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Technology

China looking ahead to a smarter future

China's move to promote the development of smart cities has opened up a huge market for the country's high-tech enterprises, and forced many to rethink their business plans.

"The construction of smart cities involves not only government authorities, but also various types of enterprises that are now helping provide high-tech solutions for their future development," said Du Ping, chief executive and president of the State Information Center.

Du said that city governments have been urged to introduce services from the third parties during the construction of smart city facilities.

"A growing number of major information technology companies have become involved in providing solutions for urban management."

Economy

China, Africa cooperate on poverty alleviation

Officials and experts from China and Africa met on Nov 18 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the China-Africa Poverty Reduction and Development Conference.

Officials at the opening of the Conference highlighted that Africa draws lesson from China's success story on poverty reduction through industrial development.

The three-day Conference focuses on "Industrial Development: Cross-Perspectives from Africa and China", and is expected to discuss strategies and polices as well as to share knowledge and exchange experience between China and Africa on poverty reduction and development.

Eugen Owusu, UN Development Program Resident Representative in Ethiopia, noted that China has managed to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty in a short period of time.

Ministry: food prices edge higher

Farm product prices in 36 medium-sized and large cities edged up in the week ended on Nov 16 compared with the previous week, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Nov 19. The average price of 18 vegetables went up 2.3 percent, pushing up the overall prices of farm produce, the ministry said. Food accounts for about one third of China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation.

Finance

BOC designated to clear yuan deals in Sydney

Bank of China Ltd has been named as the official clearing bank for the yuan in Australia and agreed to boost cooperation with ASX Ltd, operator of the country's main stock exchange. The People's Bank of China on Nov 18 appointed the bank's Sydney branch to the role following the designation of the city as a yuan trading hub and the signing of a free trade deal between Australia and its largest commercial partner. The accord between BOC and ASX is aimed at lifting transaction volumes in an existing settlement service for the renminbi. The two organizations will encourage the use of yuan-denominated fixed-income products and promote ASX across Asia as a venue to raise equity capital in Australian dollars and the yuan.

Small business lending measured by central bank

The People's Bank of China is gauging the level of demand for loans from commercial banks by small businesses, according to an official with knowledge of the matter. Financial institutions in some provinces, including Jiangsu and Zhejiang, have already submitted applications for central bank funding, according to the source.

The PBOC will later decide on the size of cash injection needed, which could run into tens of billions of yuan, the official said. The monetary authority has already carried out similar lending to banks in Zhejiang at 3.5 percent interest, reported Sina.com.

Bond price decline ends 'excessive' rally

China's sovereign bonds fell, pushing the 10-year yield to a one-week high, as traders deemed this month's rally as excessive. The yield on the 4.13 percent notes due September 2024 had advanced seven basis points to 3.65 percent by late afternoon in Shanghai, according to the National Interbank Funding Center. That benchmark 10-year sovereign yield has fallen 20 bps this month and one percentage point this year, ChinaBond data shows.

Trade

China to lift embargo on Brazilian meat

Brazilian Agriculture Minister Neri Geller said on Nov 18 that beef exports to China and Saudi Arabia would resume next month after an embargo on Brazilian meat products by the two countries ends. Neri said exports to China are expected to resume earlier, by the first half of December, adding that China decided to lift the embargo during the G20 summit in Australia, which was attended by both Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Saudi Arabia plans to send a delegation of specialists to inspect Brazil's meat packing plants next week, before officially authorizing beef imports to start in the second half of December. Both countries suspended Brazilian beef imports in 2012, following an atypical case of mad cow disease in the South American nation.

Forum cements closer China, South Korea ties

China and the South Korea are expected to strengthen their economic and trade cooperation after 200 top government officials, business leaders and scholars from both sides ended the three-day China South Korea CEO Forum in Qingdao, in East China's Shandong province.

Participants said they were looking forward to new opportunities after the two countries concluded substantive negotiations on a free trade agreement on Nov 17. "The two countries already have cooperation in place at various levels and in various areas related to bilateral, economic and trade relations," said Sun Shuqiang, counselor of the department of Asian affairs of China's Ministry of Commerce.

Companies

Private steel producer files for bankruptcy

Haixin Iron and Steel Group, the largest private iron and steel enterprise in Shanxi province, has started bankruptcy reorganization procedures, a local court said on Nov 17.

The company had an annual output of 5 million metric tons and was ranked second only to Shougang Changzhi Iron and Steel Co, another state-owned enterprise within the province. It is also the largest privately owned company in Shanxi.

According to public data, the company has 10.46 billion yuan ($1.71 billion) in debts and 10.07 billion yuan on hand. Production was suspended on March 18 amid industry overcapacity, a stagnant market, tightened credit and management issues.

New currency rules applied in Pingtan zone

A package of new foreign-currency rules has been implemented at the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, according to a report by the official Xinhua News Agency, quoting sources at Fuzhou Central Sub-branch of the People's Bank of China.

Under the new rules, foreign-invested companies in the zone are allowed to borrow offshore funds equivalent to as much as twice their net assets at the end of the previous year. For Chinese companies, short-term overseas loans should not exceed half of their net assets. The new measures also support the Pingtan zone's businesses that issue yuan-denominated bonds in Taiwan.

Nation may be key debt fund destination

China would become an important investment destination for Loomis Sayles & Co's flagship debt fund if the authorities improve relations with other Asian nations and the United States, according to the firm's vice-chairman, Dan Fuss. China "will probably at some point come to be the single largest country exposure outside of the US," Fuss said in an interview in Hong Kong on Nov 17, adding that it could happen in the next 10 years. The investment vehicle does not have any fixed-income investments in Asia's largest economy at the moment, he said.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/21/2014 page18)