http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caixin_Media
Caixin Media
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caixin Media Company Ltd. (Chinese: 财新传媒)
is a Beijing-based media group providing financial and business news
and information through periodicals, online content, mobile apps,
conferences, books and TV/video programs. Caixin Media publishes four
magazines, Century Weekly, China Reform, Comparative Studies and Caixin - China Economics & Finance.
Contents |
Company Structure
Hu Shuli, the former founding editor of Caijing Magazine, is one of the founders and the editor-in-chief of Caixin Media. Yang Daming acts as deputy chief editor, and Wang Shuo is managing editor. The business side is headed by Daphne Wu as executive president.[1]History
Caixin Media was established in January 2010, created subsequent to the departure of Hu Shuli and the majority of the editors and reporters at Caijing Magazine in November 2009.[2] The original staff of Caixin Media is entirely employees that left Caijing.Caixin’s flagship publication, Century Weekly, was first published under Caixin Media on 4 January 2010.[3] Although said to have been created amidst rivalry with the magazine's former staff,[4] it has been billed as the new benchmark for Chinese media.[5]
References
- ^ Ramzy, Austin (10 November 2009). "China's 'Most Dangerous Woman' Gets a New Forum". TIME. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "From Caijing to Caixin – Don’t Die Before You’re Dead". The China Times. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Coonan, Clifford (13 January 2010). "Crusading editor fights new war on censorship". The Independent World. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ Huang Jingjing (5 January 2010). "Rivalry surrounds controversial editor". Global Times. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ Canaves, Sky and Feng, Sue (7 January 2010). "Hu Shuli's New Magazine Venture". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 January 2010c.
External links
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Caixin Online Home Page:
http://english.caixin.com/
http://english.caixin.com/2012-05-25/100394100.html
05.25.2012 17:56
Drooping Credit Curve Signals Inflection Point
Recent data from exporters, bankers, realtors and others points to a slump in loan demand that may be here to stay
RELATED POSTS
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(Beijing)–Orders are down, raw material prices and unsold inventories are up, and overseas markets are looking bleaker by the day.
So uncertain is the business environment that many export-oriented Chinese manufacturers can think of nothing more than short-term survival. Borrowing from a bank for new investment is the last thing on their minds as the second half of 2012 gets under way.
"For some companies," said one bank official, "just getting through the winter was good enough."
Cooling demand for expansion-oriented loans has been mirrored, for example, by the downward trend since February in the one-year Shanghai interbank offered rate. The Shibor for bank-to-bank loans declined to around 5.1 percent in late April from nearly 5.24 percent just three months earlier.
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Technically, commercial borrowing is still very much alive: A central bank report said growth of fixed-asset investment loans from banks reached 649.6 billion yuan in the first quarter, 209 billion yuan less than the same period last year. Businesses alone borrowed an extra 277 billion yuan during the first three months compared to the same period last year.
And at the end of March, the central bank said, the nation's financial institutions had 57.25 trillion yuan in outstanding loans on their books – up 15.7 percent from same period 2011.
Yet a closer look at the lending landscape reveals an undercurrent of pessimism. The sliding Shibor, for example, is a sign that banks have stepped up interbank deposit activity in the face of weakening loan demand.
Much of the money borrowed in recent months, for example, has involved
short-term notes issued by banks, payable within a year. In March, nearly 71
percent of the 1 trillion yuan in new lending involved note financing and
short-term loans.
"Because banks are reluctant to make long-term loans, or don't have enough long-term lending projects that meet their conditions, note financing is being used to meet quotas," said a corporate lending department source at a major bank. "It's much like the situation in the first half of 2009."
At this time last year, the source said, banks tried to make more room for loans. This year, they're doing the opposite.
First-quarter note financing rose to the highest point since 2009 to 257 billion yuan.
Real estate-related lending has been soft as well, reflecting a two-year campaign by the government to control new-home prices and limit speculation. A bank loan manager said mortgage demand and bank willingness to lend are falling. Another bank executive said personal loan demand is down, too.
