Briefly

Central bank injects liquidity into market

China's central bank on Friday conducted 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) of reverse repos to maintain liquidity in the banking system. The interest rate for the seven-day reverse repos was set at 2.2 percent, according to the People's Bank of China.

Industrial robot production surges

The production of industrial robots registered rapid growth in the first eight months of this year, official data showed. In the first eight months, China's output of industrial robots reached 239,249 units, increasing by 63.9 percent year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. In August alone, industrial robot production in the country totaled 32,828 units, up 57.4 percent from the same period last year.

China's lottery sales fall in August

China's lottery ticket sales totaled 32.61 billion yuan ($5 billion) in August, down 6.2 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Finance. Sales of lottery tickets to support China's welfare system totaled 11.45 billion yuan in August, while sales of lottery tickets to support the country's sports industry reached 21.16 billion yuan, the ministry said. In the first eight months, total lottery sales amounted to 247.29 billion yuan, up 26.9 percent year-on-year. Under China's lottery management rules, funds raised from ticket sales are used for administrative expenses, public welfare projects and prize winnings.

Qinghai's caterpillar fungus exports up

Qinghai, a province known for caterpillar fungus production in Northwest China, saw a jump in export volume of the species in the first eight months of this year. The total weight of the caterpillar fungi exported from the province increased by 69.5 percent year-on-year from January to August, with the average price up 18 percent, according to the Customs in the provincial capital of Xining. The export value doubled that of the same period last year, with more than 47.8 million yuan ($7.3 million) of the fungus exported to four countries and regions, said Liu Haoguang, an official with Xining Customs.

Shanghai buys more soybeans from US

Shanghai saw soybean imports from the United States soar to 2.53 million tons in the first eight months of the year, up 91 percent year-on-year, accounting for 31.1 percent of its total imported soybeans from January to August, Customs authorities said. The city imported a total of about 8.15 million tons of soybeans in the first eight months, an increase of 7.4 percent from the same period last year. The megacity imported about 5.62 million tons of soybeans from Brazil, down 7.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 68.9 percent of total imported soybeans during the same period.

Xinhua - China Daily