Quotable

High import taxes within the mainland are a big incentive for shopping abroad - the same luxury handbag can often cost a third more in Beijing than it does in Paris."

Fflur Roberts, head of luxury goods at Euromonitor.

"Some departures may have something to do with the rapid growth of financial innovation. But some can just be the result of the so-called revolving-door effect within the banking sector, given the state-owned nature of the top banks."

Wu Qing, deputy director of banking research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, commenting on a wave of executive departures that has hit major Chinese banks.

"The gross profit margin is also much higher than in China, where the industry average hovers around 15 percent. Housing demand in Russia largely exceeds supply, and this provides many business opportunities for us."

Zhang Pengfei, chairman of China Zhong Jin Yin Di City Development. The state-owned real estate company is investing 10 billion yuan ($1.56 billion; 1.47 billion euros) in Moscow's property market.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/27/2015 page19)