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<title>China Business</title><image>
<title>People's Daily Online</title><link>http://english.people.com.cn/</link>
<url>http://english.people.com.cn/images/en/top_logo_e.gif</url>
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<description>People's Daily Online</description>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90857/index.html</link>
<item>
<title>Chinese shares edge down 0.36%, securities stocks buck trend</title>
<NEWS_ID>6412637</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6412637.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 16:58:05 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Chinese shares were 0.36 percent lower on Friday on heavy selling pressure, but securities stocks rose against the market. 

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 3,624.23 points, down 13.09 p ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[Chinese shares were 0.36 percent lower on Friday on heavy selling pressure, but securities stocks rose against the market. 

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed at 3,624.23 points, down 13.09 points. 

    The Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange closed at 13,314.38 points, down 95.77 points, or 0.71 percent. 

    Combined turnover recovered further from Thursday's 125.7 billion yuan to 141.36 billion yuan. 
 
Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<item>
<title>China's real estate index down 0.65 point in April</title>
<NEWS_ID>6412487</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6412487.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 15:15:47 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[China's national real estate climate index was 104.07 in April, a decline of 0.65 point from March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday. 

    But the index rose 1.42 points from a year earlier, the bureau added. 

   ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[China's national real estate climate index was 104.07 in April, a decline of 0.65 point from March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday. 

    But the index rose 1.42 points from a year earlier, the bureau added. 

    The index for investment in property development was 104.28 in April, down 0.20 point from March but up 2.11 points from a year earlier. 

    Approximately 695.2 billion yuan (99.3 billion U.S. dollars) was pumped into real estate development nationwide in the first four months of this year, up 32.1 percent year-on-year. Investment in housing construction increased by 35.2 percent to 494.4 billion yuan, including 18.6 billion yuan in low-income housing, up 24.7 percent. 

    The index for land development was 96.88 in April, down 1.23 points from March but up 0.90 point over the year-earlier level, the NBS said. 

    The January-April period saw 80.65 million square meters of land developed nationwide by the real estate sector, up 5.9 percent on the same period of last year. 

    The index for properties being built was 107.78, down 0.65 point from a month earlier but up 3.07 points from a year earlier. 

    Between January and April, 1.79 billion sq m of real estate was being constructed nationwide, up 25.4 percent year-on-year. The total included 1.41 billion sq m of housing projects, up 27.2 percent, and 64.28 million sq m of office buildings, up 7.7 percent. 

Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<title>China may raise threshold for windfall tax on oil gains</title>
<NEWS_ID>6412054</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6412054.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 09:26:06 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Chinese government is considering raising the threshold of windfall tax levy on gains from crude oil, but the timing is not clear, Jiang Jiemin, president of PetroChina Company Ltd. said Thursday. 

    The tax threshold should have been  ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[Chinese government is considering raising the threshold of windfall tax levy on gains from crude oil, but the timing is not clear, Jiang Jiemin, president of PetroChina Company Ltd. said Thursday. 

    The tax threshold should have been raised when crude price surpassed 80 U.S. dollars per barrel, Jiang said, but he did not mention how much the threshold would be raised. 

    Raising threshold of windfall tax, or special oil gain levy, would be positive for the company's profitability, Jiang told Xinhua after the annual shareholders meeting of the company Thursday. 

    The current threshold for special oil gain levy is 40 U.S. dollars per barrel. When crude oil price surpassed 60 U.S. dollars per barrel, 40 percent gains will be levied. The price of crude oil has soared to over 120 U.S. dollars per barrel so far. 

    China began to levy windfall tax on crude oil from 2006 as a part of the move to reform the country's pricing mechanism of refined oil products which will connect domestic price more closely to the international market while giving subsidies to people fragile to high price of oil products. 

    However, soaring crude oil price and rising inflation risks slowed the government's move to raise domestic oil products price. 

    The government would not be likely to raise domestic oil prices in the short term as the consumer price index (CPI) was still steep, said Jiang. 

    China's CPI, the main gauge of inflation, rose 8.5 percent year-on-year in April and 8.2 percent for the first four months of this year. 

    The current crude price of 120 U.S. dollars per barrel is not good for long-term development of oil companies, Jiang said, adding that a price between 80 to 90 U.S. dollars per barrel is appropriate for both consumers and suppliers. 

    Reduced by below-cost fuel prices and windfall taxes, the oil giant's first-quarter net profit slumped 28.6 percent year-on-year. 
 
Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<item>
<title>Blue chips slip, Sichuan-area shares stay strong</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411895</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411895.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 08:37:23 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[China's key stock index ended 0.55 percent lower yesterday as blue chips weakened in late trade, although many Sichuan-area shares remained strong on expectations of demand from reconstruction efforts after a devastating earthquake.

Anal ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[China's key stock index ended 0.55 percent lower yesterday as blue chips weakened in late trade, although many Sichuan-area shares remained strong on expectations of demand from reconstruction efforts after a devastating earthquake.

Analysts and local media also noted talk that the government was encouraging market participants to help preserve market stability in the aftermath of Monday's quake.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index had traded higher for most of the session before slipping late in the day to end at 3637.324 points. The intraday high was 3706.722.

The index had gained 2.73 percent on Wednesday, with analysts noting that fears had eased regarding the potential economic harm from the quake.

Financial business magazine Caijing reported on its website yesterday that several mutual funds managers had been contacted the previous day by regulators who asked for help in maintaining stability in the market.

"We quite understand that the officials are worried the index might tumble, but the effectiveness of such means of supporting the market would quickly fade, and this might increase risks in the medium term," one trader said.

More than 25 Shanghai and Shenzhen A shares rose by their 10 percent daily limit. Turnover in Shanghai A shares remained active at 112.2 billion yuan, although this was down from Wednesday's 121.9 billion yuan.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co and China Merchants Bank Co dropped on concern economic tightening measures will sap demand for loans. Pudong Bank, the Chinese partner of Citigroup Inc, dropped 3.1 percent to 30.08 yuan. Merchants Bank, the nation's biggest dual-currency credit-card issuer, lost 1.8 percent to 31.96.


Gree Electric Appliances Inc, China's largest maker of home air-conditioners, lost 6.4 percent to 46.60 yuan, the first decline in six days. The parent plans to sell a 4.82 percent stake in the company through the stock exchange this year for "a business revamp", Gree Electric said in a statement yesterday, without giving details.

HSI down 0.08%

Hong Kong stocks slipped yesterday in line with Shanghai shares, but Hutchison Whampoa jumped after a broker upgrade.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.08 percent at 25513.71 points. But the China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland companies, or H shares, finished 0.34 percent higher at 14027.55.

Hutchison's shares rose to a high of HK$83.6 before closing at HK$83.3, up 5.51 percent.


Source:China Daily/Agencies

]]></full-text>
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<title>Insurers not jolted by quake</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411889</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411889.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 08:36:27 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Payouts by Chinese insurance companies in the aftermath of Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake would not likely significantly impact the industry, analysts said.

According to Industrial Securities, the life insurance premium for Sichuan pr ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[Payouts by Chinese insurance companies in the aftermath of Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake would not likely significantly impact the industry, analysts said.

According to Industrial Securities, the life insurance premium for Sichuan province hovered around 21.1 billion yuan last year, so the quake would likely cost life insurers more than 400 million yuan.

Shanghai-based Orient Securities analyst Wang Xiaogang said the quake's impact on insurance companies is "quite limited".

"According to our estimates, payouts for the earthquake would shave less than 1 percent off the valuation of listed insurance companies' shares," Wang said, adding the increased insurance demand in the disaster's aftermath would offset the payouts' long-term impact.

Wan Feng, president of the country's largest life insurance firm China Life, said more than 110,000 people - about half of them students - in Sichuan province have bought policies with the company. But they haven't received any reports from the worst-affected areas.

"The payout for this earthquake will be much more than that of the snowstorms earlier this year, making it a real test for the entire industry," Wan said.

Statistics show that by April 16, China's insurers had paid 4.3 billion yuan to cover the snowstorms.

"But given that China Life had more than 200 billion yuan in premiums for 2007, we can still make the payments," Wan added.

Ping An's database shows 1,374 people bought policies with the company in Beichuan and Wenchuan, the worst-hit regions. Their staff have been actively contacting those policyholders.

To increase payment efficiency, most insurance companies loosened requirements through measures such as simplifying claims procedures and extending claim deadlines.

Minsheng Life even opted to offer payment to those who had lost their policies, while Sunshine Insurance Group established a special 20 million-yuan fund to ensure timely payments. All of the insurance companies launched 24-hour claims' hotlines.

Guotai Junan Securities analyst Wu Yonggang said payouts for property and casualty coverage would not be extraordinary.

"Unlike the snowstorm, the losses from the earthquake are usually not covered by general non-life insurance," Wu said, adding that few enterprises had purchased special earthquake insurance.

Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<item>
<title>Property prices rise 10%</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411888</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411888.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 08:36:02 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[China's urban property prices rose 10.1 percent in April from a year earlier, slightly lower than in March, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.

The average property p ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[China's urban property prices rose 10.1 percent in April from a year earlier, slightly lower than in March, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.

The average property prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities dipped by 0.6 percentage point in April from a month earlier. Last year, property prices rose 7.6 percent year-on-year.

Prices of ordinary new buildings rose 11.4 percent year-on-year while those of middle and high-end properties rose 12.7 percent, according to the statement.

"Based on our statistics of the middle- and high-end markets, the recent price trend remains stable," said Carlby Xie, head of research at the Colliers International's Beijing branch, a real estate services company. "I would call it 'stagnant' if we see the situation in terms of purchase price."

Xie said people have remained reluctant to purchase houses, anticipating a price correction after the Olympic Games in August. "The purchase sentiment could possibly rebound by the year-end."

"I think it's more worthwhile to rent a house than purchasing one," said Ge Yanjing, a 27-year-old computer technician in a major securities firm in Beijing, where house prices rose by 16.1 percent year-on-year in April. He hasn't bought any house.

"The overall price rise is fast and the State may issue new policies to contain it," he said.

Prices of existing homes rose 10.3 percent in April.

The NBS said urban fixed-assets investment rose 25.7 percent in the first four months year-on-year, compared with a 25.9 percent increase in the first quarter. Last year, the growth was 25.8 percent.

The bureau did not release the figure for only April. Song Yu and Liang Hong with Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong have calculated in a research note that investment in April was up 25.3 percent from a year earlier, compared with 27.3 percent in March. "The underlying growth momentum of fixed-assets investment has been robust," They said.

The softening growth in April could have been distorted by the public holiday adjustments this year (the May Day "golden week" has been replaced by three traditional holidays in April, June and September), which resulted in fewer working days in April of this year compared with last year, they said.

Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<title>First tour group to leave for US</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411884</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411884.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 08:35:43 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The first United States-bound Chinese leisure tour group is set to depart on June 17, signaling a new era in Sino-US relations, a senior official said.

Shao Qiwei, head of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), will escort the ina ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[The first United States-bound Chinese leisure tour group is set to depart on June 17, signaling a new era in Sino-US relations, a senior official said.

Shao Qiwei, head of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), will escort the inaugural tour group to Washington DC. Their arrival will coincide with the fourth China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, which would be hosted by the city.

Shao told a press conference yesterday CNTA is pleased the bilateral tourism relationship is moving in a new, positive direction.

The nations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last December to open outbound tour-group travel from China to the US.

After five months of talks, CNTA and the US Department of Commerce agreed on the details, saying they would move forward in steps. The first phase will last six months, during which time only nine provinces and municipalities can organize US-bound tour groups, Shao said. Group members must be residents with hukou (permanent residence registrations) in Beijing, Tianjin or Shanghai municipalities, or Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces, he said.

Domestic tour operators with licenses in the nine municipalities and provinces to run outbound tourism operations can organize US-bound tour groups, he said. There are no restrictions on tourists' US destinations.

Launching the first phase should bring any problems to the surface, CNTA marketing and communications department director Zhu Shanzhong said. "At the end of the six-month period, we will sit down and talk about what to do in the next phase."

US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the increased visitation from China would help reduce the US trade deficit with China.

Partly because the US now issues tourist visas only to individuals in China, and few Chinese are aware of such visas, the country's trade deficit with China in the sector stands at $685 million, he said.

The MOU would open China's market to the US, and businesses, including tour operators, airlines, hotels and banks, are expected to benefit.

Noel Irwin Hentschel, chairman and CEO of Americantours International LLC, told China Daily she expects dramatic increases in visitations from China, which could start from 2009.

Dennis C.M. Wong, general sales manager of the Northern China region of United Airlines, said the airline would also benefit in the long term, with profits likely to rise by at least 10 percent.

Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<item>
<title>Chinese vice premier calls for joint efforts with U.S. to promote world trade talks</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411763</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6411763.html</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 16 May 2008 08:26:50 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan Thursday said joint efforts from China and the United States are needed to push forward the negotiations of the Doha Round in the World Trade Organization. 

    During a meeting with U.S Secretary of Comm ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan Thursday said joint efforts from China and the United States are needed to push forward the negotiations of the Doha Round in the World Trade Organization. 

    During a meeting with U.S Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Wang said the United States should bring its important influence in world economy and multilateral trade system into better play. 

