IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Tourism

Cross-border shopping booms

Emboldened by a strong yuan, already high-spending mainland shoppers are heading to Hong Kong to shop even more.

Flying to the special administrative region during holidays and emptying the shelves there has become a ritual for many mainlanders.

But in recent months, the deals on offer have started to look even more attractive. According to figures from the Hong Kong government, during the first three months of the year, retail sales rose by 6.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, from the previous quarter.

During the three-day May Day holiday, from April 29 to May 1, about 400,000 mainlanders flocked to Hong Kong, a 50 percent increase from the same period last year, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. And as media pictures showing long lines outside stores in some of its most popular shopping areas testified, the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society reorted a 50 percent surge in gold sales during the holiday period.

Agriculture

More rice imports on cards

Despite its efforts to boost grain yields for the 10th consecutive year, China, the world's largest rice consumer, is expected to become the largest rice importer this year, according to a new report.

The country's rice imports this year will surge to 3 million metric tons from 2.34 million tons a year ago, according to the report, released by the United States Department of Agriculture. Since 2012, consumption demand for rice in China has exceeded the supply, the report said.

If the forecast holds true, it would represent a sharp increase as the country's rice imports hovered around 450,000 tons per year over the five-year period that ended in 2011, official data showed. It would also make the country outstrip Nigeria to become the world's largest rice importer.

Analysts said that the country has no shortage of rice supplies and blamed the expected surge in imports on the price discrepancy between the domestic and global markets.

Mining

China and ASEAN sign agreement

Seven mining cooperation agreements valued at about 16.3 billion yuan ($2.59 billion; 2.05 billion euros) were signed between China and the ASEAN countries at the recent China-ASEAN Mining Cooperation Forum and Exhibition held in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The event, which focused on "technological cooperation and scientific development of the mining industry", attracted more than 800 representatives from the government, commerce departments, trade organizations and mining associations, and mining specialists and entrepreneurs from China and ASEAN countries. Most of the discussions at the meeting involved investment and regional cooperation in mining.

Wang Min, vice-minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China, said mining is an important part of trade between China and ASEAN members. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area provides a good platform for both sides to tap into the rich mining resources in ASEAN countries and China's advantages in technology, talent and capital.

Finance

Demand grows for dollar bonds

Low interest rates, and ample money supply overseas, are luring more Chinese companies to issue dollar-denominated bonds to refinance debt, according to financial industry specialists.

Issuers on the mainland and in Hong Kong have sold $18.8 billion (14.53 billion euros) worth of bonds so far this year, more than six times the total for the same period last year, data from Bloomberg show.

At the start of May, CNOOC, China's largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, issued dollar-denominated notes worth $4 billion through CNOOC Finance, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. These guaranteed notes will be due from 2016 to 2043.

Companies such as Country Garden Holdings, Hainan Airlines and China Ocean Shipping have also jumped on the bandwagon in the first quarter, issuing more than $10 billion in dollar bonds.

Environment

Crackdown on illegal barbecues

Beijing is stepping up efforts to reduce illegal barbeques, to cut down on roadside air and noise pollution.

May is the peak time for outdoor grill cooking, which takes a heavy toll on air quality, traffic and residents, said Dang Xuefeng, spokesman for the capital's bureau of city administration and law enforcement.

As the weather warms up, the streets gradually fill up with roadside barbecue spots, sizzling kebabs on the grill and cold beer, which also create serious air pollution and undesired noise for the neighborhoods, he said.

In addition to sanitation concerns, the smoke from outdoor barbeques is high in fine particulate matter concentration, which poses a severe threat to residents, especially those with heart and lung problems, Dang said. Downtown is the most severely afflicted area, he said, adding that most outdoor barbecues are illegal.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/17/2013 page2)