Another reason for lower credit demand this year, according to a source at a Zhejiang Province branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation's largest lender, is central government restrictions on local government financing platforms. The platforms may have borrowed too freely following the 2008 global financial crisis for economy-boosting infrastructure projects.
The branch president also cited the impact of falling overseas demand for Chinese goods and the nation's cooling real estate market.
A risk department manager at another major bank said the slowdown for company loan demand is one of several signs of an economy losing steam. Another, he said, is a recent decline in nationwide electricity use.
"There is indeed pressure on lending because the economy is cooling," said a branch president for a major state-owned bank, who asked not to be named.
Sunny Side
Optimists are trying to offset negative attitudes. Some say it's too early to tell whether the latest downturn in loan demand is temporary or long-term. One senior central bank official acknowledged "insufficient effective demand" for loans, but no one has gauged the significance of the credit market's status.
Zeng Gang, director of the Institute of Finance Bank Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said liquidity is not a problem for companies with controllable risks and stable sources for repaying outstanding loans. In general, he said, companies looking for money are those in industries under stricter credit control or with high risks.
(Beijing) – China's currency will gradually appreciate against the U.S. dollar by nearly 10 percent over five years, a report by a private think tank predicts.
In 2017, the exchange rate of the yuan against the US dollar would be 5.7, up about 9.5 percent from the current 6.3 level, Beijing-based West Brothers Economic Research Institute said.
The result is based on the assumption that the country's economy will keep growing at 7.5 percent per year over the next five years, compared with 2 percent in the United States.
The yuan has appreciated against the U.S. dollar by 32 percent since exchange rate reform in 2005. Meanwhile, China's gross domestic product has expanded by 123 percent, far outpacing the U.S. growth of 11 percent.
This means the yuan still has much room for appreciation, the report said, because the difference in the two countries' economic growth rates indicates a potential for the yuan to appreciate by more than 100 percent against the U.S. dollar.
Considering the ongoing process of urbanization and regulatory reforms, the Chinese economy still has better growth momentum than most developed economies, the report said.
Other factors supporting a stronger yuan include anticipated difference in interest levels between China and countries where loose monetary policies are depressing bank deposit returns.
So-called quantitative easing in the United States is also driving international flows of capital into China. In addition, the appeal of the yuan as an investment vehicle is growing globally and attracting more foreign investors. Therefore, the yuan's appreciation is far from approaching an end, the report said.
http://english.caixin.com/2012-11-06/100456878.html
"Because banks are reluctant to make long-term loans, or don't have enough long-term lending projects that meet their conditions, note financing is being used to meet quotas," said a corporate lending department source at a major bank. "It's much like the situation in the first half of 2009."
At this time last year, the source said, banks tried to make more room for loans. This year, they're doing the opposite.
First-quarter note financing rose to the highest point since 2009 to 257 billion yuan.
Real estate-related lending has been soft as well, reflecting a two-year campaign by the government to control new-home prices and limit speculation. A bank loan manager said mortgage demand and bank willingness to lend are falling. Another bank executive said personal loan demand is down, too.
 |
Another reason for lower credit demand this year, according to a source at a Zhejiang Province branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation's largest lender, is central government restrictions on local government financing platforms. The platforms may have borrowed too freely following the 2008 global financial crisis for economy-boosting infrastructure projects.
The branch president also cited the impact of falling overseas demand for Chinese goods and the nation's cooling real estate market.
A risk department manager at another major bank said the slowdown for company loan demand is one of several signs of an economy losing steam. Another, he said, is a recent decline in nationwide electricity use.
"There is indeed pressure on lending because the economy is cooling," said a branch president for a major state-owned bank, who asked not to be named.
Sunny Side
Optimists are trying to offset negative attitudes. Some say it's too early to tell whether the latest downturn in loan demand is temporary or long-term. One senior central bank official acknowledged "insufficient effective demand" for loans, but no one has gauged the significance of the credit market's status.
