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Govt publishes plan for e-commerce

China published the plan to develop e-commerce business during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, the Ministry of Commerce announced on its website on Thursday. The plan has set goals to push the trading volume generated by e-commerce sector to 40 trillion yuan ($5.75 trillion) by 2020, including 10 trillion yuan from online retail businesses. A total of 50 million of people will work for this industry by 2020. It is also expected to improve service ability in healthcare, education, culture and tourism across the country.

Nation to spend $503b on rail

China plans to spend 3.5 trillion yuan ($503 billion) to expand its railway system by 2020 as it turns to investment in infrastructure to bolster growth and improve connectivity across the country. The high-speed rail network will span more than 30,000 kilometers under the proposal, according to details released on Thursday. The distance, about 6.5 times the length of a road trip between New York and Los Angeles, will cover 80 percent of major cities in China.

Shake-up for industry bodies

China's industry associations and chambers, which traditionally have a close relationship with the government, will be given more independence but under stricter scrutiny. Operational, financial and personnel affiliations between the government and associations will be gradually cut down, according to a circular released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, and other eight government departments.

Urumqi airport sees record number

In 2016, 20 million people traveled through the airport in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, according to local airport authorities. The Urumqi Diwopu International airport saw 10 million tourists in 2011, and has been growing by two million each year since, the airport said in a statement. Currently, 33 Chinese and foreign airlines have operations at Urumqi airport, which is connected to 100 cities in China and overseas.

Alibaba signs deal with Spring Group

China's largest e-commerce group Alibaba has signed a strategic cooperative agreement on Wednesday with Spring Group, parent company of the country's largest private carrier Spring Airlines, to carry on all-around cooperation including air tickets, destination business, membership and consumption points service, cloud computing and big data, as well as payment and credit services.

Shenwu starts full-scale output

Shenwu Energy Saving Co Ltd announced that its first project of processing non-ferrous metallic slag started full-scale output on Thursday in Jinchang, Gansu province. According to the company, which is based in Linghai, Liaoning province, the first phase of the project cost 1.08 billion yuan ($155.5 million). It has the capacity to process 800,000 metric tons of copper tailings annually, and convert the solid waste into 276,000 tons of iron, 340,000 tons of zinc oxide powder and 449,000 tons of steam. Chairman Wu Daohong projected the project's annual net profit after tax would reach 210 million yuan, and payback period would last for 4 years.

Car sales growth to slow in 2017

Automobile sales are expected to slow next year after a boom in 2016, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday. Growth in auto sales in 2017 could slow to an annual 2 percent to 6 percent, said ministry spokesperson Shen Danyang, citing industry estimates. About 25 million cars were sold in China in the first 11 months this year, up 14.1 percent year on year thanks to a preferential car purchase taxation policy and other government measures.

S.Korean business confidence frozen

Confidence among South Korean businesses remained frozen due to lackluster private consumption and sagging exports, central bank data showed on Thursday. The business sentiment index among manufacturers stood at 72 in December, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbered optimists. It is based on a survey of 1,793 manufacturers and 1,093 non-manufacturers.

FDI disbursement to hit record

Vietnam's foreign direct investment disbursement is expected to hit a record high of some $15.8 billion in 2016, up 9 percent year-on-year, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment on Thursday. So far this year, the country has granted new licenses to 2,556 FDI projects worth $15.182 billion, up 27 percent in volume and down 2.5 percent in value year-on-year. Besides, some $5.765 billion is registered to be added to other 1,225 FDI projects, down 19.7 percent in value and up 50.5 percent in volume year-on-year, said the ministry.

Mongolia approves economic blueprint

The Mongolian government on Wednesday approved a detailed plan to revive the landlocked country's economy, which has been mired in a severe downturn. Under the plan approved during a cabinet meeting, the Mongolian government is expected to start negotiations with other countries, especially neighboring ones, on long-term loans with low interest rates to reduce its debt burden and refinance its current loans.

Italy's consumer confidence grows

Italy's confidence climate indexes in December increased among consumers and dropped among businesses, the National Institute of Statistics said on Wednesday. The monthly survey showed consumer sentiment grew to 111.1 points from 108.1 points in November, with the improvement being registered in all index components. It was the highest level posted since July 2016, when the index reached 111.2. The index among Italian households grew to 133.8 points in December from 127.6 in November.

Kate Spade shares jump on sale talk

Kate Spade & Co surged the most in more than four years after Dow Jones reported that the luxury handbag maker - which had been under pressure from an activist investor - is working with bankers to explore a sale. Shareholder Caerus Investors had pushed the company last month to find an acquirer that could help it improve its profit margins. Kate Spade is now working with an investment bank and has reached out to potential buyers, Dow Jones reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Seoul cuts 2017 growth projection

The South Korean government cut its growth projection for next year to 2.6 percent from 3 percent, reflecting tepid domestic consumption and weak exports. The government will maintain loose fiscal policy and pressure state-run companies to spend more in an effort to shore up sagging consumer and business sentiment, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said on Thursday in its report on 2017 economic policy. It also cut its projections for Asia's fourth-largest economy this year to 2.6 percent from 2.8 percent.

China Dailya - Gencies

(China Daily 12/30/2016 page14)