Demand for iron, steel products soars on Chinese market
The demand for iron and steel products on the Chinese market has been soaring, with the growth rate far exceeding the average level on the world market. From January to June, the volume of domestic phenomenal consumption (output plus import and then minus export) rose by 22% from the same period last year, far exceeding the average on the world market. (People's Daily, 4 September)

Jewelry business expands rapidly in China
Jewelry business has been expanding rapidly in China in the past two decades and the country possessed more than 500 designated state-run jewelry making enterprises and over 1'000 overseas-financed jewelry processing companies by 2000. The annual retail sales of jewelry exceeds RMB 80 billion. (People's Daily, 4 September)

Tough times for textile sector
China, the world's largest textile producer, is expected to hit hard times in the remaining months of the year as domestic cotton prices remain high and overseas demand for textiles continues to drop. In the first six months, China's textile exports edged up just 2.96% to USD 24.5 billion, down sharply from 29.39% in the same period last year. (China Internet Information Center, 4 September)

Wal-Mart to enter Beijing market by year's end
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is currently selecting a site in Beijing and will establish itself in the city by the end of the year. (ChinaOnline, 5 September)

China mounts campaign against illegal forex trading
A circular jointly issued by the State Administration for Foreign Exchange and the Ministry of Public Security urged foreign exchange administrative departments and public security forces at all levels to co-operate closely in cracking down on illegal trading in foreign exchange. Emphasis in the near term will be placed on shutting down black marketplaces trading in foreign exchange, and destroying a group of illegal traders' dens and underground banking houses. (China Daily, 6 September)

Chinese steel giant exports auto steel sheets to Fiat
China's Baoshan Iron and Steel Company, recently exported 750 tons of automobile steel sheets to Italian auto producer Fiat. This was the first time the Chinese firm has exported a large quantity of its auto sheets. Fiat agreed to buy 200'000 tons of automobile steel sheets annually from Baoshan over the next few years, if the first lot proves satisfactory. (Xinhua, 6 September)

Guangxia scandal pulls China shares down
Most China share indices fell after state media reported regulators probing longtime stock darling biochemical firm Guangxia (Yinchuan) Industry. CSRC found that Guangxia booked non-existent profits of RMB 178 million in 1999 and RMB 567 million in 2000. The scandal has sparked worries over the credibility of results by traditional blue-chip firms. (SCMP, 6 September)

Panasonic phones hit with ban over Taiwan reference
Matsushita Communication Industrial announced that it had been banned from selling mobile telephones in China for one year because they referred to Taiwan as an independent country. China complained to the Japanese company about the mobile phone handsets displaying the letters "ROC," the abbreviation for the Republic of China, when the telephones were used to call Taiwan. (ChinaOnline, 6 September)

Historic deal between Chinese and Taiwanese cargo carriers
China Eastern Airlines will sell 25% of its cargo unit to Taiwan's China Airlines. The deal, remarkable in being one of the first between state-owned companies from both sides of the Taiwan Strait, is also the first investment by an overseas carrier into China's mushrooming airline sector. As for now, there are no direct flights between Taiwan and the mainland. (www.cbiz.cn, 6 September)

Overhaul of telecom sector
Premier Zhu Rongji is to head a new commission which will be in charge of drafting a cutting-edge development blueprint for China's telecom industry. The commission will manage the operation of the country's mobile, fixed-line and Internet businesses. The plan comes as more problems have emerged in the course of the rapid development of the telecom industry, one of the major hurdles being the continuous absence of a unified national telecommunication network. (China Daily, 7 September)

2001 China Western Forum held in Xi'an
The three-day 2001 China Western Forum concluded in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province. Li Zibin, deputy director of the Western Development Office of the State Council, described the forum as a success. (People's Daily, 7 September) The forum received

China on the brink of WTO entry
China could be cleared to join the WTO next week if the United States and the European Union can settle their differences over the future of an American insurance company. The WTO group handling China's application will meet from September 11-13 to try to settle the final details of the agreement establishing the terms for China to join the organization. (SCMP, 7 September)

Housing prices soar in Shanghai
During the first half of the year, Shanghai recorded the highest increase of housing prices of anywhere in the country. The selling price of houses in Shanghai was far higher than the average in 35 large and medium-sized cities in the rest of China. The trading prices of public housing units and private residential units rose by 8.1% and 11.1%, respectively. Shanghai's real estate development reversed its negative growth of three consecutive years and showed substantial increase. The real estate investment reached RMB 24.45 billion, an increase of 23.1% over the same period of last year. (ChinaOnline, 7 September)

5th China International Investment and Trade Fair opened in Xiamen
More than 10'000 investment projects are expected to be offered to business attending the 5th CIFIT from September 8-12. This year's CIFIT will act as a forum for two- way investment and trade talks, which include seminars on co-operation between small and mid-sized businesses of China and the European Union. 48 government and investment promotion institutions from 27 countries and regions, 55 chambers of commerce and associations from 19 countries and regions, and 53 multinational corporations and leading companies from 16 countries and regions will participate in the annual event. (China Daily, 8 September)

Weekly Market update		7 September 2001	31 August 2001
Shanghai A		1888.44	1916.43
Shanghai B		162.99	158.75
Shenzhen A		567.30	578.02
Shenzhen B		277.53	273.06
Hong Kong Red Chip		895.51	941.85
Hong Kong H		411.28	419.47
Source: South China Morning Post