What's news

Banks' net forex sales halved in October

Chinese banks saw combined net foreign exchange sales of $14.6 billion in October, sharply down from September, as capital flight pressure eased last month, official data showed. Chinese lenders bought $107.9 billion worth of foreign currency in October and sold $122.5 billion, resulting in a 49-percent month-on-month decline in net forex sales, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Non-bank companies and individuals contributed $10.2 billion of the net forex sales, down 62 percent from September.

Prague investment forum concludes

The three-day 2016 China Investment Forum, dedicated to highlighting the Belt and Road Initiative as an effective platform for the cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, concluded on Wednesday in Prague. It was the seventh time the forum, a traditional meeting of high-level entrepreneurs, was held in the Czech capital. Czech President Milos Zeman was at the forum's closing ceremony. He spoke highly of the achievements and the enormous potential of Sino-Czech economic and trade cooperation.

Yuan weakens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 100 basis points to 6.8692 against the US dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Wanda to build $15 billion project

Dalian Wanda Group Co announced its second multibillion dollar development project in a week, as Chairman Wang Jianlin stepped up his efforts to surpass US resort goliath Walt Disney Co by the end of the decade. The Beijing-based conglomerate signed an agreement with Shaanxi provincial government to pour 103 billion yuan ($15 billion) in investments to build theme parks and commercial centers there, including a Wanda City complex in the capital Xi'an, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Last week, Wanda announced a similar project in Hunan province. Wanda plans to have 15 Wanda City projects across China by 2020, betting on strength in numbers to become the biggest Chinese theme park operator.

Management corp sets up three funds

China Great Wall Asset Management Corp announced on Thursday it has set up three funds, each worth 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion), focusing respectively on the acquisition, disposal and restructuring of non-performing assets as well as capacity reduction in the housing market. Based on the three funds, the AMC is planning to form 100 subsidiary funds totaling 300 billion yuan in the next three years to support China's economic restructuring, industrial upgrading and the resolving of financial risks.

Qingdao hosts forum focusing on big data

Big data will be more extensively applied in daily life and social activities in the future, said experts at the 2016 Global Big Data Applications & Research Forum held in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Wednesday. Themed on big data creating value and wisdom leading the future, the three-day event has attracted more than 600 experts and industrial leaders from home and abroad, such as Kirk Borne, a global top 25 big data scientist and John Margaglione, global vice-president of systems engineering HPE Big Data Platform. In October 2014, Qingdao-HPE Software Global Big Data Global Research and Industrial Foundation kicked off construction with a total investment of more than 22 billion yuan ($3.2 million).

BHP uncertain when Samarco to restart

BHP Billiton is still uncertain when its Samarco joint venture in Brazil will restart, as complex negotiations with all stakeholders continue. "It has to make economic sense and have a practical set of approvals in place and we continue to work through these processes," BHP Billiton Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie told the company's annual general meeting in Brisbane on Thursday. On Nov 5 last year, Samarco's three tiered tailings dam collapsed, destroying nearby villages and towns, killing 19 people.

Rio Tinto executives sacked over scandal

Global mining giant Rio Tinto on Thursday sacked energy and minerals chief executive Alan Davies and legal and regulatory affairs group executive Debra Valentine over their roles in a West Africa payment scandal. Rio said the decision was based on the initial findings of a company investigation into dealings with a consultant, who helped Rio with its operations at the massive Simandou iron ore deposit in Guinea, West Africa. Davies and Valentine, two of its ten most senior executives, were sacked after Rio alerted corporate regulators in Australia, the United States and Britain.

Slow global GDP growth forecast

Global GDP is forecast to grow at 2.8 percent in 2017, a modest improvement on the 2.5 percent expansion in 2016, New York-based independent research group The Conference Board said on Wednesday. It said that although a projected stabilization in energy and commodity prices may lift resource-rich economies a little next year, the medium-term trend continued to be dominated by weaker growth in key inputs, notably investment and labor supply. The Conference Board said in its Global Economic Outlook 2017 that in the short term, geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, financial market volatility, and rapid changes in technology would pin the world economy to a slow-growth path.

IEA sees more oil demand ahead

Global demand for oil is set to continue rising over the coming decades, but the popularity of coal as a fuel will be eclipsed by liquid natural gas and renewables, a report from the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. Growth in crude consumption was forecast to be slow, in the annual World Energy Outlook unveiled in London, but still reach 103.5 million barrels a day by 2040. Current demand is 96 million bpd. The IEA said almost all of the growth in oil demand comes from four sectors: maritime international shipping, road freight trucks, jet fuel for aviation and demand for plastics from the petrochemical industry, all areas where alternatives are hard to find.

UK unemployment rate at 10 year low

Britain's unemployment level has fallen to its lowest level for 10 years, the Office for National Statistics said. ONS figures also showed the number of people in Britain with jobs remained at a record high of 31.8 million, with 49,000 moving into work in the three months following the June 23 referendum vote on European Union membership. In the three months to September, there were 1.6 million people unemployed, a fall of 37,000 compared with the previous three month period.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 11/18/2016 page14)