Zeng Gang, director of the Institute of Finance Bank Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said liquidity is not a problem for companies with controllable risks and stable sources for repaying outstanding loans. In general, he said, companies looking for money are those in industries under stricter credit control or with high risks.
"This is a process that must necessarily emerge from macroeconomic
adjustment," Zeng said. "It requires continuous observation."
Meanwhile, supporters of interest rate reform have found a sunny side in the current credit atmosphere: They say falling loan demand may force big banks to accept replacing government interest rate controls with a plan for marketization promoted by the central bank.
In March, writing in an official journal, Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said his agency would push for interest rate marketization this year. For the most part, he said, all conditions for change have been met.
Banks of all sizes say they're against market-oriented interest rates.
Some of the more blunt bank executives have said they're taking an "oppose first, discuss later" approach to the debate.
While some bank executives say they agree with the government's policy direction and think marketization would benefit banks in the long run, they've personally remained unconvinced that it's the right thing to do.
Joint-stock banks have an extra reason for opposing the proposed reform. They argue that marketization would give an advantage to the country's biggest, state-owned banks.
But an analyst close to the central bank said the banks' opposition to removing rate controls may actually support acceleration of interest rate marketization because the central bank's dissatisfaction on the banking sectors current operations.
Inflection Point?
To encourage more borrowing, some major bank executives have called on regulators to relax credit controls and lower the required ratio of deposits held in reserve in order to boost market liquidity.
Other banking executives have called for banks to give more attention to their outstanding loans.
"Banks currently have huge amounts of existing loans," said the loan manager. "Many existing loans are simply being repaid with new loans. Structural adjustment is needed."
These and other trends point to what some say is an inflection point for China's credit environment. Years of rapid growth are yielding to slowing growth, stagnation and in some cases defaults.
Caixin learned that loan default rates have increased significantly among small enterprises in some of the country's most commercially developed areas, such as in the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas.
"Insufficient orders, below-capacity operations and even power shortages will affect normal operations at these companies," said a risk manager at a major bank. "Production operations are deteriorating, leading to restrictions on loan-repayment capacities at small enterprises."
The capital markets have in various ways raised doubts about the bank credit environment improving anytime soon. Government policy moves have spread gloom, too, by restricting loan activity in the real estate, steel and aluminum industries.
http://english.caixin.com/2012-11-05/100456447.htmlMeanwhile, supporters of interest rate reform have found a sunny side in the current credit atmosphere: They say falling loan demand may force big banks to accept replacing government interest rate controls with a plan for marketization promoted by the central bank.
In March, writing in an official journal, Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said his agency would push for interest rate marketization this year. For the most part, he said, all conditions for change have been met.
Banks of all sizes say they're against market-oriented interest rates.
Some of the more blunt bank executives have said they're taking an "oppose first, discuss later" approach to the debate.
While some bank executives say they agree with the government's policy direction and think marketization would benefit banks in the long run, they've personally remained unconvinced that it's the right thing to do.
Joint-stock banks have an extra reason for opposing the proposed reform. They argue that marketization would give an advantage to the country's biggest, state-owned banks.
But an analyst close to the central bank said the banks' opposition to removing rate controls may actually support acceleration of interest rate marketization because the central bank's dissatisfaction on the banking sectors current operations.
Inflection Point?
To encourage more borrowing, some major bank executives have called on regulators to relax credit controls and lower the required ratio of deposits held in reserve in order to boost market liquidity.
Other banking executives have called for banks to give more attention to their outstanding loans.
 |
"Banks currently have huge amounts of existing loans," said the loan manager. "Many existing loans are simply being repaid with new loans. Structural adjustment is needed."
These and other trends point to what some say is an inflection point for China's credit environment. Years of rapid growth are yielding to slowing growth, stagnation and in some cases defaults.
Caixin learned that loan default rates have increased significantly among small enterprises in some of the country's most commercially developed areas, such as in the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas.
