Beijing warms to clean energy
Some 60% of boilers in Beijing now use clean energies such as natural gas and electricity to produce heat. Before 1997, Beijing consumed 28 million tons of coal each year, which produced 90% of the sulphur dioxide and 50% of the floating particles in the air, according to official statistics. The municipal government has required all eight of Beijing's urban districts to use cleaner fuel to ensure a green Olympics in 2008. (China Daily, 19 November)

Investment exodus fears grow
Taiwan's recent easing of China-bound investment could lead to an exodus of domestic enterprises, especially after the mainland's entry to the WTO. Already, about half of the 600-listed companies on Taiwan's main board have investments in China. According to a recent Economic Ministry survey, about 25% of exporters plan to expand China-bound investment after Beijing and Taipei became WTO members - nearly double the number of respondents who said they would increase their investment at home. (AFP, 19 November)

China sells assets in distressed enterprises
China launched its first international tender for USD 1.8 billion in the distressed assets of state-owned enterprises with all five blocks on offer receiving at least two bids, people familiar with the tender said. Eight investors - including Goldman Sachs and GE Capital - came together into three consortia to bid for the mix of bad loans, property, equipment and collateral being sold by Huarong Asset Management Company. (FT, 19 November)

Corporate tax system to be unified for WTO
China will unify corporate income tax rates for foreign and domestic firms eventually to adapt to the rules of the WTO. Many foreign-funded firms enjoy preferential income tax rates as low as 15% as local authorities bid to woo foreign investors. Most domestic companies are taxed at 33%. Government economists have said the mainland was drafting a new law on corporate income tax to help unify tax rates. The unified tax rate was likely to be between 25 and 30%. Analysts say the tax reform could take years to complete as it could face some opposition from local officials. (SCMP, 19 November)

China's WTO signing possibly unconstitutional
The process used by China to ratify its entry to the WTO might have been unconstitutional, a Hong Kong-based academic said. Last week, China's Foreign Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng presented a document signed by President Jiang Zemin as proof of ratification. But the standing committee of the National Peoples' Congress does not have the constitutional power to delegate authority to the president to ratify a treaty. However, the standing committee can vote to retroactively accept the ratification. (Dow Jones Newswires, 19 November)

Chinese deflation creates fears throughout Asia
Whether it's television sets, textiles or digital videodisks, cut-price Chinese exports are already dragging down prices across the region. And following China's entry into the WTO deflation in Asia will likely get worse, sparking squabbles over export dumping and exchange rates. "More trade interaction with China will put pressure on prices around the region, especially for countries that compete on price rather than technology," warned one economist. "Because of it, Asia will remain a source of deflation for the rest of the world." (AWSJ, 20 November)

Experts call for RMB interest reduction
To deal with the re-emergence of a negative growth in consumer price index in September and the phenomenon of the possibility of the re-appearance of a deflation, related experts of the State Information Center proposed that if the negative growth continues in October and November, the central bank would consider slightly lowering the interest rate on deposits and loans. The Report on Implementation of the Monetary Policy" published late last month by the People's Bank of China shows that after the "September 11" incident, the global monetary situation is expected to be further relaxed this year, this will possibly exert a downward pressure on the general level of China's interest rate. (People's Daily, 20 November)

Deal signals opening of banking sector
The International Finance Corp said it obtained the nod by the People's Bank of China to invest USD 27 million in the Nanjing City Commercial Bank. The central bank's approval of the deal signals that financial authorities have decided to officially open the door for foreign direct investment into China's commercial banks, including the biggest players. (People's Daily, 21 November)

WTO-craze hits Chinese media
This week saw an unprecedented height in WTO rumors involving foreign companies. It will be necessary for more of these companies to get corporate spokespersons in place to deny all the rumors that emerge in the Chinese media. The days are over when media could simply rely on a "Is the WTO good or bad for China" story. For the media - especially Chinese ones who are forced to keep up the momentum by bringing high volumes of WTO news - trying to make sense of it all will be a momentous task (www.cbiz.cn, 21 November)

French firms show off
More than 150 French enterprises are participating in the five-day 2001 French High-Tech Exhibition in Beijing in the fields of industrial equipment, medical technology, financial services, agricultural foodstuffs and other new areas. The exhibition is sponsored by the Paris-based trade promotion organization CFME-ACTIME, the Economic & Financial Department of the French Embassy and the Beijing municipal government. (China Daily, 21 November)

China to call off preferential tax treatment
China will provide the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status to enterprises of other countries. All enterprises, no matter if they are Chinese or foreign, should enjoy the same national treatment, said an official with the State Administration of Taxation. At present, the state tax for imported products is higher than for China-made goods. Starting from 2002, all state preferential policies for promoting import and export will be abolished, except the value-added tax and the tax rebate for export, the official said, adding the practice is based on the WTO rules and China's commitments under the WTO system. (Xinhua, 22 November)

