Land monetisation spreads

Travel’s tepid sun

Despite a slump in international visitors, China’s travel market is maintaining overall buoyant demand, but profit margins are slipping in several industry segments.

Competition erodes Ctrip dominance

China's leading online travel reservation service provider, once thought virtually unassailable, is coming up against intensifying competition and softening demand.

Hotels rush downmarket

While China's upscale hotels are set to experience a slump in revenues this year from a fall off in international travel, the budget end of the market is looking assuringly robust.

Big three airlines return from abyss

A mixture of policy support and robust domestic passenger air traffic should help China's airlines climb back from record losses in 2008.

Nerves jangle over two stock market prospects

Debate is flaring over whether the domestic stock market is robust enough to withstand two planned initiatives – a resumption of IPOs and the launch of a Growth Enterprise Board later this year – that will compete for market liquidity.

Alarm bells over SOE profit growth

Profits among China's large state companies are reported to have bounced back in March. Is this information reliable, and if so, is it good or bad?

The Great GDP Debate: Believers vs Naysayers

A dichotomy is emerging between those that believe Chinese economic growth will rebound quickly and those that think a combination of factors will drag growth down. China Confidential gives its take.

18th - 30th April

Major state banks book first-quarter profit growth and Baidu's performance beats analyst estimates, while China's largest automaker sees earnings fall. Cross-straits economic ties are strengthened, urban unemployment rises and Beijing issues more local government bonds.

Loan growth falls off a cliff

Should investors be concerned over predictions that loan growth in April contracted sharply from the extraordinarily high levels seen in the first three months of the year? Yes.