"Insufficient orders, below-capacity operations and even power shortages will affect normal operations at these companies," said a risk manager at a major bank. "Production operations are deteriorating, leading to restrictions on loan-repayment capacities at small enterprises."
The capital markets have in various ways raised doubts about the bank credit environment improving anytime soon. Government policy moves have spread gloom, too, by restricting loan activity in the real estate, steel and aluminum industries.
A regulatory source said the government wants banks to scale back activity in
selected industries, trades and regions and shift their resources to new
sectors. To that end, banks have put in place lending controls for
infrastructure projects such as high-speed railways, highways, airports and
water conservation.
Local government financing platforms are under new pressure from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), which this year announced an initiative to "reduce old loans, control the new" to platforms.
Data obtained by Caixin shows that as of April some 19 percent of the nation's 10,739 financing platforms have been told they no longer qualify as such and would have to pay off their outstanding loans.
Borrowing is an unlikely option for many companies lacking an appetite for risky expansions in the face of rising raw materials costs and below-capacity factories operations.
China's first-quarter GDP grew 8.1 percent year-over-year, the lowest quarterly growth rate in three years. In the same period, combined state-owned enterprise (SOE) profits fell 9.1 percent.
The Ministry of Land and Resources recently reported a decline in property earmarked for new warehouse and industrial construction. Of the 114,400 hectares approved for construction, warehouses were to be built on 31 percent.
The decline in new land made available for warehousing, analysts say, signals falling company investment.
Real estate projects took up 23.6 percent of the land, a decline of 18 percent compared to last year
Mortgage lending at ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China has slowed significantly. In April, ICBC's mortgage growth was an anemic 2 billion yuan, while ABC's lending rose just 6 billion yuan.
A Huatai United Securities report in May said bank credit is relatively easy to obtain for buyers of industrial machinery, but demand has fallen.
The risk manager said "a light increase in defaults is normal" given the current business environment. But he added that "as long as (China's) GDP grows at more than 7 percent, non-performing loans won't get out of control."
And a source at a Hainan Province branch of a state-owned bank said the slowdown in lending "over the past two years is likely a rational phenomenon because large-scale infrastructure investment in 2009 and 2010 digested investment demand for the following five years. Substantial growth could not be sustained."
(Beijing) – Money supply demand is growing on the back of the nation's rapidly expanding financial and service sectors, which have risen to complement traditional manufacturing, according to central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
Thus, in Zhou's eyes, market player complaints about an oversupply of Chinese currency are missing the point.
Zhou's comments were spelled out in a collection of his speeches published recently as a response to critics who say the People's Bank of China's decision to print more money has triggered inflation, hurting consumers.
Central bank data show, by the end of August, China's M2 balance, or broad money supply, stood at 92 trillion yuan, rising from 85 trillion yuan at the end of 2011.
Zhou defended money supply growth as essential to meeting the demands of the financial and service sectors, which need more currency to grow.
No longer are the nation's factories and other aspects of the materials production sector the central force driving GDP growth. Thus, Zhou said, money supply statistics that seem to be point to an "oversupply" actually reflect efforts to support an increasingly diverse economy, which includes new areas for currency demand.
"After stocks, bonds and futures trading begins, certain money supply levels are needed to support the liquidity of the financial market," said Zhou.
Critics of growing currency supply, he said, often fail to recognize the important connection between monetary liquidity and the financial market.
Moreover, he said, a variety of studies by economists have found no clear correlation between money supply adjustments and inflation control targets. Indeed, he said, central bankers in many parts of the developed world have stopped measuring money supply and now let rational expectations theory guide their policy-making.
Yet money supply figures are still important economic indicators in China and key ingredients for policy-maker decisions, Zhou said, since market data is often inadequate.
Local government financing platforms are under new pressure from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), which this year announced an initiative to "reduce old loans, control the new" to platforms.