National land resource survey completed after 20 years.
The survey indicates that the administrative land area of China comes to a total of 9.6 million square kilometers, in which the arable land accounts for 13.7%, forest takes up 23.9% and 28.0% belong to pastureland. The survey also shows the country still has 4.3903 million square kilometers of land owned collectively by peasants and another 5.0548 million square kilometers owned by the state. (People's Daily, 22 November)

Urban unemployed at 1.62 million in third quarter
China faces mounting employment pressure with 1.62 million unemployed people in major cities competing for 1.21 million jobs in the third quarter of this year. Many analysts expect unemployment to rise with China's entry to the WTO as ailing state firms lay off workers to become more efficient in the face of foreign competition. According to the latest survey, privately owned and shareholding firms absorbed 53.8% of the labour force. China's urban unemployment rate was 3.3%, or 6.19 million people, at the end of June. Analysts say China's figures vastly underestimate the true number of jobless because they include only those registered as unemployed and omit laid-off workers kept on payrolls at token salaries. (SCMP, 22 November)

Government starts RMB 70 billion rural hydropower project
China's government has approved to spend RMB 70 billion on a five-year program to upgrade small hydropower stations in rural counties. The central government will fund up to 30% of the program's cost, with the remainder raised by the local governments benefiting from the electrification drive. The program will target 400 counties which depend for electricity on hydropower plants of less than 50 megawatts in capacity. (Dow Jones Newswires, 21 November)

WTO details for insurance market unveiled
China lifted the lid on its commitments to the WTO for the first time by releasing procedure details for foreigners entering the insurance market. Industry watchdog China Insurance Regulatory Commission set out the process in anticipation of a flood of interest from overseas firms. (China Daily, 23 November)

Japan fears bigger competition from China after WTO
Anxieties in Japan are rising about the fear of increased competition now that China has entered the WTO. Several big companies, like Toshiba, Minolta and Sony, recently announced they will stop manufacturing products in Japan, favoring production in and import from China. This year, Japan expects a first deficit in trade with China, including Hong Kong, while at the same time, the Japanese businesses and investment in China will show a major growth. Japan's trade with China doubled in the past ten years. Most trade between the countries is actually trade between Japanese companies. (www.cbiz.cn, 22 November)

Development Bank offers loans to SMEs
China Development Bank will lend a hand to the country's small and medium-sized enterprises coping with the challenges brought on by China's entry into the WTO. SMEs are expected to absorb about 80% of the total labourers. But their further development is being thwarted by a lack of capital since it is hard for them to get bank loans. (China Daily, 22 November)

Beijing to ease travel restrictions
China is to implement six measures to encourage mainlanders to travel and allow foreigners greater freedom to live in the country. The measures include less red tape for passport applications, greater power for border visa offices and the establishment of a "green card" system for foreigners who want to live in China. (SCMP, 23 November)

Allianz fulfils brokerage promise
Allianz Insurance of Germany has moved to set up a fund management company with China's second-largest securities brokerage. Allianz has run a life-insurance joint venture in Shanghai since 1999. (SCMP, 23 November)

China to fully open its forestry industry
China has decided to open its forestry industry to the outside world to cope with the new market environment brought about by its WTO entry. "Only by opening up can the country's forestry industry realize its goal set for the year 2050", said a director of the State Forestry Administration. China plans to raise its afforestation rate to 26% by 2050. (Xinhua, 23 November)

Chinese government scraps 100-plus price regulations to meet WTO needs
The Chinese government has dumped 124 price regulations in order to fit its price laws into the framework of WTO. The State Development Planning Commission announced that it will also revamp another 51 price regulations. (People's Daily, 23 November)

Taiwan to ease ban on tourists from China
Taiwan is to ease a half-century-old ban on tourists from mainland China early next year as part of efforts to balance demands for greater integration with its giant rival against deep-seated security concerns. Currently mainland citizens are only allowed to visit Taiwan to see relatives or as part of official exchanges. (FT, 23 November)

Metro opens 15th chain store in China
Germany's Metro has opened another chain store in the capital of China's Hunan province. It is the 15th chain store established by Metro in China. With China's WTO accession, German Metro is stepping up its business in China, planning to establish 50 chain stores in the next three to five years. (People's Daily, 24 November)

Shanghai recruits WTO officials as advisors
The Shanghai municipal government has appointed at least eight former and in-service senior officials of the WTO as its advisors for WTO affairs. Director-general-elect Supachai Panitchpakdi and former director-general Arthur Dunkel are among them. (People's Daily, 25 November)

Weekly Market update		23 November 2001	16 November 2001
Shanghai A		1786.80	1718.06
Shanghai B		158.33	152.58
Shenzhen A		520.25	497.75
Shenzhen B		252.84	243.67
Hong Kong Red Chip		1350.51	1369.23
Hong Kong H		1852.93	1776.43
Source: South China Morning Post