General news on Chinese economy

China’s energy consumption double world average
China's energy consumption per GDP is 2.2 times the world average, said Zhang Ping, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Legal Evening News reported. Zhang said that China is becoming more reliant on other countries in terms of major mineral resources. More than half of the petroleum and iron ore China consumes is imported. China's domestic economy has been developing at an annual rate of 11.2 percent, while the annual increase in energy consumption remains at 6.6 percent. Zhang also mentioned that in 2012 the government's annual investment in rural areas will surpass 1 trillion yuan ($158 million) for the first time in history, the paper reported. (People’s Daily/Dec 29th)

Fast growth in fiscal spending to boost economy
China will see a faster-growing fiscal expenditure next year, together with moderate scales of fiscal deficit and public debt, to prompt a steady development, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday. Li said more priorities should be given to the areas related to improving people's livelihood, so as to boost the domestic demand and consumption. And the country will also strive to maintain a proper pace of investment and foreign trade growth. (Dec 28th/China Daily)


Finance & Consumer Goods

Mengniu shares plunge on milk scare
China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd lost almost one-fourth of its value on Wednesday after its shares plunged 26 percent to their lowest level in more than two years. The retreat came after the nation's biggest dairy company was hit by a tainted milk scare over the Christmas holiday. In a statement on its website over the weekend, Mengniu said that it had destroyed products at a plant in Sichuan province that were found by the government quality watchdog to contain aflatoxin, a substance that can cause severe liver damage, including liver cancer. The discovery of the toxins is the latest of several safety scares to hit China's dairy industry in recent years. (Dec 29th/China Daily)

Environment & Energy

Water & Renewable Energy

China invests 334.1b yuan in water conservation
China invested a record 334.1 billion yuan ($52.82 billion) in water conservation this year, said the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR). The central government alone invested more than 100 billion yuan in water conservation projects, up 70.5% from a year earlier, according to the MWR.
Part of the investment has been used to ensure safe drinking water for more than 63 million rural residents. (2011-12-28 Xinhua)

Shenhua planning Asia's largest thermal power project in S. China
China Shenhua Group Co. Ltd., the country's largest coal producer, has signed an agreement to build Asia's largest thermal power project in Beihai City of Guangxi in southern China. According to the agreement signed with the regional government, the future plant contracted to be built in about five years will have eight power generators with a capacity of one million kilowatts each.
The regional government expects the project to help ease the region's severe power shortage, as lingering drought in recent years has strained its power supply from hydro-power production in the water resource-rich region. (2011-12- 27, Xinhua)

China's investment in power projects up 9.5% in first 11 months
China invested a total of 620.7 billion yuan (98.06 billion U.S. dollars) in power projects in the first 11 months of this year, up 9.5% year-on-year, the China Electricity Council (CEC) said. The country's investment in power-generation projects totaled 309.3 billion yuan while that in grid construction hit 311.4 billion yuan, up 0.5% and 20.1%, respectively. From Jan. to Nov., the country's investment in new energy facilities, including those for hydroelectric power, nuclear power and wind power, accounted for 67.3% of the total investment in power-generation projects, up 3.9 percentage points compared with one year ago. However, the proportion of investment in coal-fired power plants fell by 6.5 percentage points to 29.59% during the period.
(2011-12-19, Xinhua)

Govt seeks new ways to set prices for wind power
China is looking at abandoning the use of public auctions to set the price for offshore wind power projects, said an official from the National Energy Administration. Instead of using that system to arrive at a standard price, the government is considering allowing several big State-owned companies to plan such project through negotiating with local governments and authorities such as the State Oceanic Administration. Those initial plans would then have to receive the approval of the National Energy Administration before the work could begin. (2011-12-15 China Daily)