Data obtained by Caixin shows that as of April some 19 percent of the nation's 10,739 financing platforms have been told they no longer qualify as such and would have to pay off their outstanding loans.
Borrowing is an unlikely option for many companies lacking an appetite for risky expansions in the face of rising raw materials costs and below-capacity factories operations.
China's first-quarter GDP grew 8.1 percent year-over-year, the lowest quarterly growth rate in three years. In the same period, combined state-owned enterprise (SOE) profits fell 9.1 percent.
The Ministry of Land and Resources recently reported a decline in property earmarked for new warehouse and industrial construction. Of the 114,400 hectares approved for construction, warehouses were to be built on 31 percent.
The decline in new land made available for warehousing, analysts say, signals falling company investment.
Real estate projects took up 23.6 percent of the land, a decline of 18 percent compared to last year
Mortgage lending at ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China has slowed significantly. In April, ICBC's mortgage growth was an anemic 2 billion yuan, while ABC's lending rose just 6 billion yuan.
A Huatai United Securities report in May said bank credit is relatively easy to obtain for buyers of industrial machinery, but demand has fallen.
The risk manager said "a light increase in defaults is normal" given the current business environment. But he added that "as long as (China's) GDP grows at more than 7 percent, non-performing loans won't get out of control."
And a source at a Hainan Province branch of a state-owned bank said the slowdown in lending "over the past two years is likely a rational phenomenon because large-scale infrastructure investment in 2009 and 2010 digested investment demand for the following five years. Substantial growth could not be sustained."
10.31.2012 18:18
Central Bank Chief Defends Money Supply Growth
Consider China‘s new growth areas, Zhou Xiaochuan tells critics who say printing money stokes inflation
RELATED POSTS
 |
(Beijing) – Money supply demand is growing on the back of the nation's rapidly expanding financial and service sectors, which have risen to complement traditional manufacturing, according to central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
Thus, in Zhou's eyes, market player complaints about an oversupply of Chinese currency are missing the point.
Zhou's comments were spelled out in a collection of his speeches published recently as a response to critics who say the People's Bank of China's decision to print more money has triggered inflation, hurting consumers.
Central bank data show, by the end of August, China's M2 balance, or broad money supply, stood at 92 trillion yuan, rising from 85 trillion yuan at the end of 2011.
Zhou defended money supply growth as essential to meeting the demands of the financial and service sectors, which need more currency to grow.
No longer are the nation's factories and other aspects of the materials production sector the central force driving GDP growth. Thus, Zhou said, money supply statistics that seem to be point to an "oversupply" actually reflect efforts to support an increasingly diverse economy, which includes new areas for currency demand.
"After stocks, bonds and futures trading begins, certain money supply levels are needed to support the liquidity of the financial market," said Zhou.
Critics of growing currency supply, he said, often fail to recognize the important connection between monetary liquidity and the financial market.
Moreover, he said, a variety of studies by economists have found no clear correlation between money supply adjustments and inflation control targets. Indeed, he said, central bankers in many parts of the developed world have stopped measuring money supply and now let rational expectations theory guide their policy-making.
Yet money supply figures are still important economic indicators in China and key ingredients for policy-maker decisions, Zhou said, since market data is often inadequate.
Yuan Will Appreciate to 5.7 against U.S. Dollar, Think Tank Forecasts
The country's continued growth seen as spurring its currency to strengthen over the next five years
RELATED POSTS
 |
(Beijing) – China's currency will gradually appreciate against the U.S. dollar by nearly 10 percent over five years, a report by a private think tank predicts.
In 2017, the exchange rate of the yuan against the US dollar would be 5.7, up about 9.5 percent from the current 6.3 level, Beijing-based West Brothers Economic Research Institute said.
The result is based on the assumption that the country's economy will keep growing at 7.5 percent per year over the next five years, compared with 2 percent in the United States.
The yuan has appreciated against the U.S. dollar by 32 percent since exchange rate reform in 2005. Meanwhile, China's gross domestic product has expanded by 123 percent, far outpacing the U.S. growth of 11 percent.
