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China overtakes US as leading FDI destination
16 january 2013 China has surpassed the United States for the first time since 2003 as the world’s largestrecipient of global foreign direct investment in the first half of 2012, showing that globalinvestors are still confident in the world’s second-largest economy despite its economicslowdown. FDI inflows to China amounted to $59 billion in the first half of this year, despite a year-on-yeardecline of 3 percent from $61 billion in the first half of last year. Meanwhile, FDI flowing to the US reached $57.4 billion, a decline of 39.2 percent from a yearearlier, according to the Global Investment Trends Monitor released by the United NationsConference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, on Tuesday. “China’s biggest attraction to global investment is now its huge market, contrasting the long-time low cost, which is now ranked third or fourth,” said Zhang Xiaoji, director of the ForeignEconomic Relations Development at the Development Research Center of the State Council, atop government think tank. “The economy is anyway growing in China, outperforming the US and the European Union,which are suffering medium- or long-term troubles.” Global FDI inflows reached $668 billion from January to June in 2012, a decline of 8 percentfrom the same period of 2011, as the economic recovery “suffered new setbacks in the secondquarter of 2012”, said the report. “FDI flows will, at best, level off in 2012 at slightly below $1.6 trillion because the slow andbumpy recovery of the global economy, weak global demand and elevated risks related toregulatory policy changes continue to reinforce the wait-and-see attitude of many transnationalcompanies toward investment abroad,” the UNCTAD projected. FDI inflows to the EU declined by 3.8 percent year-on-year to $175.9 billion for the first half of2012 while inflows to North America were down by more than one-third due to a dramatic 39.2percent year-on-year fall in inflows to the US, according to the report. However, the UNCTAD also said that “FDI flows to the US might be stronger in the second halfof 2012” in view of early indications. The value of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the US in the third quarter of 2012 weredouble those of the first half of the year, while some further acquisitions are “already takingplace or announced in the fourth quarter”, according to the report. Developing economies for the first time absorbed half of global FDI in the first half of 2012,despite a decline of 5 percent year-on-year. “China is experiencing structural adjustments in their FDI flows, including the relocation oflabor-intensive and low-end market-oriented FDI to neighboring countries,” said the report. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations demonstrated strong attraction forglobal foreign direct investment. FDI inflows to Cambodia surged by more than 165 percentyear-on-year in the first half, while inflows to Thailand rose by 62.1 percent and inflows to thePhilippines increased by 10.6 percent, according to the report. “For investment oriented with low costs, pulling out is normal and will continue in the futureowing to China’s rising costs and appreciation of local currency,” Zhang said. Shen Danyang, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said that China is “adjusting its useof FDI, which is developing positively and healthily despite a slight decrease of FDI inflow thisyear”. FDI flowing to China stood at $83.42 billion from January to September, down 3.8 percent froma year earlier, while September saw China’s FDI drop 6.8 percent year-on-year to $8.43 billion,according to the ministry. Meanwhile, the services sector used nearly $39.5 billion in FDI, or 47 percent of the country’stotal, a decline of 1.8 percent year-on-year in the first nine months, though it would be anincrease of 1.6 percent if the real estate industry is excluded. The HSBC preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, a main economic indicator,rose to 49.1 in October, the highest level in three months, supported by recovery of domesticdemand and business confidence while economists hold that China’s economic growth isreversing its slowdown after registering growth of 7.4 percent in the third quarter, the slowestpace in 14 quarters. However, Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference onTrade and Development, said that “the current trends of investment flows to developingcountries, particularly to Asia, are worrisome, and the challenge for channeling FDI into keydevelopment sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture and the green economy remainsdaunting”.…
Consumer confidence rises
16 January 2013 Chinese consumers’ confidence stabilized in the third quarter, due to lower inflation across all categories and double-digit disposable income growth in both urban and rural regions, research…
Confidence drops, as uncertainty continues
16 january 2013 A new international survey has suggested a marked dip in business confidence in China over the past six months, amid a global market still experiencing considerable volatility.…
China’s economic transformation ‘great’: Luxembourg minister
16 January 2013 LUXEMBOURG – Luxembourg Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade Etienne Schneider said on Tuesday China’s economic transformation has been “great.” “The invention and research and development…
Moderate pay rises predicted for HK workers
16 january 2013 Hong Kong’s workers are expected to receive pay increases of between 4.1 and 4.5 percent in2013, virtually mirroring actual average pay increases of between 4.1 and 4.2 percent thatworkers received in 2012, according to a pay trend survey. Economic uncertainties in 2012 had kept the pay increases to slightly below the 4.8 to 5.1percent levels as predicted by an earlier survey at the start of this year. The latest survey of 91enterprises with 77,600 employees in 12 sectors was carried out by the Hong Kong PeopleManagement Association (HKPMA) in collaboration with the Centre for Human ResourcesStrategy and Development at Baptist University. Survey respondents from 59 enterprises said that pay increases next year would be at aboutthe same level of increases this year. The survey revealed that company profits and staff performance remained the standards fordetermining pay increases, but the companies paid little attention to inflation or job seniority. HKPMA President Pauline Chung attributed the moderate pay increases to the uncertainexternal economic outlook, such as the Euro debt crisis and the US Federal Reserve’squantitative easing III (QE 3). The respondents’ replies indicated that the companies are becoming more cautious as well asbecoming worried about the impact of the statutory minimum wage hourly rate, which isexpected to rise from HK$28 to HK$30 next year, said Felix Yip, research fellow of the centre.…
