Policies

Carbon emission rights trading scheme launched

Shanghai on Aug. 16 launched a pilot carbon emission rights trading scheme in a bid to encourage carbon emission reductions， Xinhua reported.

About 200 major local polluters， including industrial companies whose annual carbon dioxide emissions reach 20，000 tonnes and non-industrial enterprises whose annual emissions total 10，000 tonnes， will take part in the trading， the city government said in a statement.

Each of the carbon market participants will get a free quota for a certain base carbon emission. Companies failing to meet emission cut targets will need to buy quota from those whose emission cuts exceed the targets.

This thus created a new， market-oriented method for major polluters to meet emission cut targets， executives from major steel maker Baosteel said， adding that aggressive emission cutting companies would get earnings from the program.

“This is a landmark step China has made in building a domestic carbon emission trading market，” according to Xie Zhenhua， a vice director of China’s National Development and Reform Commission， the top economic planning agency.

In November last year， the agency approved the pilot scheme’s operation in seven regions: Beijing， Tianjin， Shanghai， Chongqing， Shenzhen， Hubei and Guangdong.

China has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 40 to 45 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2020.

Economic planners ease conditions for overseas bidding

China’s top economic planner has announced plans to make it easier for private companies to look for opportunities overseas， China Daily reported.

The National Development and Reform Commission said on Aug. 9 that applications will no longer be required to be made for overseas resource development projects with an investment worth less than $30 million， or for non-resource development projects with an investment of less than $10 million.

According to an announcement on its website， the commission said a pilot program will be introduced soon to officially start the plan.

The move is the latest step by the central government to encourage Chinese enterprises to expand their horizons， and look for international projects.

In February， the NDRC announced that applications for resource projects with an investment of up to $300 million， and nonresource projects with an investment of up to$100 million， could be approved by provincial and municipal-level authorities， and not the central government.

Investment by non-State enterprises already increased to 44 percent of China’s total overseas investment in 2011.

Zhang Jianping， a researcher from the Institute for International Economic Research， which is affiliated to the commission， said private investment still accounts for only a small proportion of large overseas mergers and acquisitions.

“Chinese private companies should take advantage of the opportunities being offered by the global economic recession to invest abroad.”

“Overseas mergers could help Chinese companies integrate Western technologies， further develop their own brands， and expand their markets，”Zhang said.

In July， China issued detailed guidelines to encourage private company investment overseas， offering favorable measures including tax relief and credit support.

It is particularly encouraging overseas investment in energy and resources， high tech， and advanced manufacturing industries aimed at upgrading industrial infrastructure.

The government has also vowed to expand financing for overseas investment by private companies by supporting the issue of yuan-denominated equity investment funds and expanding the use of the yuan.

Private investment in China’s monopolized industries and public service sector grew rapidly in the first half， thanks to the government’s favorable policies.

Ministry to encourage MAs of culture industry

The Ministry of Finance said on Aug. 6 it will spend most of its annual budget for the culture industry on encouraging mergers and acquisitions， innovations and investment in overseas markets， activities that are to be led by State-owned enterprises directly under the central government， China Daily reported.

The decision indicated that China is likely to approve more merger and acquisition proposals among publication agencies， and encourage central SOEs to be leaders in the deals.

Central SOEs’ innovations in digitalized publication， Internet broadcasting， mobile multimedia and other industries will make it easier to obtain financial support from the central government， according to the ministry.

Beyond that， the country is expecting more overseas investments for the cultural industry to be raised by central SOEs. Their international expansion plans， including plans to cooperate with overseas companies， build overseas distribution network and establish affiliated companies， are also likely to win government endorsements.

Earlier this year， the country said it plans to double the added value of the culture industry by 2015. The total output of China’s culture industry hit 3.9 trillion yuan ($612 billion) in 2011， contributing more than 3 percent of the country’s annual GDP， industry reports showed.

More trial trading zones to boost equity market

The State Council has approved the expansion of a pilot share-trading platform into three more development zones， in an effort to breathe life into China’s tumbling stock indexes， according to China Daily.

The new third board， as it is being called， is an over-the-counter equity trading system aimed to help emerging businesses shore up their finances， the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Aug. 3.

The new market is designed to be a platform for fledgling high-tech and growth enterprises.

The move comes as China’s tumbling stock indexes have started to seriously affect investor confidence， already weakened by slowing macroeconomic conditions， according to an unnamed official from the Commission.

