Retailers keenest on mainland
Retailers, telecommunications companies and commercial banks are the most aggressive investors lining up to expand into China following its accession to the WTO. A survey by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu also showed insurance companies had least interest. (SCMP, 22 April)

China's foreign debt stays stable
China's outstanding foreign debt stood at USD 170.11 billion at the end of December 2001, the same level as of June last year. Of the total foreign debt, medium and long-term debt accounted for 70.3%, or USD 119. 53 billion, increasing USD 6.65 billion from the end of last June; short-term debt was US 50.58 billion, down USD 6.95 billion, accounting for 29.7% of the total. Of the total foreign debt, USD 148.5 billion were registered debt while USD 21.61 billion were trade credit. (Xinhua, 22 April)

China to become one of largest economies in 50 Years
The WTO's next director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi has predicted that if everything goes well after China's WTO entry, the country will become one of the two or three largest economies in half a century. " (People's Daily, 22 April) Not a very daring prediction, actually.

China overtakes Japan in home internet access
China has become the country with the second-highest number of people with at-home access to the Internet, with 56.6 million. The U.S. is still far and away the world-wide leader, with 166 million people living in Internet-connected households. The survey doesn't measure the number of actual users. Instead, it counts the number of people living in homes with access to the Internet. That could potentially skew the number of users if large households have a single connection. However, the Internet remains largely an urban phenomenon in China, where households are smaller. (WSJ, 22 April)

First private insurer established in China
China Minsheng Insurance Co., the first private insurance carrier, held its first shareholders' meeting in Beijing, marking the formal establishment of the firm. After CIRC approval, the company is expected to team up with large-sized foreign life insurance companies to set up life insurance joint ventures. (ChinaOnline, 22 April)

Cinda to auction off USD 362 million of bad assets
Cinda Asset Management Co. has signed joint-auction agreements with more than 60 auction houses nationwide to sell over RMB 3 billion worth of bad assets. The joint auctions, the largest in China's history, will be launched on May 18. The assets to be put on auction involve 336 state projects, of which 96% is real-estate ones. (ChinaOnline, 22 April)

Mainland directors face united crackdown on graft
China's securities regulator is to probe directors of listed companies next month to further root out financial irregularities in markets hit by a series of corruption scandals. (SCMP, 23 April)

Budgeting Olympic windfall
The upcoming 2008 Olympic Games will undoubtedly generate scores of business opportunities and massive earnings for companies around the world, but finding ways to raise the massive funds needed for the Games still remains a question for decision-makers. Beijing's Olympic budget is reportedly more than seven times the size as Sydney's was for 2000. (Business Weekly, 23 April)

Central Bank reaffirms separation of banking, insurance, and securities
The People's Bank of China has turned down the appeal for removal of the wall between the banking, insurance and securities sectors. Commercial banks can be commissioned to sell securities and insurance policies for brokerages and insurance companies, but they will not be allowed to underwrite securities and insurance policies. (People's Daily, 24 April)

Warning on excessive pump-priming
Concerns have heightened over Beijing's expansionary fiscal policy, after the China Academy of Social Sciences warned that long-term pump-priming would lead to economic problems. The warning came on the heels of Finance Minister's rare comments last week about his increasing discomfort with China's pump-priming. (SCMP, 24 April)

Pace of M&A activity picks up as competition and reforms build
Growth in mainland mergers and acquisitions activity in January reached its highest level since 1998. China has the greatest M&A potential in the world as state enterprise reforms gather pace and sector restructuring usher in a new era following the country's accession to the WTO. The trend was for domestic investors to acquire failed foreign-invested operations on the mainland. (SCMP, 24 April)

Private firms make up majority of Shanghai businesses in 1Q
By the end of this quarter, the number of privately owned businesses in Shanghai reached 188'300, exceeding 50% of the total businesses in the city for the first time. At the same time, total registered capital of the city's private businesses increased 55.4% from the end of 2000, standing at RMB 202.25 billion. (ChinaOnline, 24 April)

Hu Jintao pledges more investments in Asia
Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao promised to increase investment in other Asian countries during a speech to the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute in Malaysia. Hu used his speech to ease concerns that China's robust economy would continue to draw foreign investment away from the rest of Asia. (ChinaOnline, 24 April)

Washington offers pat on back over WTO compliance
United States Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans gave China a public pat on the back for its effort to comply with WTO rules and said he would relay the praise to President Bush. He made his remarks at Jiaotong University, the prestigious Shanghai institution that includes President Jiang Zemin among its graduates. (SCMP, 25 April)

1Q industrial profits drop 9.1%
Profits of Chinese industrial enterprises fell to RMB 79.9 billion which is 9.1% lower than the same period last year. The first quarter sales revenues from the state-owned and state-holding firms amounted to RMB 95.2 billion, a 7.8% increase over the previous year. However, profits fell 30.1% to RMB 33.7 billion. Among the 40 major industrial sectors, 26 achieved revenue growth. The coal mining industry's revenue soared 7.6 times and the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry's rose 39.1%. (ChinaOnline, 25 April)

Banks ordered to reduce staff, cut small branches
Beijing has ordered banks to reduce the number of smaller branches, to slash staff and boost competitiveness in the wake of the nation's entry to the WTO. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, will no longer accept applications for sub-branches and smaller savings outlets. China's state banks are believed to be the most heavily staffed in the world. (SCMP, 26 April)

ESCAP predicts 7% GDP growth
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific predicted that China will achieve a 7% growth rate in GDP this year while maintaining price stability. The prediction was based on a review of the country's fine economic performance in 2001 -- 7.3% GDP growth, as well as the discernible signs of a "gentle and reasonable recovery" of the regional and global economy. (China Daily, 26 April)

Cosmetics pulled from Chinese shelves in fears of disease
A dozen cosmetics products from Europe and Japan have been pulled from the shelves in Beijing in the latest fears of mad cow disease. The suspect products included lipsticks made by cosmetics giants Chanel and Shiseido as well as creams from the Nivea brand. (People's Daily, 26 February)

Price war looms over China's brokerage houses
Price war, which has rocked China's consumer electronics, car and other industries, is about to strike securities houses. The war was sparked off by the decision early this month by the China Securities Regulatory Commission to lower the commission for stock trading from a rigid 0.35% to a flexible maximum of 0.3%. (People's Daily, 26 April)

Investment breakthrough in China's railway sector
China's railways staged their first ever overseas investment promotion for the Yantai-Dalian Railway Ferry Project, which represents an investment breakthrough in the country's railway construction. The new railway project will be operated and managed by Chinese and overseas investors in a form of joint-venture company. (People's Daily, 27 April)