U.S. Commercial Service - American Embassy, Beijing
Vol. 2 No. 165
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Editor:Matthew Gettman
Contributors: CS Shenyang, Shen Yang, Peng Aiqun, Qiu Jing , Xi Xianmin, Xu Ye
News Briefs
In addition to the article summaries provided by CS Beijing, our four China branch offices - Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang - submit summaries of commercial articles from their local press to the CCB on a rotating schedule. This week we are pleased to feature a contribution from our Shenyang post.
1.Shenyang Subway Line II, Touted as the Golden Corridor Line
2.Workers' per capita annual salary on the rise
3.Credit Suisse First Boston Gains Approval to Trade Derivatives in China
4.China's biggest bookstore to sell shares
5.China Lacks 4,000 MRI Machines
1.Shenyang Subway Line II, Touted as the Golden Corridor Line
Shenyang Urban Rail Rapid Transit Network Plan was completed in 1998 and approved by the State Council in 2000. The original plan contemplated a five-phase light rail system. When completed, the total subway network will span 182.5 kilometers and offer fifteen transfer stations. Since 1998, the project has proceeded in fits and starts. Line I, the preliminary design planning on Shenyang Subway, was completed by the end of 2003. Although Line I’s final construction plans have not been approved by the relevant government entities, the city has started programming its Subway Line II project. Plans for the Subway Line II have initially passed review by the State Development and Reform Committee and State Construction Ministry.
The Line II subway will start from the north portion of the city, then runs toward the Hun River and terminates at Taoxian International Airport where is located south of Shenyang. The line’s path parallels the Shenyang Golden Corridor, whose name was made just because city planners expect the local economy to prosper along these geographic lines. Therefore, the subway line II is called Golden Corridor Line. Compared with Line I, which connects the most important shopping streets of the city, Line II will link the city’s government, education areas, tourism sites and commercial districts along its 37.8-kilometer track. It starts at Daoyi Development Zone; runs through the Shenyang university corridor, Xinle Relics, North Tomb, North Railway Station, Municipal Square, Youth Park, city gymnasium and Shenyang Wulihe Stadium; then links up with the rural Hunnan Development Zone and the Taoxian Aero Town.
Interested U.S. exporters are encouraged to contact USFCS Shenyang in the future when more information becomes available concerning project finance and procurement plans. Email us at shenyang.office.box@mail.doc.gov.
(Source: 08/24/2004- Translated by FCS Shenyang)
2.Workers' per capita annual salary on the rise
China’s State Statistics Bureau indicated that the per capita annual salary of the full-time workers in China was USD 1699 (RMB 14040) in 2003, USD 1503 (RMB 12422) in 2002, and USD 1315 (RMB 10870) in 2001.
According to the Bureau, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security released a survey indicating that in 2003, the annual average monthly work days and hours of the full-time employees in cities and towns were 20.92 days and 167.4 hours respectively, the converted daily and hourly salary based on this fact were USD 6.76 (RMB 55.93) and USD 0.85 (RMB 6.99) respectively.
(Source: Beijing Daily, 07/04/2004 - Translated by Shen Yan)
3. Credit Suisse First Boston Gains Approval to Trade Derivatives in China
On August 20, 2004, Credit Suisse First Boston Bank (CSFB) Shanghai Branch gained approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to trade derivatives in China. CSFB becomes the first foreign investment bank that obtained such an approval in China.
On February 4, 2004, CBRC announced the Provisional Administrative Rules Governing Derivatives Activities of Financial Institutions, which permits the qualified foreign bank branches in China to trade derivatives activities with the Chinese enterprises directly. The Rules clarifies the term "derivatives"as the financial contracts that derive their values from the prices of one or a number of underlying assets or indices, and that are basically classified as forwards, futures, swaps and options. The term "derivatives" shall also mean the structured financial instruments with the characteristics of forwards, futures, swaps, and options, and various combinations thereof.
In June 2004, Citi-group was awarded its license for derivatives activities by the CBRC, followed by Standard Chartered, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mizuho Financial Group and Nanyang Commercial Bank. 20 foreign financial institutions including JP Morgan, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, also submitted their application to the CBRC for the derivatives trade license. However, Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Goldman Sachs can’t yet join the derivatives trading market, since they haven’t set up branches in China.
CSFB Shanghai Branch was awarded the license and Mr. Paul Calello, the Chair and CEO, Asia and Pacific Region of the Credit Suisse Group, expects that demand for derivatives will come from Chinese government agencies, large financial institutions, local and foreign companies and institutional investors etc.
(Source: China Economic Times, 08/23/2004, - Translated by Peng Aiqun)
4.China's biggest bookstore to sell shares
Xinhua Bookstore, China's biggest state-owned book seller, will be turned into a joint-stock company, and as much as 60 percent of the equity stakes would be open to domestic and foreign bidders, an official said in Beijing on August 25. The planned joint-stock company would have at least five investors and Xinhua Bookstore would hold a stake up to at least 40 percent.
The bookstore, which has branches in all Chinese cities and towns, is negotiating with six companies, including Chinese private companies and foreign-invested ventures. Earlier, The General Manager of the bookstore said the bookstore hoped to have a "strong" foreign investor in a bid to bring in advanced managerial expertise. The plan for the bookstore's transformation has been submitted to the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) for approval. A detailed plan is expected at the end of this year.
China has gradually opened its publication, distribution and printing fields in accordance with its commitments to the World Trade Organization and will fully open its publication wholesale market to overseas investment by the end of this year.
(Source: CEIS News, 08/25/2004,- Translated by Qiu Jing)
5.China Lacks 4,000 MRI Machines
Recently, Siemens Medical Group expanded their investment in China. They invested USD 3.6 million (RMB 29.75 million) to build the MRI R&D and manufacturing facility. According to Siemens, in the next ten years, small to medium-sized Chinese hospitals will demand more than 4,000 MRI machines, an average of 300-400 per year.
There is a huge market potential for MRI equipment in China. In the U.S., there are 38 MRI machines per 1 million people, while in China; there is only 1 MRI machine per 1 million people. The market potential will mostly be from small to medium-sized hospitals, as most of 3A hospitals (the best hospitals) in China already have the MRI system installed. China has a total number of 18,000 hospitals among which only 1,000 hospitals are 3A hospitals, leaving 90% small to medium-sized hospitals unequipped.
Siemens has 33% of the global market share of MRI machines and 35% of the Chinese market.
(Source: Beijing Business Today, 08/12/2004-Translated by Xu Ye)
Consulate News: Shenyang
In keeping with our goal of making the CCB a more integrated publication, our four China branch offices - Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenyang - submit consulate news to the CCB on a rotating schedule. This week, we are pleased to feature a contribution from CS Shenyang.
The U.S. Commercial Service welcomes the arrival of David Kornbluth, incoming Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, and Soching Tsai, incoming Principal Commercial Officer. Both of whom will assume duties on August 30, 2004. We also bid farewell to Erin Sullivan, who served as Principal Commercial Officer in the northeast region for nearly five years. Other new arrivals at post include Pol/Econ Officer Andy Kim, FM Officer David Stewart, Consular Officer Douglas Kelly and Economic Officer Laurel Steele.
For more information on CS Shenyang and the Shenyang consular region, visit our website at http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/Shenyang.html
DISCLAIMER: CS China does not guarantee the veracity of the original sources of our news summaries. While we do our best to report accurate and timely articles and news sources, you should always check the source for further information.
The China Commercial Brief is a free newsletter published by the U.S. Embassy- Beijing.
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INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2004. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.