CSRC asks public how to reduce state share
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is collecting suggestions from the public concerning measures to reduce state shares by 10% on the country's stock market. CSRC said any useful suggestions are welcome. (People's Daily, 26 November)

Foreign medicine wholesalers and retailers to enter China in 2003
China will open services of medicine sales and allow foreign wholesalers and retailers to enter the Chinese market starting from January 1, 2003. (People's Daily, 26 November)

Textile machinery imports slow
China's textile machinery imports will continue to decline even after the recovery of the country's textile industry, officials with the China Textile Machinery and Accessories Association predicted. China imported USD 1.2 billion in textile machinery last year. Although that represented a 7.41% increase from 1998, it indicates a plunge from China's record high USD 3.5 billion in imports in 1993. (People's Daily, 26 November)

China's cities, provinces to draw up WTO revision list
China's provincial and municipal governments have yet to update laws to ensure they comply with the country's commitments to the WTO. With less than a month to go before formal entry, local foreign trade and economic cooperation departments are still reviewing provincial and municipal rules. (Dow Jones Newswires, 26 November)

Hainan finance institutions suspended
The People's Bank of China ordered the suspension of four financial institutions in scandal-ridden Hainan province on suspicion of malpractice. (AFP, 26 November)

Falsified figures 'cancer' in state firms
More than two thirds of 1'290 large state companies covered in an official audit last year falsified their accounts, with the illegal money exceeding RMB 100 billion according to the auditor-general of the State Auditing Bureau. (SCMP, 26 November)

MAN truck unit in joint venture in China
The commercial vehicles division of MAN AG has signed a letter of intent for a joint venture in China. (Financial Times Deutschland, 26 November)

Beijing is now urged to cut interest rates
Amid signs that China's economy is cooling more quickly than anticipated, a growing number of economists are calling for a new round of interest-rate cuts to boost spending and rekindle growth. China last cut interest rates nearly two years ago. For now, China's central bank appears to be taking a wait-and-see approach. The country's four state commercial banks -- which together account for nearly 80% of all lending -- oppose a new rate cut, since that would hurt their profitability by reducing margins on their lending and deposit rates. And even with the slowdown, some economists say a rate cut would have only a minimal impact on China's half-reformed economy. Many state enterprises are so heavily indebted that a reduction in lending rates won't create new borrowing demand. (AWSJ, 26 November)

China Central Bank defends lending slowdown by commercial banks
China's central bank has defended a decline in lending by the country's big four commercial banks amid growing calls for an interest rate cut. Media commentaries say slower growth in lending reflects improvements in the banking system, not a failure of banks to support economic growth. China's benchmark 1-year lending rate has held steady at 5.85% since 1999. The media blitz was prompted by central bank statistics showing new loans by China's four major state-owned commercial banks declined by about a third in the first 10 months of this year. (Dow Jones Newswires, 26 November)

Fresh calls for action to lift economy
Government agencies have again called for interest rate cuts to reverse price stagflation and to encourage consumers to spend more, but economists believe cuts would do little to stimulate the economy. The renewed debate follows the reported rejection by mainland leaders of a rate-cut proposal. However, the economic forecasting centre of the National Information Centre strongly supported the rate-cut plan, saying it would encourage stock investors and consumers. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a central government think-tank, opposed the rate-cut proposal. (SCMP, 27 November)

China's GDP to top RMB 9 trillion this year
China's GDP for the year 2001 is expected to top RMB 9 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. The growth rate is much higher than the world's estimated average of 1.3%. The 1978-2000 period has seen the fastest development in China, with an average annual GDP growth rate of 9.5%, compared with 2.5% for developed countries and 5.0% for developing countries. (People's Daily, 27 November) 

China to open gold market, ending government monopoly
China plans to open its first Communist-era gold exchange for trial trading, which will end the central bank's 52-year monopoly on gold. Initially, only domestic firms will be able to trade on the exchange, to be located at China's foreign-exchange trading center in Shanghai. Also, they will only be able to trade physical gold. Forwards and futures will debut eventually. (Dow Jones Newswires, 27 November)

China, Netherlands sign economic agreements
The visiting Netherlands Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs signed a number of agreements involving energy, finance, telecommunications, chemical and food industries. By the end of September, the number of the Netherlands companies with investments in China came to 901, bringing contracts worth USD 8.44 billion to the country. Most of the companies have reported good profits, according to Chinese statistics. (People's Daily, 27 November) I just love that last sentence.

