U.S. Commercial Service - American Embassy, Beijing
Vol. 2 No. 152
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Editor: Matthew Gettman
Contributors:CS Chengdu, Xi Xianmin, Qiu Jing, Shen Yan, Peng Aiqun, Cao Yue
News Briefs
In addition to the article summaries CS Beijing provides , 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 Chendu post.
1. USD 8.7 Billion Will Be Poured Into More Power Stations
2. Retailers See Big Sales Rise During Spring Festival
3. First Sino-Foreign Housing Savings Bank Opens
4. High Tech and Precise Bearing Imports Soaring in China
5. 2003 China Informatization Survey Report Released
6. Latest Figures of Chinese Students Overseas
1. USD 8.7 Billion Will Be Poured Into More Power Stations
As a result of the rapid development of the local economy and the increase in electricity usage by industry and private consumers, Sichuan Province is facing a serious electricity power shortage. The Sichuan Provincial Government has announced that it will fund RMB 72 billion (USD 8.7 billion) for the construction of a series of large-scale power stations in 2004 and 2005.
Four jumbo-size hydropower stations will be built on the Daduhe, Yalongjiang and Jinshajiang rivers. The rivers’ exploitable waterpower accounts for 80% of the province’s total. The four hydropower stations will be able to generate power even during low water flow periods since they will have a specially designed reservoir which will maximize the amount of water that is available at all times.
A group of large and mid-sized hydropower stations, including the Zipingpu hydropower station and those located on the Huoxihe, upstream Minjiang and Mabian rivers, will be constructed in Chengdu, Deyang, Mianyang, Leshan and Neijiang cities.
Ten thermal power stations will be built in Yibin, Luzhou, Guangan and Dazhou, which are the four major coal producers in Sichuan Province and account for 80% of the coal resources in the Province.
By the end of 2005, Sichuan Province will have an electric power supply of 32.6 million kilowatts.
(Sources: Chengdu Weekly, 01/11/2004, Edited by CS Chengdu)
2. Retailers See Big Sales Rise During Spring Festival
According to statistics from the China Commercial Information Center, China’s 100 key retailers realized combined sales of RMB 2.1 billion (USD 254 million) during the recently concluded week-long Spring Festival holiday.
Retail sales at 114 Beijing retailers added up to over RMB 1 billion (USD 126 million), a rise of 8 per cent during the holidays.
More than 3,000 retail outlets in Shanghai sold goods worth RMB 2.43 billion (USD 294 million), a 10.4 per cent increase.
Retail sales in Xian in China’s western region grew by 14 per cent in that period, and those in Wuhan in central China rose 12.2 per cent.
Retailers are enjoying the Lunar New Year as local residents spent more than ever this Spring Festival while dining out, as well as purchasing high-end electrical appliances and jewelry.
(Source: Beijing Youth Daily, 2/4/04,-Translated by Shen Yan)
3. First Sino-Foreign Housing Savings Bank Opens
On February 15, 2004, the first Sino-foreign housing savings bank, Sino-German Housing Savings Bank, held an opening ceremony in Tianjin, which marks the operation of the first-ever housing savings bank in China based on international standards. In the meantime, its repayment interest rate of 3.3 percent, provided a public rate that for the first time varied from the ‘fixed’ rate for housing loans in China.
The Sino-German Housing Savings Bank was jointly established by the China Construction Bank (CCB) and the German Bausparkasse Schwaebishe Hall. Its registered capital is RMB 150 million (approximately USD 18 million), with the CCB owning 75.1 percent of the stake and the Bausparkasse Schwaebische Hall owing 24.9 percent.
The housing savings bank itself is a product that combines savings and loans. After the clients sign the housing savings contract with the housing savings bank, and make their initial deposit with the housing savings bank, the client can reap an interest income and government bonuses from their deposits. Further, the housing savings bank clients are entitled to obtain home loans with an annual rate of 3.3 percent, far below that of other regular home loans, currently at 5.04
percent (repayment period of more than 5 years) in China. Furthermore, the interest rate of the housing saving bank loan will be fixed in the form of contract between the bank and its client, not to be affected by the rate fluctuation in the capital market like other home loans.
