Highlights from the EO print edition, issue no. 447, December 7, 2009

Joint Copenhagen Editorial
Cover
~ The front-page editorial of this week's issue was published by 56 newspapers around the world in 20 languages including Chinese, Arabic and Russian.
~ The Guardian-led initiative carries a simple message to the politicians and negotiators gathered in Copenhagen: if all of us who disagree about so much can agree on what must be done, then surely you can too.
~ The text was drafted by a Guardian team during more than a month of consultations with editors from more than 20 of the other papers involved.
~ Most of the other newspapers involved also featured the editorial on their front page.
Original Article: [Chinese]

Students Flock to Pray for a Good Job at Beijing Temple
Cover
~ Since at least 2002, Beijing high school and university students have been going to pray for good luck in their exams at the Wofo (Sleeping Buddha) Temple located within Beijing's Botanic Gardens at the foot of Xiangshan or Fragrant Mountain located on the western outskirts of the city proper.
~ According to the report, as the Chinese name of the temple can be interpreted as sounding something like the English word "offers," students come in hope of being offered a good job.
~ Social networking website Renren.com, formerly known as Xiaonei and basically a Chinese-language version of Facebook) has a page devoted to those who worship at the temple, over 35,000 users have claimed that they've been to the temple to pray.
Original article: [Chinese]

Wealthy Chinese Retailer to be Charged on Two Counts After Being Held for Over 12 Months
Cover
~ Huang Guangyu, founder of Gome Group, China's largest consumer electronics retailer and according to the 2008 Hurun Wealth Report, China's richest man , will be charged with attempting to bribe officials and engaging in insider trading, the Economic Observer has learned.
~ A source close to the investigation revealed to EO that after two supplementary investigations, the probe against Huang has come to an end.
~ The EO learned that the Second Branch of Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate is in charge of the investigation into Huang's alleged crimes.
~ Huang was detained by police on suspicion of economic crimes on November 23, 2008.
Original Article: [Chinese] 

China to Enact Law on Industrial Associations
News, page 3
~ The State Council Legislative Affairs Office is to draft a "Law on Industry Association and Chambers of Commerce," which was been included in the current National People's Congress' five-year legislative plan.
~ "Industry associations must be operated in accordance with non-government intervention and market-oriented principle," said Zhang Jing, executive director of Economic Law Study Association of China Law Society, who participated in the drafting of the law.
~ A survey completed during the drafting process found that the country's industry associations were universally subject to the administration of governments at all levels, some had even become "retirement homes" for cadres.
~ According to official statistics, by the end of 2008, China had 59,000 industrial associations with between 300,000 and 400,000 working staff.
Original Article: [Chinese]

MITT and Four Big Banks Announce Financing Arrangement for SMEs
News, Page 3
~ In early December, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MITT) signed a memorandum of cooperation with four state-owned commercial banks pledging to support the financing of the country's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
~ The four banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Construction Bank of China.
~ According to the memorandum, the four banks promised that the total amount of new loans offered in 2010 to SMEs would not be less than last year's and the pace of new lending to SMEs wouldn't be slower than that of new lending to other borrowers.
~ According to available statistics, by the end of October ,the above-mentioned four banks has issued 1.3 trillion yuan of new loans to SMEs across the country.
Original Article: [Chinese]

China Launches "Made-in-China" Advertising Campaign
News, page 5
~ China's Ministry of Commerce in partnership with four industry associations sponsored an advertisement to promote Chinese-made products.
~ The advertising campaign, the first ever under taken by the Chinese Government's, debuted on the Cable News Network (CNN) on November 23.
~ With the tagline "Made in China. Made with the World" and highlighting the way Chinese companies cooperate with overseas firms to produce high-quality goods, the commercial shows a series of products, including an iPod-like MP3 player, clothes being modeled during a fashion shoot, and a refrigerator bearing the text "Made in China with European styling."
Original Article: [Chinese]

Can the US Government Issue Panda Bonds?
News, page 6
~ Liu Fan, director of Securities Information Department of China Government Securities Depository Trust & Clearing Company, is researching the feasibility of the US government issuing yuan-denominated bonds in China's inter-bank bond market.
~ From a technical perspective, it's feasible for the US government to issue panda bonds and Liu thinks that such a move would effectively enlarge the acceptable scope of Renminbi.
~ At present, China's bond market has a capacity of between 16 trillion and 17 trillion yuan. A total of 7 trillion yuan in bonds were issued in 2008 and it's estimated that this year there'll be between 8 and 9 trillion yuan of newly issued bonds.
Original article:[Chinese]

Huijin Conducts Research into Plan to Recapitalize Banks
Market, page 17
~ High authorities were deliberating over how to help Chinese banks to replenish their capital requirements, the EO learned.
~ One option being considered is whether Central Huijin Investment Company will allow China's four biggest banks to use the dividend payments they owe the government investment firm to replenish their own capital.
~ Alternatively, Huijin may leverage the dividend payments from the four banks in order to increase it's holdings in the banks.
Original Article: [Chinese]