This means the yuan still has much room for appreciation, the report said, because the difference in the two countries' economic growth rates indicates a potential for the yuan to appreciate by more than 100 percent against the U.S. dollar.
Considering the ongoing process of urbanization and regulatory reforms, the Chinese economy still has better growth momentum than most developed economies, the report said.
Other factors supporting a stronger yuan include anticipated difference in interest levels between China and countries where loose monetary policies are depressing bank deposit returns.
So-called quantitative easing in the United States is also driving international flows of capital into China. In addition, the appeal of the yuan as an investment vehicle is growing globally and attracting more foreign investors. Therefore, the yuan's appreciation is far from approaching an end, the report said.
http://english.caixin.com/2012-11-06/100456878.html
11.06.2012 16:58
Google Maps Sees China Market Share Fall Again in Q3
U.S. Net giant's mapping service slips to ninth in the country, report by industry researcher says
RELATED POSTS
(Beijing) -- Google's mobile mapping service has seen its market share in
China decline to 9 percent in the third quarter of this year, a research report
says.
The report by Analysys International found that Google Maps now ranks the ninth among mobile map providers in China.
The market share for Google Maps peaked at 28 percent in the second quarter of 2011.
The top three market players are the domestic providers Amap, which had third-quarter market share of 25.9 percent; Baidu Map (19.2 percent); and Mapbar (9.5 percent).
Yin Jingxue, an analyst at Analysys International, blamed license issues for Google Maps' slide.
A guideline issued by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation in December stipulated that Net mapping service providers apply for licenses before launching.
Google applied for the license in November 11 but has not yet received approval.
Without the license, Google Maps cannot be upgraded regularly and the system remains unstable. The market share for Google Maps has fallen since the guideline was issued. It was 23.2 percent in the first quarter and 17.5 in the second, Analysys International said.
Google Maps has more foreign competition, too. In September, Apple Inc. installed its own mapping service for its new products, replacing the original Google service.
Yin said Google Maps would continue to struggle in China due to growing competition and the rise of domestic services.
The U.S. Internet giant has struggled in China since it launched its simplified Chinese portal Google.cn in 2006. In 2010, after months of disputes with the government over its operations, Google withdrew its mainland operations and redirected users to its site in Hong Kong.
http://english.caixin.com/2012-11-05/100456438.html
Banking Regulator Reshuffles Mid-level Officials The China Banking Regulatory Commission recently completed a reshuffle of several key mid-level positions. The moves come a year after the heads of the financial sector were changed. The recent reshuffle includes Yang Jiacai, former director of No. 1 Banking Department, who becomes head of the general office. Xiao Yuanqi, former director of No. 2 Banking Department, replaces Yang. Yang Linping, former director of the No. 3 department, will be replaced by Duan Jining, former director of the Innovative Supervision Department. Yang was named director of the No. 2 department.
Canada Again Delays Decision on CNOOC's Bid for Nexen
Canada is extending its review of China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s (CNOOC) bid to take over Nexen, a Canadian energy producer, to December 10. The Canadian industry minister, Christian Paradis, said the government needed more time to ensure the deal followed national law, which states that any sizeable foreign investment must guarantee a net benefit for Canada. Factors that are considered for approval of a major foreign investment include effects on employment, and whether the deal was a good industrial, cultural and economic fit. This is the second time that the review of CNOOC's bid has been extended since its original bid in July. Before this extension, a decision was supposed to be made by November 11.
Canton Fair Sees Decline in Deals
The 112th Canton Fair ended on November 4 and saw a decline of 10 percent in both the number of attendees and orders compared to the fair held in the spring. Fair spokesperson Liu Jianjun said orders from the European Union and the United States fell by about 10 percent, while orders from Japan dropped by almost 40 percent due to Sino-Japanese tensions. The demand from ASEAN countries and the Middle East also fell substantially, but orders from BRIC markets and Australia were almost stable. The Canton Fair is seen as a barometer for foreign demand of Chinese goods.
