, up 51 percent year-on-year and exceeding the total delivery volume in 2010, according to the bureau.

Business revenue of these logistics enterprises jumped 39.7 percent to 46.82 billion yuan in the January-June period, up 13.2 percentage points from the growth of the same period last year.

Eighth trade Fair opens in Inner Mongolia

The Eighth Economic and Trade Fair, involving China, Russia and Mongolia, will see signed contracts worth nearly 4 billion yuan ($625 million), involving 14 projects, organizers of the event said. The 10-day fair, in Hailar, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was opened on Monday.

The annual event, which started in 2005, attracts about 450 domestic and foreign companies. Hailar, with a population of 350,000 people, is an important trade and communication hub.

Pension fund picks 12 investment managers

China's National Social Security Fund signed agreements with 12 investment companies to have them manage part of the country's pension savings, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The companies are JPMorgan Chase & Co, Lombard Odier, Nueberger Berman, Schroders Plc, Standish, Stone Harbor Investment Partners, AGF Management Limited, Investec, RBC Global Asset Management, AEW Capital Management, AMP Capital and European Investors, Xinhua reported on Wednesday, citing the fund..

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 07/19/2012 page14)