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Gold loses its glitter in 2014

Gold jewelry demand cooled in China in 2014, in sharp contrast to frenzied buying in 2013, plunging 33 percent year-on-year to 624 metric tons, according to data published by the World Gold Council.

India displaced China as the largest gold consumer in 2014 with demand for gold jewelry and investment gold exceeding 843 tons, compared with 814 tons in China.

Global gold demand fell by 4 percent last year to 3,924 tons as consumers bought less jewelry, coins and bars compared with record levels in 2013, the gold council said.

Suifenhe airport to boost foreign trade

China plans to build a civilian airport in the northeastern border city of Suifenhe, Heilongjiang province, the country's largest contributor to trade with Russia. According to the feasibility plan, which was approved by the central government, the project includes a 2,500 meter runway and a 4,500 square meter terminal. The domestic airport is designed to handle 450,000 passengers and 3,600 tons of cargo by 2025, according to the Suifenhe municipal government. It will cost about 944 million yuan ($153 million).

Insurance products may get tax waiver

The country's insurance watchdog is likely to announce a tax reduction policy for health insurance products this year. Insurance companies have started to design products eligible for the soon-to-be-released policy, newspaper reports said. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission will hand in the proposed products to the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation for the final approval of the policy, according to reports.

Kaisa hopes to speed debt restructuring

Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd is seeking to expedite a debt restructuring as the troubled developer said it faces as much as 35.5 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) of repayments to creditors this year. Kaisa, which is being acquired by Sunac China Holdings Ltd, said on Feb 16. Kaisa said it aims to reach an agreement with its offshore creditors by the end of March and expects to complete the restructuring the following month.

Conferences to guide work involving FTZs

The State Council has established a new system of joint ministerial-level conferences to help coordinate work regarding the country's pilot free trade zones. Participants will provide macro guidance for FTZs, resolving problems, providing timely assessments and offering suggestions on pilot programs. The Ministry of Commerce will lead the conferences, which involve 30 departments and organizations. Conferences will be scheduled according to work needs.

Wind power rises to new level

Installed wind energy capacity in China surged to a record 19.81 million kilowatts last year as the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter tries to switch its power grid to cleaner energy sources, the National Energy Administration said.

Credit card debt level rises to $5.73b

The outstanding value of unpaid debt by the country's credit card users stood at 35.76 billion yuan ($5.73 billion) as of the end of 2014, up by 42 percent from the previous year, according to a statement published by the People's Bank of China, the central bank.

Data usage surges, still far from peak

Data traffic on Chinese mobile devices jumped almost 50 percent last year but overall usage was modest by global standards, reflecting low usage in rural areas that has not gone unnoticed by telecom firms. The average monthly data usage on all types of mobile devices, including smartphones, topped 200 megabytes per user for the first time in 2014, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said.

More crude oil imports for private refiners

The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation's top planner, said that domestic private-sector refineries will be able to apply for crude imports after meeting certain technical and environmental standards. The refineries must have a single facility with an annual capacity of more than 2 million metric tons, and imports cannot exceed a facility's total capacity. Imported crude should not be resold. At present, only some state-owned oil and gas companies such as China National Petroleum Corp, and certain large-scale private facilities, are permitted to import crude oil.

Taxi app firms 'plan to merge'

The country's two largest taxi-hailing apps, backed separately by Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, are in talks to merge, according to people familiar with the matter. Hangzhou Kuaidi Technology Co, with investors including Alibaba and SoftBank Corp, are expected to announce a merger with Tencent-backed Didi Dache after the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday that started on Feb 18.

Mandatory code registration soon

The government, looking for ways to curb dependence on foreign technology, will soon enact mandatory registration of the source code for information-technology products used by banks. Suppliers currently need to provide intellectual property identification for software, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said. The commission is seeking feedback on the plans.

Copper prices to remain bearish

Rising stockpiles in the world's biggest copper producer and slowing construction in its largest consumer will conspire with falling production costs to drive down prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bank sees developments from Chile to China as bearish risks to its price forecasts, which it cut last month as energy prices tumbled and the dollar surged.

Debt management reforms get impetus

The pilot areas of medium- and long-term international commercial loan management reform would expand to free trade zones in Tianjin, Xiamen and Shenzhen, according to a statement from the National Development and Reform Commission.

The move is to further streamline administration, promote international commercial loan "bringing in" and "going out", and push forward the process of foreign debt management reform. On Jan 1, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone became the first to be included in the program.

Regulator denies IPO shift reports

The China Securities Regulatory Commission denied reports saying that the regulator will no longer accept applications for initial public offerings and refinancing starting in April. The CSRC said the draft plan for introducing a registration-based IPO scheme has been submitted to the State Council for approval.

Mercedes to recall vehicles in China

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will recall 127,071 cars in China starting on March 13 due to a fire risk, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on Feb 16. The recall involves the CLS-Class and E-Class vehicles imported into China, as well as some E-Class cars manufactured by the Beijing Benz Automotive Co Ltd. The recall order was issued after a sealing strip for the engine cabin in some vehicles was found coming loose, which could lead to an engine fire if the strip falls on hot engine parts, the statement said.

China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/20/2015 page18)