China faces a huge funding gap in pushing forward an urbanisation programme that my cost over Rmb50tn by 2020, Zheng Zhijie, president of the China Development Bank (CDB), the country’s top policy lender, has said. Mr Zheng, writing in a central bank journal, also suggested a thorough reform of China’s project financing methods so as to reduce financial risks. We think the proposed reforms represent a key strand in the Xi Jinping leadership’s vision of a “new-type” of urbanisation (Update Alert, May 16).
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Chinese homes sales stabilise
Home sales appear to have stabilised, suggesting that some buyers are returning to the market. The recovery may be derailed, however, by the continued strength in home prices, which could lead to further tightening measures being introduced.
21 May 2013
Flash: China’s freight volume slowed slightly in May
China’s freight volumes slowed down slightly in the first three weeks of May according to China Confidential’s survey of 201 railway, road and air logistics companies across the country.
21 May 2013
Buoyant land transfers and machinery drive rural wealth
The China Confidential Rural Wealth Index surged to 54.5 in April from 52.1 in March due to a healthier outlook for rural vehicle sales as well as strong activity in land transfer and better availability of rural finance as banks and policy makers further innovate to meet demand for credit.
21 May 2013
China ramps up reformist momentum
China is ramping up momentum for a series of economic reforms to be unveiled at a key Communist Party meeting expected in October, government officials and domestic media reports say. We think the moves, which are taking place largely behind the scenes, present the strongest signal yet that President Xi Jinping’s leadership may yet emerge as a more reformist and purposeful administration than that of Hu Jintao over the last decade (CC Dec 20 2012 Macro View).
17 May 2013
Beijing reins in urbanisation expectations
Several officials at China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) have rebuked local governments for their trigger-happy reaction to the government’s plan to accelerate urbanisation, shedding light on the likely form that China’s new urbanisation plan will take. Their comments suggest that a new urbanisation drive may be less capital and resource intensive than many expect, with the emphasis, so far, on improving the quality of life in cities, rather than the scale and pace of new construction.
16 May 2013
Poisons and pirates in China
DANWEI - The last week brought a new wave of food safety scares in China, as well as news about poisons and pollutants in consumer products. There's lead in skin care products, formaldehyde in cars, mercury in health supplements, pirated books on Amazon.cn, and a dead mouse in yoghurt!
16 May 2013
Parkson – slow to adapt
China’s largest department store operator has struggled to adapt to shifting market dynamics and is losing popularity as a result, according to our survey.
16 May 2013
New World – rebranding provides short-term boost
A successful rebranding programme has enabled New World to outperform its department store rivals in terms of sales growth, but its stores remain less productive, while the competitive threat posed by shopping malls remains significant.
16 May 2013
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16 May 2013
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