DANWEI – Allegations of fraud at Zoomlion are in the spotlight again after a journalist who wrote about suspicious accounting practices at the company was arrested. This week’s Danwei Bulletin also has news of Minsheng Bank’s progress in mobile banking, doubts about Vancl, and good news for the restaurant industry. Clothes, shoes and bags are all up in this week’s Mai-Mai Index.

Sales at machinery manufacturers have performed surprising well this year but appear to be driven by a new form of shadow financing rather than real demand.

Industrial and financial sector experts shared their opinions on the outlook for China’s machinery sector in light of declining orders, tighter profit margins and falling share prices

China’s excavator sales dropped 46% YoY in March, compared to a drop of 33% YoY in the combined January-February period. We think the sluggish excavator sales add to indications of sub-par fixed-asset investment (FAI) growth (CC Feb 23 2012 Big Call ) caused by slowdowns or cancellations of projects by fiscally squeezed local governments and property developers after a welter of project launches in 2009/2010. However, with social housing construction expected to pick up gradually in 2012 (CC Apr 5 2012, Big Call), excavator sales should start to rebound somewhat in the coming months.

In many cities, unsold real estate inventory is fast piling up, pressuring Beijing to soften the impact of its home purchase restrictions.

Some migrant worker wages are starting to ease, raising profound implications for the economy.

A raft of rising costs is forcing exporters to pass on higher prices to buyers – a trend that is set to redraw the map of world trade.

Rising labour costs are pushing manufacturers to mechanise, creating a boom for some machine tool makers and a surge in machinery imports.