Bertelsmann to launch magazines in China
Media giant Bertelsmann AG plans to launch two magazine titles in China soon after the country's accession to the WTO. Bertelsmann is negotiating with the government to set up a printing plant and compact disc manufacturing plant in China. Bertelsmann currently runs a book club based in Shanghai, which had sales of over RMB 100 million in 2000. (Business Weekly, 27 November)

China opens up auto insurance
China is planning to lift its restrictions on the motor vehicle insurance market next year, a move that will bring an end to its rigid control over the auto insurance market. (Business Weekly, 27 November)

Prices of industrial products down
Ex-factory prices for industrial products in October slid 3.1% on a year-on-year basis. The index has been staying in negative territory since April and has been sliding all the way down, and it may place fresh pressure on economic policymakers and prompt them to reconsider their decision on interest rates. (China Daily, 28 November)

MII official confirms China telecom breakup
The State Council has decided on a breakup of China Telecom into two, northern and southern group. The former will run China Telecom's business in 10 provinces as China Network Telecom Jitong Company and the latter will still as China Telecom carry on its business in 21 provinces. (People's Daily, 28 November)

Deregulation to reduce profits
China's WTO entry will drive down the profits of many protected domestic industries despite its positive long-term impact, according to UBS Warburg. Product life-cycles would be shortened as companies competed to launch models because of over-investment brought about by deregulation. Industries well-protected by regulations, such as banking and car manufacturing, will be hit hardest. (SCMP, 28 November)

IFC seeks stake in insurer
International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private investment arm, is keen to take a stake of up to USD 25 million in a Chinese insurance company to help develop the country's health insurance industry. IFC made a USD 23.5 million investment in New China Life Insurance last year. (Reuters, 28 November)

HSBC returning to its roots in Shanghai
Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation is in talks to take a stake in Bank of Shanghai in the first of a series of tie-ups between foreign and Chinese institutions ahead of the mainland's entry into the WTO. The Shanghai government, the majority shareholder in Bank of Shanghai, is understood to be pressing the PBOC to approve the deal in an effort to encourage a speedier liberalization of the finance sector. (FT, 28 November)

Fishermen battle police on lake
More than 700 fisherman clashed with police on central China's Poyang Lake in an hour-long battle over illegal fishing methods. Three officers were killed and 11 injured. It was the largest riot over fishing since China began trying to control the use of explosives, poisons and fixed nets in 1999 along the Yangtze River. (FEER, 29 November)

Japan shifting investment focus on China
For the first time, Japanese manufacturers established more production facilities in China than in North America, according to a Japan Bank for International Cooperation survey. The poll said the number of newly opened plants in China in the current financial year increased by more than 100 to 772, compared with 692 in North America. (FEER, 29 November)

China considers building free trade area with Hongkong, Macau
The Chinese government is thinking of building a special trade area comprising the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. (Xinhua, 29 November)

China's urban wastewater treatment offers chances for overseas business
China welcomes more foreign capital to invest in the construction and management of wastewater treatment projects in China. 45% of sewage water in cities will be treated by 2005. The government alone cannot meet the cost of constructing and developing municipal wastewater treatment, and more overseas capital will be needed to speed up the commercial process of China 's wastewater treatment. (Xinhua, 29 November)

First mainland private company listed on Hong Kong H-share market
Zhejiang Glass Company is the first private company in the Chinese Mainland which goes public in Hong Kong stock exchange's mainboard. (People's Daily, 29 November)

China's tax revenue up 21.1%
China's tax revenue jumped 21.1% year-on-year (to RMB 1.25 trillion) in the first 10 months of this year. The income accounted for 93.3% of the planned tax revenue for this year. Major increase was seen in the value-added tax, consumption tax, and enterprise and individual income tax in the 10 months, while the taxation gap between the eastern region and central and western regions was shrinking. (People's Daily, 29 November)

Economists call for tax reduction
Mainland economists have been urging the government to stimulate the economy by reducing taxes. They have pointed out that tax revenues have grown faster than the gross domestic product and have put a burden on businesses and individuals. (SCMP, 29 November)

First two rural commercial banks established
China has opened its first two rural shareholding commercial banks as part of a government effort to improve rural banking services. Previously, China's rural banking was limited to the rural credit cooperatives, which held RMB 1.58 trillion in savings accounts at the end of April, or 12% of the national total. (Dow Jones Newswires, 29 November)

Chinese non-performing assets sold to international bidding team
The China Huarong Asset Management Corporation has agreed to sell non-performing assets with a book value of RMB 10.8 billion to an international bidding team headed by Morgan Stanley. This is China's first transaction of non-performing assets through international bidding. The transaction includes four packages of non-performing assets involving 254 enterprises from 18 Chinese provinces and municipalities. (People's Daily, 30 November) The selling price was not disclosed.

Central Economic Working Conference held in Beijing
This year's Central Economic Working Conference - a joint meeting between party officials and State Council members - was attended by President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, signalling its importance. The meeting emphasised the importance of the expansionary fiscal policy in place since 1997. (SCMP, 30 November)

Weekly Market update		30 November 2001	23 November 2001
Shanghai A		1822.84	1786.80
Shanghai B		165.31	158.33
Shenzhen A		533.40	520.25
Shenzhen B		264.63	252.84
Hong Kong Red Chip		1349.36	1350.51
Hong Kong H		1789.82	1852.93
Source: South China Morning Post