Sino-German eco-park attracting investment
Despite a slowdown in the pace of investment growth from the EU and the trading bloc's debt woes, China's appeal remains strong and EU investment, especially in the new-energy sector, will surge, according to Ministry of Commerce. The Sino-German eco-park will be built in Qingdao of Shandong province. The park, covering 10 square kilometers, is the first venture of its kind between the two nations. It's designed to help China attract German investment in sectors such as renewable energy, energy reduction and environmental protection. The park is expected to be fully operational in 10 years and, when completed, will be a world-class venue for green industry. The first phase, covering 3.5 sq km, will be developed during the next three to five years.
(2011-12-07 China Daily)

China puts more money in renewable energy resources
China has become the world's biggest investor in renewable energy sources, said a senior environmental official of CPPCC National Committee during a forum held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. China invested over 300 billion Yuan ($47.31 billion) in renewable energy sources in 2010, outranking every other country. The official of China's top advisory body estimated that more than 3,000 billion Yuan ($473.1 billion) would be poured into industries related to environmental protection from 2011 to 2015.  (2011-12-05 Xinhua)

Sembcorp Opens Award-Winning Industrial Water Reclamation Plant in China
Sembcorp just opened its first industrial water reclamation plant in China capable of producing 20,000 cubic meters per day of industrial water and up to 4,000 cubic meters per day of demineralized water for supply to customers in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Port Zone. The RMB106 million (S.5 million) facility has the unique capability of producing industrial water using treated effluent from Sembcorp’s centralized industrial wastewater treatment plant in the zone, thereby promoting water reuse and environmental conservation. With this facility, Sembcorp’s total investment in the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Port Zone amounts to approximately RMB320 million (S.9 million).  (2011-12-14 chinawater.net)

China to double wind power generation capacity
China's wind power generation capacity has neared 40 million kilowatts, and it is under way to meet the goal of doubling the figure by 2015, according to an industry report. During the first 10 months this year, wind turbines generated 58.3 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 57% year-on-year, accounting for 1.5% of the nation's total electricity output, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a latest report. It is estimated that China has exploitable wind power resources equaling 2.38 billion kilowatts on land, and about 200 million kilowatts offshore.
 (2011-12-05, Xinhua)


Telecom & IT

Telecom/IT

Apple loses suit over iPad name
The Intermediate People’s Court in the city of Shenzhen has rejected an Apple Inc, claim that Proview Technology (Shenzhen) a Hong Kong-headquartered tech company, has violated its iPad trademark. The Court held that Preview lawfully registered the iPad trademark in China in the year 2000. Even though Apple can still make an appeal regarding this decision, Proview will likely seek judgment against Apple for trademark infringement by selling iPads in China. With 4 stores in Beijing and China and as well as 1,000 authorized sellers all over the country Apple's iPad sales in China are soaring high. (December 7th / South China Morning Post) 

China Racing to Expand Data Center Capacity
China is in the midst of an unprecedented data center construction boom that's providing business opportunities for U.S. companies and could see China emerge with one of the most advanced computing infrastructures in the world. The country is building dozens, maybe hundreds of large data centers to support the needs of its fast-growing online population, estimated now at close to 500 million. The data centers will help to meet escalating demand from telecom providers, and for services such as e-commerce, online banking and e-government.
They will also provide computing infrastructure for overseas firms looking to expand in China.
The build-out is strongly backed by the Chinese government, which has made expanding the national computing infrastructure a part of its latest five-year plan. And local governments are funding the development of vast "cloud cities" -- industrial zones that aim to provide the foundations to support as many as 20 data centers over time. (Dec 29th/C114)

China's telecom sector earns CNY 901.15 bln in 11 mths
China's telecommunication sector earned CNY 901.15 billion in sales revenue during the first eleven months of this year, an increase of 9.6 percent year-on-year, reports sina.com.cn, citing Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. At the end of November, China's total number of phone users hit 1.26 billion, of which mobile phone users accounted for 975 million of the total. During the period, the industry posted a 13.6 percent year-on-year growth in sales from the mobile sector to CNY 651.91 billion. The proportion of mobile phones sales to total sales rose to 72.34 percent from 69.83 percent recorded in the corresponding period of last year. The fixed-line sector generated CNY 249.24 billion in sales revenue, increasing 0.5 percent year-on-year. (Dec 28th/C114)
Equipment Provider