The appearance of the Sino-foreign housing savings bank will create a new channel of money collection for common house buyers and enrich China’s housing financing system.
(Source : China Business Times, 02/16/2004, International Finance News, 02/16/2004 - Translated by Peng Aiqun)
4. High Tech and Precise Bearing Imports Soaring in China
In the first three quarters of 2003, China imported USD 645 million worth of bearings, with trade deficit of USD 30 million. Though the report for the whole year has not been released yet, industrial experts estimate that the ratio between bearing imports and exports in China in 2003 reached 1.05:1, breaking the record with imports exceeding exports held since 1986.
Based on the data in the past years, bearing imports in China show strong impetus:
Year Ratio (import: export)
1998 0.5:1
1999 0.67:1
2000 0.67:1
2001 0.72:1
2002 0.87:1
2003 1.05:1
Industrial experts mainly attribute the speedy increase of bearing imports to the positive development of the principal machinery. In 2002 the industry volume shot up 18.9% nationwide, with machinery rising 23.39%. The eight principal machinery production reached a record-high development, including 3.477 million vehicles with 38.45% higher than 2001; 284 million kilowatts of internal combustion engines with 38.33% increase; 232,000 units of metal cutting machine tools with 19.15% increase. The accessory bearings to the principal machinery are in short domestic supply and therefore have lead to a sharp increase in bearing imports.
China has production capability of 20,000 bearings each year, lagging behind the international level. China imports large quantity of bearings with special industry purpose, high precision, high tech content, and high added-value.
(Sources: China Industry News, 02/05/2004 - Translated by Yue Cao)
5. 2003 China Informatization Survey Report Released
CCID (China Center for Information Industry Development Research) recently released "2003 Survey Report on China's Informatization Condition". The survey, started in September last year covered over 10,000 enterprises, institutions and government agencies.
The Report indicates that the government plays a leading role in the informatization drive. 97.6% of government agencies surveyed have introduced e-government applications. 30% of the surveyed institutions have started developing long-term plans for informatization. "Virtual enterprise" technology tops the list of best prospect application technologies according to the opinions of respondents to the survey. Other technologies on the list include: "networking and large capacity storage", "collaborative commerce", and "mobile computing".
(Source: China Information World, 01/12/ 2004 Issue 1282, page A5- Translated by Xi Xianmin)
6. Latest figures of Chinese Students Overseas
China has 700,200 students who have studied or are currently studying at overseas educational institutions from 1978 to 2003, according to the latest status from China's Ministry of Education. Only 172,800 of those students have returned to China.
The number of Chinese overseas students has increased rapidly over this period of time. In 1998, China sent 17,000 student overseas to study. By the end of 2002, the number had reached 125,000. The number of self-sponsored students increased 11 times in the past 5 years, from 11,000 in 1998 to 117,000 in 2002.
In 2003, 117,300 Chinese went to study overseas. Among them, 3,002 are Chinese Government sponsored, 5,144 are work unit sponsored, and 109,200 are self-sponsored. In 2003, 20,100 Chinese students returned from overseas. Among them, 2,638 are Chinese Government sponsored, 4,292 are work unit sponsored, and 13,200 are self sponsored.
(Source: China's Ministry Of Education, 16/02/2004 - Translated by Qiu Jing)
Consulate News: Chengdu
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 Chengdu.
Ambassador Randt visited the Chengdu Consulate on Feb. 18, at which time he attended both an American Citizen Breakfast and a Rule of Law reception that was held in his honor. The following day, Ambassador Randt met with several Chengdu city and Sichuan government officials, toured the Chengdu Panda Research Base and visited the Jinsha Archaeological site.
For more information on CS Chengdu and the Chengdu consular region, visit our website at http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/Chengdu.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, 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES.