economy

Report on Basic Endowment Insurance Released

The first yearly report on the details of the basic endowment insurance funds investment was released recently by the National Council for Social Security Fund. According to the report， the total investment returns from 2017 to 2018 were RMB 8.783 billion.

Liu Xiangdong， associate researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges （CCIEE）， told the media that in 2017， the rate of investment returns reached as high as 5.23 percent， which was satisfactory against the background of the sluggish economy.

By the end of 2017， nine provincial regions， including Beijing， Shanghai， Guangxi and Yunnan， had entrusted RMB 430 billion of endowment insurance funds to the National Council for Social Security Fund for investment on a five-year basis. The total funds reached RMB 273.15 billion.

According to Huang Dengxin， director of the Finance and Securities Institute of Wuhan University of Science and Technology， at the early stage of the investment， the funds were put in place slowly， the entrustment period was short， and the investment was made in a way that minimum returns were guaranteed. All these restricted the investment scale and management mode of the funds. Therefore， the cumulative return of RMB 8.819 billion by 2017 was satisfactory enough.

New Energy Vehicles Becoming a Driving Force in Auto Industry

The negative growth of Chinas auto sales in 2018 was almost a foregone conclusion， and the overall growth of auto sales in 2019 will be stagnant， disclosed Shi Jianhua， deputy secretary general of China Association of Automobile Manufactures（CAAM）， on December 6， 2018 in Shenzhen. But here is the silver lining： new energy vehicles （NEVs） shall continue to grow， and its estimated that by the end of 2020， a total of 2 million NEVs will be sold in China.

The decline of traditional vehicles versus the popularity of NEVs has become a general consensus in Chinas auto industry. In the eyes of Shi， NEVs will be a driving force of the stagnant auto industry in the next few years.

What is also generally acknowledged is that in addition to passenger vehicles， there is great potential in the development of logistics vehicles， sanitation trucks， farm vehicles， and mini electric cars， which need to be tapped into in the future.

At the same time， in the field of automotive batteries， a key proponent of the NEV industry chain， a reshuffling is underway with the decline of incentives from the Chinese government for electric vehicles.

In the future， experts say that NEVs will be subdivided into fuelefficient vehicles， battery electric vehicles （BEVs）， hybrid vehicles， and intelligent connected vehicles.

Self-Employed Businesses in Full Fledge

Back in 1978， there were 140，000 self-employed businesses， and by 1989 the total number of registered private businesses had barely reached 90，500. But according to statistics from the State Administration for Market Regulation （SAMR）， by the end of October 2018， the number of self-employed business had surged to 71.37 million， and private businesses had reached the staggering number of 30.67 million. This revealed a 500 times increase in self-employed businesses and a 338 times increase in registered private business， respectively.

Since August 2015， under the direction of the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce， the China PrivatelyOwned Business Association conducted 14 surveys among 140，000 small and micro enterprises in over 100 counties nationwide. The results showed that about 71.1 percent of newly established small and micro businesses were active in operation， and they， on average， employed 7.5 people each. Profitable enterprises accounted for 22.70 percent. The main reason for the inactivity of the lingering 28.9 percent lay in high cost， financing difficulties， and fierce competition.

After four decades of development， Chinas private businesses are now realizing their full potential in supporting economic and social development. At the beginning of the economic reform， the SAMR was responsible for the registration of private enterprises and the nurturing of urban and rural markets. Later， it made great efforts to facilitate further reform and helped optimize the business environment.

IT and Finance Graduates Getting Best Opportunities

A recent survey from 58.com， a popular job announcement website in China， shows that IT， finance， and mechanical engineering are the most desirable majors on the job market， and the expected average salary of graduates is RMB 8，431， while the average salary paid by companies is RMB 7，915. Besides， the five major factors which employers consider are the major， school， educational background， internships， and academic performance.

The report also shows that IT， finance， telecommunications and manufacturing rank top in terms of the preferred industries of university graduates when looking for jobs. With the rise of AI and big data， pan-IT industries have become the top choice； finance and telecommunication industries are the ideal choices of graduates due to their high alluring income and nice working environments. At the same time， with the upgrading of Chinas manufacturing industry， it is Chinas goal to replace “Made in China” with “Intelligent Manufacturing in China.”

For Chinese overseas graduates， the four first-tier cities of Beijing， Shanghai， Guangzhou， and Shenzhen are still their first choices.

This research analyzed students in 291 universities located in 60 cities throughout China. The majority of students in the study were BA students at 82.51 percent， then MA students at 15.10 percent， and PhD students at 2.39 percent.