IN BRIEF (Page 18)

Gender balance remains elusive

Although progress has been made, equality between male and female professionals remains a critical issue in China.

According to a survey released by global recruitment specialist group Hays on June 2, women are less likely than their male co-workers to believe that pay equality and equal opportunities exist for both genders in the workplace.

Hays polled 521 professionals in China, 55 percent of whom were female. Only 7 percent of women aged 25 or under think there is gender inequality of pay. But as they progress in their career, that number increases. About 29 percent of women aged between 26 and 40, and 35 percent of women aged 41 or above think there is gender inequality of pay.

Crackdown on illegal coal use by power firms

Regulators will reduce the permitted generating capacity of thermal power companies that buy coal from illegal mines, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety said in a statement on June 3. The announcement said the government will encourage thermal power companies to sign medium-and long-term contracts with legal coal companies.

Pharmaceutical firm increases production

Sanbao Ghana Pharmaceuticals Limited, a Chinese manufacturing firm in Ghana, has invested $15 million to expand its production capacity.

The company says it can now produce 15 million units of intravenous infusion a year as a result of the expansion, and will double staffing to 100.

The company, a subsidiary of Hualong Group in China, has adopted processes recommended by the World Health Organization, said Smart Atta Bediako, superintendent pharmacist with the company.

Govt backs growth of cloud computing

The government will support the creation of cloud computing and big data systems and refine laws and regulations on information security, Huai Jinpeng, vice-minister of industry and information technology said at the 7th China Cloud Computing Conference on Wednesday. China will accelerate synergies and innovation involving cloud computing, the Internet of Things, mobile Internet and modern manufacturing, said the vice-minister.

Citibank has wealth builders in its sights

Citibank (China) Co Ltd is banking on its growing global presence and experience to provide holistic wealth management services for new wealth builders in China.

New wealth builders, or households with financial assets of $100,000 to $2 million, comprise the world's fastest-growing wealth segment when measured by growth trends in 32 countries, The Economist Intelligence Unit Ltd, the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, said in a report.

New wealth builders have $88 trillion in global assets, and the value is expected to reach $145 trillion by 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.1 percent, the report said.

Merger a done deal, train makers say

The train makers CSR Corp Ltd and China CNR have announced the completion of a merger and named Cui Dianguo, the former chairman of CNR, as the new entity's chairman. The two companies halted trading on May 7 to proceed with creating the world's biggest rail conglomerate in terms of sales through a share swap merger.

Securities accords signed with two more countries

China Securities Regulatory Commission said on May 29 that it signed memorandums of understanding with the National Bank of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan's securities regulator to promote collaboration and exchanges in the capital markets. A commission spokesman said the two accords marked another milestone in the country's international collaboration with foreign regulators and financial players. The commission says it has now signed 62 such agreements with 58 countries and regions.

Trade with China 'created 3 million jobs'

About 3 million Europeans have jobs because of exports from the European Union to China, the Joint Research Centre and the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission say.

The share of employment supported by EU exports rose from 9.3 percent in 1995 to 13.6 percent in 2011, said a study the two bodies conducted on the impact of extra-EU trade on income and jobs.

In total, more than 31 million jobs in the EU depend on exports.

Citing the data from the World Input-Output Database, the study found that 10 percent of EU export-related employment was driven by the sales of goods and services to China in 2011, or 3 million jobs were given to Europeans in all EU member states due to trade with China in that year.

Financial bodies to pay 6 percent VAT

The Ministry of Finance plans to introduce a 6 percent value-added tax for financial institutions, replacing the current 5 percent corporate tax on the sector, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The sources said the ministry is consulting banks, having notified them that the change will take place on Oct 1. The ministry did not answer calls requesting comment. The sources said the VAT is likely to raise the net tax burden of Chinese financial firms.

Manufacturing activity points to rebound

China's manufacturing business activity expanded slightly last month, indicated by a Purchasing Managers Index reading of 50.2, compared with 50.1 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics says.

The reading has remained above 50, the separation between contraction and expansion, for three consecutive months and suggests a slow rebound of the real economy, the bureau said.

Wanda unit set to buy Hoyts chain in Australia

Wanda Cinema Line Corp, a unit of China's leading property developer Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd, said it would buy Australian cinema chain Hoyts Group, a purchase that underscores its parent's ambitions to become a global entertainment company. Wanda Cinema, in a regulatory filing on June 2, did not disclose how much it would pay for Hoyts.

Investors invited to join water projects

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance say private investors will be invited to join 12 large water projects, the first effort of its kind, the Shanghai Securities News reported on June 1. The pilot projects, comprising Fendou reservoir in Heilongjiang province and 11 other water projects, are expected to form a mature public-private-partnership model in the next two years through absorbing social capital.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/05/2015 page18)