    He added China, as a developing country, would also make active efforts in this regard. 

    Wang also called on both sides to enhance mutual understanding, strengthen contacts and innovate thinking with regard to bilateral economic and trade issues, such as the protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), to find solutions to problems with flexibility and patience. 

    Gutierrez said the United States attaches great importance to U.S.-China relationship and is ready to keep contacts with China to promote the development of bilateral trade ties. 

    Gutierrez also conveyed sympathy to China over the deadly earthquake that hit the southwestern Sichuan Province on Monday, causing severe casualties, and expressed grief over the victims in the disaster. 

    Wang appreciated Gutierrez's concern and briefed the guest the current relief work in the quake-hit area, saying the Chinese government and people are able to conquer the severe disaster.
 
Source:Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<title>U.S. Commerce Secretary welcomes more Chinese investment</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411753</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411753.html</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 21:58:54 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said here Thursday that the United States is making efforts to attract more Chinese investors to its market. 

    "We would welcome more Chinese companies exploring the multiple opportunities to s ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said here Thursday that the United States is making efforts to attract more Chinese investors to its market. 

    "We would welcome more Chinese companies exploring the multiple opportunities to set up shops in our 50 states," Gutierrez said at the Beijing American Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-China Business Council. 

    He noted that the United States is producing a 10-city series of programs to introduce Chinese investors to a broad-range of FDI opportunities. But he didn't reveal the details of the programs. 

    He said both the United States and China need open, transparent and predictable markets. And U.S. firms would welcome the opportunity to do even more business in, and with China, which help expand consumer choices, drive growth and create jobs. 

    Gutierrez said Chinese FDI in the U.S. accounts for only 0.2 percent of the total investment by all Asian countries in the U.S. 

    Gutierrez said the U.S.-China tourism memorandum of understanding signed at the last Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting is being implemented, with the first leisure travel group due to arrive in the United States in June. 

    Following complaints by Chinese business people about the difficulty of obtaining U.S. visas, he said the U.S. government is making efforts to streamline its application process and border entry process. 
 
Source: Xinhua]]></full-text>
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<title>Central bank:China's economy won't see galloping inflation</title>
<NEWS_ID>6411699</NEWS_ID>
<link>http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6411699.html</link>
<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 18:49:55 +0800</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Despite global inflation, the Chinese economy is unlikely to see galloping inflation thanks to its own growing impetus, said Su Ning, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), on Thursday. 

    It is imperative for the Chinese  ...]]></description>
<full-text><![CDATA[Despite global inflation, the Chinese economy is unlikely to see galloping inflation thanks to its own growing impetus, said Su Ning, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), on Thursday. 

    It is imperative for the Chinese government to pay close attention to inflation pressure in the future, Su told a one-day forum on Sino-Indian financial cooperation. 

    Globally, due to the continuous depreciation of the U.S. dollar and strong growth of some emerging economies, prices of energy, raw material and farm products have kept rising, which has pushed up inflation rates worldwide, he said. 

    Over the last year or so, China has been faced with mounting pressure on inflation. 

    China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, has risen from above three percent in March last year, to above 6 percent in August, and to 8.5 percent year-on-year last month, as a result of the robust national economy and domestic food price rises coupled with soaring international energy prices. 

    China, however, is still capable of warding off galloping inflation because the world's fourth largest economy, which has enjoyed robust growth in the last few years, has a favorable fiscal situation and enterprises' profitability has significantly improved, said the vice governor. 

    He said China's macro-economic policies at present are primarily aimed to guard against a shift from structural price rises to evident inflation. 

    Regarding the fiscal policies, Su said it is necessary to maintain stability and continuity. As to the monetary policies, he noted that the main task is to create a favorable environment for curbing inflation. 

    Earlier on Monday, the PBOC announced that it would raise the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks by half a percentage point to curb excess liquidity and ease inflation. 

    This will be the fourth such move this year, and it will lift the country's reserve requirement ratio to a new high of 16.5 percent as of May 20. 

    "The rise is aimed at strengthening liquidity management in the banking system and steering reasonable growth in bank credit," the central bank said in a statement. 

    The PBOC raised the reserve requirement ratio on Jan. 25, March 25 and April 25, respectively, on top of 10 such moves in 2007. It also raised interest rates six times last year. 

    The new tightening measure was unveiled on the same day as the National Bureau of Statistics said the country's inflation rate hit 8.5 percent in April, up from 8.3 percent in March and only slightly lower than the nearly 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February. 
 
Source: Xinhua]]></full-text>
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