Program to spur domestic spending

A month-long consumption stimulus program was launched by the Ministry of Commerce on April 2 in a bid to boost domestic demand and offset the impact of declining exports， according to China Daily.

Stimulating domestic consumption is a long-term goal and is the most important task for the ministry this year， according to Fang Aiqing， assistant commerce minister.

More than 80，000 commercial enterprises nationally are set to join the program. City malls and restaurants are also poised to boost consumer demand， a statement released by the ministry said.

China is looking to boost domestic consumption to power the economy and offset declining export demand.

“The global economic situation remains unclear， so domestic consumption should play a more important role in powering the economy，” said Jiang Zengwei， vice-minister of commerce.

Statistics from the General Administration of Customs showed that exports declined by 0.5 percent over the year to January， the first fall in more than two years. From January to February， exports to the European Union， China’s largest trading partner， dropped by 1.1 percent from a year earlier.

This is the first month-long consumption stimulus program. But according to a joint statement released by the ministries of commerce， finance and the People’s Bank of China in October， similar programs will be launched over the coming years.

A draft plan for economic and social development， proposed at the annual parliamentary session in early March， envisions “vigorously expanding” domestic demand while maintaining steady and robust economic development.

“Enlarging domestic demand is the priority for China’s economic structural readjustment，” said Vice-Premier Li Keqiang at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2012.

China and other Asian economies should promote internal engines of growth and stay open and inclusive to achieve sound and sustainable development， Li said.

“The consumption stimulus was aimed at potential customers and developing demand，”explained Fang from the Commerce Ministry.

The government is also likely to implement policies this year to make Internet purchasing easier and providing better access to healthcare services， he added.

Minimums set for PE， VC investing

China has set a minimum amount that a single investor can put into a venture capital or private equity fund in an attempt to help the sector develop steadily， an official was quoted as saying by China Daily at the National Development and Reform Commission.

“We set the threshold at 10 million yuan ($1.6 million)，” said Liu Jianjun， director of the financial affairs division of the commission’s Department of Fiscal and Financial Affairs. “We are paying attention to how the market reacts and are likely to adjust the threshold accordingly.”

In December， China issued its first national regulations governing equity investments in unlisted companies. Officials then merely suggested that when individual investors make such investments， they put at least 10 million yuan into them.

The commission later decided to turn that guideline into a hard-and-fast rule and apply it to every equity investment fund that it had registered. To be registered with the commission， a fund must have assets worth more than 500 million yuan.

“The industry is full of risks， and it makes sense for people who can bear high risks to invest，” said Liu， adding that investing for the long term is encouraged.

Besides institutional investors， the commission also encourages the wealthy to invest in venture capital and private equity funds， Liu said.

“Venture capital and private equity are good ways for companies to raise money and for the nation to reform its economy，” Liu said. “But there has been some illegal fundraising.”

Liu said China was estimated to have more than 10，000 venture capital and private equity firms at the end of 2011. They then managed nearly 2 trillion yuan in total assets.

“We expect the new regulation will help the sector develop better，”Liu said.

Figures

8.2%

China’s economy is expected to expand at 8.2 percent in 2012 and 8.6 percent in 2013 as domestic demand will continue to boost the world’s second-largest economy amid weak external demand， the World Bank(WB) said on Apr. 12.

3.4%

China’s auto sales reached 4.79 million units in the first three months of 2012， down 3.4 percent year-on-year，

the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Apr. 11.

294.7b

Hong Kong’s official foreign currency reserve assets amounted to 294.7 billion U.S. dollars at the end of March， the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced on Apr. 10.

3.8%

China’s consumer price index (CPI)， a main gauge of inflation， rose 3.8 percent year on year in the first quarter， the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) said on Apr. 9.

0.3%

China’s Producer Price Index (PPI)， a main gauge of inflation at wholesale level， fell 0.3 percent in March from a year earlier， according to figures released on Apr. 9 by the NBS.

13.6%

China’s centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported net profits of 181.37 billion yuan ($28.77 billion) in the first quarter， down 13.6 percent year on year， the country’s SOE regulator said on Apr. 20.

600 bln

China’s government will invest around 600 billion yuan (95 billion U.S. dollars) between 2011 and 2015 in turning the nation’s scattered and dilapidated rural lands into efficient farming areas， under Ministry of Land and Resources plans unveiled on Apr. 24.

10.3%

China’s tax revenues rose 10.3 percent year-on-year to 2.5858 trillion yuan (410.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year， the Ministry of Finance said on Apr. 24.