Original Article on 21st Century
Sinosteel's Overseas Iron Ore Interests Hit Rough Patch
Problems with Sinosteel's overseas projects threaten to reduce its supply of iron ore. The iron ore importer has had to suspend construction on railways and ports in Australia because of funding issues. Without the completion of these projects, transporting equipment and iron ore will be difficult. Sinosteel invested AU$ 1.36 billion for 50.97 percent of Midwest, an Australian mining and exploration firm, in 2009. The company had to suspend work at the Weld Range in Western Australia due to financing problems for a railway and port.
Foreign Banks Predict Better Economic Growth
In the wake of China's rising PMI figures, foreign banks predict that the country's economy could grow by 8 percent this year. Economists at Barclays and HSBC said that the new readings indicated growth in manufacturing activity, and the economy was showing tentative signs of stabilization. On November 5, HSBC and the National Bureau of Statistics stated that China's PMI for October was 49.5 and 50.2, respectively, indicating growth in manufacturing activity. During the third quarter, the economy grew by 7.4 percent, down from the second quarter's 7.6 percent.
Beijing Better Prepared for Bad Weather
Over the weekend, Beijing was hit with heavy rain and early snowfall. Looking to better handle the storm than it did with the July rainstorm that killed at least 77 people, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau began issuing rain and snow warnings on November 2. Cell phone companies, including China Mobile and China Unicom, sent out 30 million weather forecasts via text message. On the morning of November 4, authorities issued an "orange alert," the second-highest out of a four-level warning system. Due to the early cold snap, authorities also decided to turn on the city's heating system earlier than the usual November 15 date.
China National Gold Corp. Looks to Overseas Acquisitions
China National Gold Group Corp. (CNGC) will continue to speed up overseas acquisitions in order to obtain more resources, said Song Xin, its deputy general manager. Speaking at China's International Mining Conference on November 5, Song said that overseas mergers and acquisitions would not only provide China with more access to resources, but would also establish links for global cooperation. Addressing reports that CNGC had spent US$ 3.9 billion to acquire a 74 percent stake in African Barrick Gold, Song said that the two corporations were only talking and no deal had been reached. Due to the current state of the global economy, Song also said that the price of overseas deals was increasing.
Original article on Caixin
The report by Analysys International found that Google Maps now ranks the ninth among mobile map providers in China.
The market share for Google Maps peaked at 28 percent in the second quarter of 2011.
The top three market players are the domestic providers Amap, which had third-quarter market share of 25.9 percent; Baidu Map (19.2 percent); and Mapbar (9.5 percent).
Yin Jingxue, an analyst at Analysys International, blamed license issues for Google Maps' slide.
A guideline issued by the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation in December stipulated that Net mapping service providers apply for licenses before launching.
Google applied for the license in November 11 but has not yet received approval.
Without the license, Google Maps cannot be upgraded regularly and the system remains unstable. The market share for Google Maps has fallen since the guideline was issued. It was 23.2 percent in the first quarter and 17.5 in the second, Analysys International said.
Google Maps has more foreign competition, too. In September, Apple Inc. installed its own mapping service for its new products, replacing the original Google service.
Yin said Google Maps would continue to struggle in China due to growing competition and the rise of domestic services.
The U.S. Internet giant has struggled in China since it launched its simplified Chinese portal Google.cn in 2006. In 2010, after months of disputes with the government over its operations, Google withdrew its mainland operations and redirected users to its site in Hong Kong.
http://english.caixin.com/2012-11-05/100456438.html
11.05.2012 18:08
In Monday's Papers: Canada Again Delays Decision on CNOOC's Bid for Nexen, Banking Regulator Reshuffles Mid-level Officials
RELATED POSTS
 |
Banking Regulator Reshuffles Mid-level Officials The China Banking Regulatory Commission recently completed a reshuffle of several key mid-level positions. The moves come a year after the heads of the financial sector were changed. The recent reshuffle includes Yang Jiacai, former director of No. 1 Banking Department, who becomes head of the general office. Xiao Yuanqi, former director of No. 2 Banking Department, replaces Yang. Yang Linping, former director of the No. 3 department, will be replaced by Duan Jining, former director of the Innovative Supervision Department. Yang was named director of the No. 2 department.
