Highlights from the Economic Observer, issue 416 April 27 2009
Saving Shanghai
Cover story
* Investment projects are drying up in Shanghai, with some banks there now looking outside the city to find projectcs.
* The city's GDP in 2008, 9.7%, lagged behind the national 10% for the first time in 17 years.
* For the first two months in 2009, investment in fixed assets ranked second to last among Chinese cities.
* Unlikely that Shanghai firms will benefit from central-government stimulus funding as they are still performing relatively well
Original article: [Chinese]
Slow Preference in China's Government Procurement
News, page 3
* At a Ministry of Finance meeting on April 22, officials stressed that priority in government procurement should go to Chinese goods.
* This and a statement by the State Council demanding support for Chinese goods in government procurement came after data showed that 2008 saw no preference for them.
* Experts said the issue was complicated by incomplete laws and regulations.
* New related legislation would be considered by the State Council in 2009.
* China is not a member of the World Trade Organization's Goverment Procurement Agreement, which seeks to remove barriers to international procurement.
Original article: [Chinese]
Third Installment of Stimulus Funds Lower Than Expectations
News, page 8
* The third installment of China's stimulus package was likely to amount to 700 million yuan, much lower than expectations, the EO has learned.
* The installment was ordered by Wen Jiabao at a State Council meeting on April 15
* The funds would focus on public service projects and infrastructure
* There would be less funds for competitive industries or those seeing high returns, while those struggling would see increased investment.
Original article: [Chinese]
Deng Yaping Goes to Politics
Nation, page 9
Deng Yaping, a talented table tennis athlete during the 1990s, has moved on to politics. On April 16, she was appointed deputy secretary of the Beijing committee of China Communist Youth League, a youth movement run by the Communist Party of China. Before her new post, she had been a commissioner of the International Olympic Committee and studied at both Tsinghua University, the University of Nottingham, and Cambridge University for ten years. She sat down with the Economic Observer to discuss her professional transformation.
Original article: [Chinese]
Youth Detained for Revealing Land Misuse in Henan on the Internet
Nation, page 12
*Wang Shuai, a 24-year old white collar worker was detained for eight days for revealing on the internet illegal land appropriation in his hometown in Henan province.
*In the Lingbao city of Henan, the local government was cutting more than 1,000 acres of apple trees cultivated by peasants for nearly twenty years, which has been their major income source.
*Wang said his efforts were a failure and his sacrifice in vain since the land would still be appropriated, and that while in prison he was afraid he would never be freed.
Original article: [Chinese]
Senior Bank Manager Dies Mysteriously
Market, page 17
* Cao Jinsheng, formerly the general manager of the credit risk analysis department at the China Bohai Bank (CBB), was found dead in the basement below his apartment in late March this year.
* The police have said he ended his life by hanging himself.
* Cao had 15 years of experience in banks.
* The EO contacted officials in the CBB but all have declined to talk about the issue.
Original article: [Chinese]
The State Would Write Off the ABC's Bad Loans
Market, page 20
* China would strip off 800 billion yuan in non-performing loans from the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) during its shareholding reform, said Xie Ping, president of Central Huijin Investment Ltd, a financial investment arm under the China Investment Corporation, the country's sovereign wealth fund.
* In addition, Ministry of Finance would entrust the ABC to deal with the bad loans, with gains becoming the bank's book profits.
* The EO had contacted the ABC to confirm the matter but had yet to receive a response as of press time on April 27.
Original article: [Chinese]
Yunnan Copper Board Secretary Missing
Corporation, page 25
* Chen Shaofei, former board secretary and vice president of Yunnan Copper Company has been missing for almost a year since being detained at a corporate disciplinary meeting in May 2008 without any explanation.
* A year later, Mao Yiqiang, the company's vice-chairman, revealed to the EO that Chen was under investigation for the embezzlement of 760 million yuan from the firm to invest in and manipulate its stocks.
* The EO learned that Zheng Hairuo, domestic capital tycoon and founder of Beijing Fubang Assets Management Company, was involved in the scandal.
Original article: [Chinese]
Shanghai Auto Fair in 2009
Industry, page 33
The still-running Shanghai Auto Exhibit has shown an an increasing tendency of domestic automakers to pay more attention to branding, research, and development. But the continued copycatting of well-known car logos like Rolls-Royce and Mercedez Benz incurred public doubt over their creativity.
Original article: [Chinese]
