Rural China starts to take off

A new consumer cohort

Extensive China Confidential interviews across rural China shed light on the growing band of 'discretionary rural consumers'.

Johnson & Johnson's Dabao – universal winner

The cosmetics brand was popular with rural residents for its low cost and good quality.

Chongqing Chang'an Automobile

The car manufacturer is a familiar brand with rural consumers thanks to the popularity of its minivan. Around 10% of rural residents we surveyed said they were planning to buy a car.

TCL Corporation - TV giant

The electronics company sold 2.89m LCD televisions in the first five months of this year, up 25% from 2009.

Henan Huaying – recent listing boosts production capacity

The chicken and duck processor is poised to benefit from growing meat consumption in rural China.

Xtep – popular with discretionary rural consumers

The sports shoe and clothing company was one of the most popular brands with younger rural respondents we spoke to.

Anta - growing margins

The selling price of the company's sports shoes has been rising despite its popularity in lower-tier cities and rural China.

Mini-boom in grassroots finance

A number of initiatives are creating the conditions for a mini-boom in grassroots finance that appears set to drive the development of rural areas for several years to come.

Select financial charts

A selection of key financial data

Village and town banks – part of the future?

A regulatory boost in May this year may help the roll-out of village and town banks meet ambitious targets.

Microcredit companies find their feet

New rules from the banking regulator allowing microcredit companies to operate like banks are helping the industry to flourish.

Rural community credit ratings

Rural financial institutions are building personal credit records and using community credit guarantee schemes to securitise debt, helping to reshape rural lending.

Farmland sales – a quiet revolution

Sales of the usage rights on farmland are booming, underpinning wealth creation throughout a rural economy of 721m people.

A-share outlook

The Shanghai market remains in the doldrums, but for how long?

Exchange rate reform?

Domestic commentators discuss China's recent announcement on moving to a more flexible exchange rate policy and its implications for renminbi appreciation.

Growing trade ties with Latin America

In the past year, China has overtaken the US as Brazil's biggest trade partner. Erik Bethel of SinoLatin Capital talks on China's strengthening relationship with Latin America.

Flows to Taiwan surge

Faith in cross-strait relations boosts investor flows to Taiwan.