Huawei Leaders Rotate Top Job
Huawei Technologies Co. has adopted a system in which senior executives take turns acting as the company's top administrative official for daily operations, its reclusive founder and top executive wrote in an internal message to employees.  The management shift may be a sign that Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei is moving away from certain duties at the Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker. Mr. Ren remains Huawei's leader, but he mentors and supports the other executives in what the company calls a "rotating CEO" system, a person familiar with the matter said.  (Dec 28th/C114)

ZTE Corp, Huawei Technologies eye $200 mn from Indian market
Chinese telecom gear makers ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies are eyeing revenue opportunities from the Indian enterprise market that may yield $200 million to each, by the end of next year, said senior executives from the companies. The companies expect the enterprise segment to become a significant revenue generator in the future as the Indian enterprise market size may double over the next few years. They are, therefore, planning to grab a considerable share of contracts from private enterprises and government sectors such as utilities, banking and health. ZTE and Huawei currently offer telecom hardware to service providers like Airtel and Reliance Communications, and mobile handsets to many operators and local handset makers. To the enterprise segment, they would offer hardware and software solutions, said company executives. (Dec 20th/C114)

Carriers

China Unicom to launch mid-level smartphones for sale at below CNY1,500
China Unicom unveiled mid-level Android smartphone models equipped 1GHz processor developed by Qualcomm or Taiwan-based MediaTek and a screen of at least 4.0 inches for launch soon in the China market at below CNY1,500 (US$237), according to industry sources in Taiwan.  The mid-level smartphone models will be provided by eight China-based vendors, that is, ZTE, Huawei Device, Lenovo, Coolpad, Hisense, Amoi, TCL and SED, the sources indicated.  China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom have actively promoted sale of inexpensive smartphones equipped with 60MHz processors and screens of up to 3.5 inches at up to CNY 1,000 in 2011. In view of increasing demand for higher hardware specifications, China Unicom has decided to upgrade smartphones for focus promotion to 1GHz processor and 4.0-inch screen size, the sources pointed out. (Digitimes/Dec 27th)

China Telecom says total subscribers rose to 123.39 mln in Nov
China Telecom Corp Ltd , the smallest of the country's three telecommunications operators, said on Tuesday that its mobile subscribers increased to 123.39 million in November, including 33.35 million 3G subscribers. China Telecom said on its website that 3G subscribers rose by 2.16 million in November, while total users increased by 3.1 million. (Rueters/Dec 21st)

AT&T, China Telecom agree to expand partnership
AT&T Inc (T.N) and China Telecom Corp Ltd (0728.HK) have agreed to expand their relationship in China and the United States and will look into supporting each other in other regions.  AT&T said on Wednesday that the agreement would expand its services for business customers in China and that the companies would consider jointly developing services, including video conferencing and managed hosting.  They will also look at working together in other regions, according to AT&T, but it did not provide details.  China Telecom said it will be able to improve its services to Asian customers in the United States by using AT&T's network there for the first time in the expanded agreement.  (Reuters/Dec1st)

China Mobile says total subscribers rose to 644.32 million in Nov
China Mobile, China's largest mobile carrier, said on Tuesday that its total mobile subscribers increased to 644.32 million in November, including 48 million 3G subscribers. China Mobile said on its website that 3G subscribers rose by 2.67 million in November, while total users increased by 5.43 million. (Reuter/Dec 1st)

Software

China software industry posts January-September revenues of CNY1,300 billion
China's software industry generated total revenues of CNY1,300.2 billion (US$199.9 billion) during January-September 2011, growing 31.7% on year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The total value for exports of software products and services in the same period was US$21.0 billion, accounting for 10.5% of the total revenues and rising 15.4% on year. (Nov 1st/ Digitimes)