“The mainland stock market has been falling since May， and many investors remain worried about the grim international financial situation， and how the deepening European debt crisis could mean a serious adverse effect for domestic economic growth，” he said. The unnamed commission spokesman confirmed that the State Council had approved plans for expanding the new third board pilot into the Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zonein Shanghai， East Lake High-Tech Development Zone in central China’s city of Wuhan and the Tianjin Binhai High-Tech Industrial Development Area.

China launches rare earth trading platform on bigger pricing power

China launched a physical trading platform for rare earth metals as part of its efforts to regulate the sector and strengthen its pricing power for the resources on Aug. 8， Xinhua reported.

The Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth (Group) Hi-Tech Co.， China’s top rare earth producer， and nine other firms and institutions jointly launched the platform with a total investment of 100 million yuan ($15.87 million). Each shareholder invested 10 million yuan and holds a 10-percent stake in the exchange.

The rare earth trading platform is located in the city of Baotou in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region， home to more than half of the world’s light rare earth output.

Previously， China’s rare earth market was largely opaque， as transactions were not made in public markets and always ran in small volumes. Only limited amounts of pricing and transaction data have been made available to the public.

The opaque market and the fact that Chinese rare earth producers far outnumber foreign consumers have weakened China in terms of price negotiations with foreign consumers， industry analysts said.

Ma Pengqi， a rare earth expert and former director of the Baotou Rare Earth Research Institute， said the trading platform will provide clarity and give China more say in deciding rare earth prices.

Some analysts， however， questioned the exchange’s effect on stabilizing prices.

Figures

No.1

The value of Chinese exports was the largest in the world last year for the third year in a row， with a share of 10.6 percent of the world’s total trade， according to the 2012 World Trade and Investment Report by the Japan External Trade Organization.

2%

China cut its energy usage by 2.01 percent last year to 0.79 tons of standard coal equivalent for every 10，000 yuan($1，570) of China’s GDP， according to government data issued on Aug. 16.

13.2%

The profit of Stateowned enterprises in the first seven months of 2012 was 1.2 trillion yuan ($188.4 billion)， down 13.2 percent year-on-year， according to a report on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

76m

China added 75.78 million mobile phone users during the first seven months of 2012， including 55.34 million 3G subscribers， official data showed on Aug. 27.

8.7%

The foreign direct investment China received in July fell 8.7 percent from a year earlier to $7.58 billion， the Ministry of Commerce said on Aug. 16.

8.8%

The volume of total goods exports in Hong Kong dropped 8.8 percent year-onyear in June， while the volume of goods imports fell 5.6 percent， the city’s Census Statistics Department announced on Aug. 14.

8.2%

China’s fiscal revenues grew 8.2 percent year on year to 1.07 tril- lion yuan ($168.77 billion) in July， the Ministry of Finance said on Aug. 10.

540b

China’s new yuan-denominated lending in July declined sharply to 540.1 billion yuan ($85.19 billion)， down from 919.8 billion yuan in June， the People’s Bank of China， the central bank， announced on Aug. 10.

Figures

1.2b

The market volume of China’s mobile gaming industry reached 1.2 billion yuan (about 188.64 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of 2012， according to a report released on Aug. 9 by market researcher Analysis International.

8.16%

China’s auto sales rose 8.16 percent year on year to 1.38 million vehicles in July， slowing from 9.9 percent in June， the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers(CAAM) said on Aug. 9.

20.4%

China’s urban fixed-asset investment rose 20.4 percent year on year to 18.43 trillion yuan (2.93 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of 2012， the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS) announced on Aug. 9.

1.8%

China’s Consumer Price Index， a key gauge of inflation， grew to 1.8 percent year-on-year in July， the slowest rate since February 2010， the NBS announced on Aug. 9.

2.9%

China’s Producer Price Index (PPI)， a main gauge of inflation at the wholesale level， fell 2.9 percent in July from a year earlier， the NBS announced on on Aug. 9.

13.1%

China’s retail sales grew 13.1 percent year-on-year in July， slightly down from 13.7percent in June， the NBS said on Aug. 9.

9.2%

China’s industrial valueadded output expanded 9.2 percent yearon-year in July， a pace slightly slower than the 9.5-percent level in June， the NBS said on Aug. 9.

3.23b

China issued 3.23 billion bank cards as of the end of the second quarter， an increase of 20.6 percent from a year earlier， the central bank said on Aug. 20.