China launches first insurance brokerage firm
China has taken another major step in its financial liberalization by establishing the Jiangtai Insurance Brokerage Co., the country's first comprehensive national insurance brokerage firm. The company offers a wide range of insurance as well as risk-management services. (ChinaOnline, 19 June)

China issues more Treasury Bonds
China will issue RMB 20 billion worth of treasury bonds on June 21. The five-year treasury bonds has a fixed annual interest rate of 3%. The treasury bonds will be issued exclusively for corporate investors. (People's Daily, 20 June)

China to vigorously support Development of Medium & Small Enterprises
The State Economic and Trade Commission launched an "experiment" for the provision of credit guarantee for the development of medium and small enterprises in 10 cities. According to statistics, medium and small enterprises account for over 98% of the total number of China's enterprises. The gross industrial output value, profits tax and export volume of the medium and small enterprises account for 60%, 40% and about 60% of the national total respectively. They provide around 75% of urban job opportunities. (People's Daily, 20 June)

Contracted foreign investments UP, actual investments DOWN
From January to May, China's actual foreign investment totaled USD 12.8 billion, a decrease of 12% over the same period last year. Meanwhile, contracted foreign investment totaled USD 18.2 billion over the same period (+25%). During the first five months of 2000, foreign companies established about 7,700 enterprises in China, up 22% from the same period last year. By the end of May 2000, investors from more than 180 countries or regions had established more than 349,000 enterprises, which attracted USD 632.3 billion in contracted foreign investment and USD 320.6 billion in actual foreign investment. (ChinaOnline, 20 June)

Insurance market opens up
The Holland-based ING Insurance and the Italy-based Assicurazioni Generali have received received permission from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) to set up life insurance joint ventures. (China Daily, 21 June)

China's foreign exchange reserve reaches USD 158 billion
Dai Xianglong, governor of the People's Bank of China, revealed on June 15 that China's foreign exchange reserve has climbed to USD 158 billion, while it was USD 156.82 billion at the end of March Dai further indicated that the first half year's gross domestic production is anticipated to increase by 8%. (ChinaOnline, 22 June)

Asian Development Bank opens in Beijing
The ADB will grant USD 3.5 billion worth of loans over the next three years for the development of central and western China. China is currently ADB's third biggest stockholder. (ChinaOnline, 22 June)

Court rules for foreign company in domain name case
In a landmark case, Swedish home furnishings maker Inter IKEA Systems recently won a court action against a Chinese company after IKEA asserted that the Chinese company stole the Scandinavian company's Internet domain name and infringed on its trademark. The verdict is a milestone for the Chinese judicial system because it is the first concluded domain name case involving a foreign company, and it also is China's first such trademark case decided in accordance with international conventions. (ChinaOnline, 23 June)

Personal savings dip
Bank savings by individual Chinese dropped by RMB 34.1 billion (USD 4.1 billion) last month, following a slight increase of RMB 4.4 billion (USD 530 million) in April, according to statistics released by the People's Bank of China. Economists, who have been urging a diversion of bank savings to support domestic demand, including commodity consumption and investment, attributed the abrupt downturn to many factors while being careful about discussing the dip's implications for the economy. (Business Weekly, 25 June)