Internet

Alibaba hires U.S. lobbying firm as it eyes Yahoo
Alibaba Group has hired a Washington lobbying firm in a sign that the Chinese e-commerce company would be willing to make a bid for all of Yahoo Inc in the event that talks to unwind their Asian partnership fail. Japan's Softbank Corp, which owns a 30 percent stake in Alibaba and is a partner in Yahoo Japan, is also listed as an Alibaba affiliate in the disclosure by the lobbying firm, Duberstein Group Inc. Alibaba Group's founder, Jack Ma, said in September he was keen to buy all of Yahoo if the opportunity presented itself. Hiring a Washington lobbying firm could help Alibaba address any U.S. political opposition to a complete takeover of Yahoo by a company from a country that controls and censors the Internet. (Dec 29th/Reuters


Medical & Healthcare

China to maintain iron-handed policy on fake drugs
China will keep its iron-handed policy in combating fake drugs in the upcoming year, the country's drug watchdog said Tuesday.  Shao Mingli, head of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), made the remarks at a national conference on the supervision and management of drugs and food. Shao said drug watchdogs at different levels will coordinate with related government organs to make joint efforts to combat counterfeiting and supervise the investigation of major cases with significant social ramifications, adding that enterprises involved will be punished severely. China launched a two-year special campaign for drug safety from July 2009 to July 2011, during which authorities investigated more than 42,000 cases and shut down 1,093 illegal websites.  (Dec 20th/Xinhua News)

China to build ADR monitoring system
China will build a comprehensive nationwide system to monitor adverse drug reactions in five years, an official from the country's drug watchdog said on Thursday.  Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) refer to harmful and undesired effects that results from normal dosage of medicines, therapies or other kinds of interventions. Wu Zhen, deputy director general of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), said at a national meeting on ADRs Thursday that China had already built a preliminary system to monitor ADRs at national, provincial and prefectural levels. (Nov 17th/China Daily)

Other Sector & Local News

Local News

Shenzhen Completed Bond Sell of 2.2 Billion Yuan
Shenzhen sold 2.2 billion yuan (US$346.75 million) in bonds on November 25th, its first direct sale of local government bonds to institutional investors. Shenzhen is the last of four local governments to sell local bonds directly instead of going through the Ministry of Finance after the Central Government approved the participation of four local governments — Shanghai, Guangdong, Shenzhen and Zhejiang in a pilot scheme to make municipal fund-raising more market based.  Cities and provincial governments were prevented from borrowing directly from markets since the People’s Republic was funded in 1949. The pilot is aimed to give local governments the experience to operate a genuine municipal bond market which expected to be more transparent, reliable and force more discipline on local debt which is estimated by the central government at nearly 11 trillion yuan. (November 26th / South China Morning Post) 

Shenzhen to launch I.P. index in 2012
Shenzhen plans to set up Asia's first equity index on technology patents during 2012 in an attempt to become a trading center of copyrights, patents, trademarks and franchises. The index is expected to offer investors the opportunity to trade technology patents held by companies on an open market. A similar equity index, Ocean Tomo 300 Patent Index, or OTPAT, is already operates in the city of Chicago, offering investors the opportunity to trade technology patents held by conglomerates such as Boeing, Microsoft and Adobe. (November 21th / South China Morning Post) 

The southern Province of Hainan to invest heavily on truism
Backed by China’s central government, Hainan Province, known for its tropical weather as “China’s Hawaii”, signed deals for projects worth 17 billion Yuan, as part of its continuing efforts to develop its tourism industry and become international tourist destination. The new projects, ranging from resorts, hotels and commercial property to clean energy and power stations, are located in west Hainan, which is relatively less developed than its eastern part. A new airport, which will be the third on the island after Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport, will be built in the city of Danzhou. Hainan also plans to revamp cruise terminals in the cities of Sanya and Haikou to receive 200,000-ton cruise ships, the largest cruise ship type at present.  (December 7th / South China Morning Post)