Snow, rain pushes China’s farm produce prices up
16 January 2013 BEIJING – Rain and snow in China’s north have driven farm produce prices slightly up in 36 large and medium-sized cities, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.…
Shoppers head for HK in search of bargains
16 january 2013 Wang Cuilan was soaked with sweat as she made her way out of the crowded Guangzhou EastRailway Station on Sunday evening. “The train station is too crowded, and I had to wait in a long line,” she told her husband whohad been waiting for her in the arrival hall for some time. Wang left for Hong Kong on Saturday with an empty wheeled tote bag and a knapsack, andthey were full when she came back – with cosmetics, shampoo, clothes, milk powder,seasonings, jewels, electronics, food and other articles. Wang, 33, who works in a logistics company, is just one of the thousands of Guangzhouresidents who often visit Hong Kong for shopping during weekends and holidays. With the appreciation of the yuan and inflation on themainland, Wang, who visits Hong Kong every two to threemonths, said she would go more often in the coming months. Li Nianyang, the manager of Guangzhou Travel Co Ltd’sHong Kong and Macao Tour Center, said the number ofGuangdong residents who will visit Hong Kong in the last twomonths of this year will increase by more than 30 percentyear-on-year. The main reasons, Li said, are the devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar and the traditionalWestern holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. “Many brand-name outlets andfranchise stores in Hong Kong offer big discounts to attract buyers during the holidays,” Li said. Visitors from the Chinese mainland were delighted to see they got 100 Hong Kong dollars forless than 80 yuan last week, he added. Juliet Fu, 27, a senior consultant for a Shanghai consultancy, has a long shopping list ready forher trip to Hong Kong next month. “Now is a good time to buy top brands. There are definitely many must-visit stores,” said Fu,who had been working in Hong Kong for three years. Her shopping list contains well-known brands – Estee Lauder for skin care, Versace forperfume, and Prada and Chanel for bags, but also moderately priced commodities such as ahand cream that is available only at Hong Kong 7-Eleven stores. “A lot of people are talking about year-end shopping in Hong Kong. With inflation still surgingon the mainland and the devalued Hong Kong dollar, it’s becoming more and moreeconomical,” she said. This past Golden Week, which began on the first week of October, more than 1 millionmainland tourists visited Hong Kong, nearly a 25 percent year-on-year increase. Although some Hong Kong luxury retailers complained that their turnover fell short ofexpectations this holiday, most retail sectors still saw double-digit percentage growth. Retail industry insiders say that wealthy people from the mainland are tightening their beltsbecause of the economic slowdown. But the change in the type of visiting consumers may also play a role. Chinese tourists from non-first-tier cities are the fastest-growing consumer segment, accordingto a Nielsen market research report released this month. According to Nielsen, 90 percent of the visitors go to Hong Kong for shopping. Consumers fromfirst-tier cities spend HK$35,640 ($4,598 )per visit on average, and those from smaller citiesHK$22,000 per visit. The spending of the latter is estimated to have increased from 60 percent to 70 percent in thelast two years.…
Snow, rain pushes China’s farm produce prices up
16 January 2013 BEIJING – Rain and snow in China’s north have driven farm produce prices slightly up in 36 large and medium-sized cities, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.…
Chinese lawmakers discuss report on SOE reforms
16 january 2013 BEIJING — State-owned enterprise currently submit 5 to 15 percent of state equity income tothe government, senior economic officials said Thursday. SOEs operating in the natural resources sector hand over 15 percent of state equity income,while other SOEs give 10 percent, with the exception of the 5 percent paid by military-industrialand high-tech SOEs, senior officials from the Ministry of Finance and the State-Owned AssetsSupervision and Administration Commission said at the bi-monthly session of the StandingCommittee of the National People’s Congress. Tobacco companies submit 20 percent of state equity income to the government, they added. The government will further improve the budget system for State-owned enterprises and themanagement of state assets, the officials said. On Thursday afternoon, lawmakers held panel discussions on a report on State-ownedenterprise reforms delivered on Wednesday by Wang Yong, SASAC’s director. SASAC will encourage State-owned companies to publish social responsibility reports and invitethe public to supervise their exercise of social duties, the officials said. SASAC will urge companies to exercise their social duties in daily operations and incorporatethem into company strategies. It will also set up an evaluation system for their performance inthis area, they said. According to Wang’s report, State-owned enterprises, excluding financial institutions, reportedrevenues of 39.25 trillion yuan, accounting for 35 percent of total industrial and businessrevenues, as well as profits of 2.58 trillion yuan, accounting for 43 percent of the total, in 2011. China has endeavored to reform its bulky State-owned enterprises since it introduced itsmarket economy in the late 1970s. So far, more than 90 percent of State-owned enterprises have become corporations and someof them have been restructured to become shareholding companies, according to Wang’sreport. However, several flagship State-owned enterprises have been slow to transform intocorporations. The government will push these enterprises to speed up restructuring and improve corporategovernance, SASAC officials said at the panel discussion.…
Services sector to increase its economic worth
16 January 2013 China’s trade in services will grow at least 10 percent this year to $450 billion, with Hong Kong continuing to pay a key role in that growth,…
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