Shanghai Plans to Issue 3 Billion Yuan of FTZ Munici pal Bonds

Shanghai plans to issue 3 billion yuan （$443 million） of municipal debt in the citys free-trade zone in an attempt to attract more foreign investors.

The bonds， which will have a threeyear maturity， are expected to be on the market by the end of November at the earliest， sources said. They will replace the governments other short-term liabilities that have high interest rates.

The majority of investors buying local government bonds in the interbank market have been banks in China， a source close to the finance bureau in Shanghai said that the Shanghai government wants to attract more non-banking and foreign institutional investors.

The demand for yuan holdings is expected to rise following the currencys inclusion in the International Monetary Funds Special Drawing Rights basket on Oct. 1. The bonds are expected to play a role in further satisfying foreign investors appetite for high-quality yuan assets.

Two Top Power Producers Sign One-Year Coal-Supply Deals

Two top Chinese power generators signed major supply contracts with two of the countrys largest coal producers in November in a bid to counter recent price spikes that threaten to derail Beijings drive to slim down the mining sector.

The state-owned producers， Shenhua Group Corp. and China National Coal Group Corp.， signed the one-year deal for thermal coal， used to generate power， with two stateowned power generators in Beijing.

The deal， which takes effect Dec. 1， will involve the sale of thermal coal from the two miners to China Huadian Corp. and State Power Invest- ment Corp. for 535 yuan （$79） per ton， said Xu Kunlin， vice secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）.

Coal prices have soared amid Beijings ongoing drive to reduce overcapacity by shutting down older and smaller mining companies. The result has been a coal shortage heading into the cold winter months when demand typically spikes.

Government efforts since September to boost coal supply and pressure mining companies to lower prices have had little effect.

Such longer-term supply deals are common when markets become volatile， helping commodity buyers to control costs when prices are rising rapidly. But those contracts can also become a burden if prices begin to fall， forcing buyers to purchase goods at rates above market levels.

China Launches 10 Billion Euro Fund to Boost Investment in Central， Eastern Europe

China has set up a 10 billion euro（$11.1 billion） investment fund to finance projects in Central and Eastern Europe， the latest in a series of moves under Beijings “One Belt One Road” initiative to help Chinese firms scouting for investment opportunities abroad amid an economic slowdown at home.

The China-Central Eastern European fund will raise another 50 billion euros to finance joint ventures， Premier Li Keqiang said at an annual meeting with 16 regional heads of state in the Latvian capital， Riga.

The fund is managed by Sino-CEEF Holding Co. Ltd.， a wholly owned sub- sidiary of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （ICBC） — the countrys biggest lender. The holding company was launched by Li and Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis.

Jiang Jianqing， a former chairman of ICBC， will head the company and the investment fund. Jiang said that the new fund， unlike previous Chinese investments in the region that mostly focused on infrastructure， is more market-driven and will invest in more profitable projects such as logistics， clean energy and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

China and 16 Central and European countries formed a multilateral forum called “16+1” in 2012， and the heads of states of member countries have met annually to discuss economic projects.

During last years meeting in Su- zhou， a modern industrial hub in Jiangsu province， Li proposed the idea of a holding company to channel investments to the region. In response to the call， the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China （Asia） Ltd.， the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of ICBC， said in May that it had spent 1 billion euros to form the company.

‘Two-Child Policy Not Enough to Halt Chinas Plunging Fertility Rates

China now has the lowest fertility rate of any country in the world， according to recent figures compiled by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

Data published in the China Statistical Yearbook 2016 showed that China recorded a total fertility rate （TFR） of just 1.05 for 2015 — the lowest fertility rate of any country in the world. The TFR is the number of children a woman would be expected to have if she lived to the end of her childbearing years.

The end of Chinas one-child policy in early 2016 may result in a short-term spike in birth rates， but the countrys population is undeniably facing a sharp decline over the next few decades. Worse still， the nations population problem is being compounded by a serious gender imbalance. More male than female babies are born in the country every year， a difference that is 10% greater than in an average country. This means that a total fertility rate of 1.05 in China will have the same impact on population size as a 1.0 TFR in a developed country.

Developed countries today need a 2.1 TFR to maintain their existing population sizes. China， thanks to its surplus of men， needs a TFR of 2.2 to reach its replacement fertility rate.

Evidence accumulated over the past 20 years strongly suggests that China has already fallen into the “l(fā)ow-fertility trap”. Demographers believe that countries with TFRs as low as Chinas will probably never return to replacement fertility levels.

Alibaba and JD.com Compete Against Supermarkets， Corner Stores

For Chinas 720 million Internet users， websites run by the countrys two biggest e-commerce companies， Alibaba Group and JD.com， have increasingly become the preferred shopping destinations. From trendy clothing and exquisite accessories to household appliances and the latest tech gadgets， a mouse click can get them almost anything.

Now the e-commerce behemoths are going after everyday indispensables— groceries and household items. Over the past few months， both have poured hundreds of millions of yuan into a price war aimed at dragging shoppers away from supermarkets and corner stores. Amazon.com Inc.， Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other online retailing giants are blazing a similar trail in the U.S.

As JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. approach their respective ceilings for growth in sales of other goods， groceries will become the next battleground， said Xu Xin， CEO of the venture capital firm Capital， which invested in JD.com. Conquering the market for fresh food and other grocery items may eventually enable e-commerce companies to take control of as much as half of Chinas total market for consumer goods sales as Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma expected， Xu said. In a 2015 letter to shareholders， Ma predicted that‘over 50% of Chinas consumption will be conducted online within 10 years.