Original article on Caixin
Canada Again Delays Decision on CNOOC's Bid for Nexen
Canada is extending its review of China National Offshore Oil Corp.'s (CNOOC) bid to take over Nexen, a Canadian energy producer, to December 10. The Canadian industry minister, Christian Paradis, said the government needed more time to ensure the deal followed national law, which states that any sizeable foreign investment must guarantee a net benefit for Canada. Factors that are considered for approval of a major foreign investment include effects on employment, and whether the deal was a good industrial, cultural and economic fit. This is the second time that the review of CNOOC's bid has been extended since its original bid in July. Before this extension, a decision was supposed to be made by November 11.
Original article on Caixin
Canton Fair Sees Decline in Deals
The 112th Canton Fair ended on November 4 and saw a decline of 10 percent in both the number of attendees and orders compared to the fair held in the spring. Fair spokesperson Liu Jianjun said orders from the European Union and the United States fell by about 10 percent, while orders from Japan dropped by almost 40 percent due to Sino-Japanese tensions. The demand from ASEAN countries and the Middle East also fell substantially, but orders from BRIC markets and Australia were almost stable. The Canton Fair is seen as a barometer for foreign demand of Chinese goods.
Original Article on 21st Century
Sinosteel's Overseas Iron Ore Interests Hit Rough Patch
Problems with Sinosteel's overseas projects threaten to reduce its supply of iron ore. The iron ore importer has had to suspend construction on railways and ports in Australia because of funding issues. Without the completion of these projects, transporting equipment and iron ore will be difficult. Sinosteel invested AU$ 1.36 billion for 50.97 percent of Midwest, an Australian mining and exploration firm, in 2009. The company had to suspend work at the Weld Range in Western Australia due to financing problems for a railway and port.
Original article on Caixin
Foreign Banks Predict Better Economic Growth
In the wake of China's rising PMI figures, foreign banks predict that the country's economy could grow by 8 percent this year. Economists at Barclays and HSBC said that the new readings indicated growth in manufacturing activity, and the economy was showing tentative signs of stabilization. On November 5, HSBC and the National Bureau of Statistics stated that China's PMI for October was 49.5 and 50.2, respectively, indicating growth in manufacturing activity. During the third quarter, the economy grew by 7.4 percent, down from the second quarter's 7.6 percent.
Original article on Caixin
Beijing Better Prepared for Bad Weather
Over the weekend, Beijing was hit with heavy rain and early snowfall. Looking to better handle the storm than it did with the July rainstorm that killed at least 77 people, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau began issuing rain and snow warnings on November 2. Cell phone companies, including China Mobile and China Unicom, sent out 30 million weather forecasts via text message. On the morning of November 4, authorities issued an "orange alert," the second-highest out of a four-level warning system. Due to the early cold snap, authorities also decided to turn on the city's heating system earlier than the usual November 15 date.
Original article on The Beijing
News
China National Gold Corp. Looks to Overseas Acquisitions
China National Gold Group Corp. (CNGC) will continue to speed up overseas acquisitions in order to obtain more resources, said Song Xin, its deputy general manager. Speaking at China's International Mining Conference on November 5, Song said that overseas mergers and acquisitions would not only provide China with more access to resources, but would also establish links for global cooperation. Addressing reports that CNGC had spent US$ 3.9 billion to acquire a 74 percent stake in African Barrick Gold, Song said that the two corporations were only talking and no deal had been reached. Due to the current state of the global economy, Song also said that the price of overseas deals was increasing.
Original article on Caixin
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