SHANGHAI: In a fresh sign of China¡¯s financial strength, a leap in the shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Monday made it the world¡¯s biggest bank by market capitalisation, overtaking US giant Citigroup. ICBC¡¯s Shanghai-listed A shares surged 2.68% to 5.75 yuan, giving it a market capitalisation of 4bn, according to Reuters calculations. That exceeded the 1bn capitalisation of Citigroup, previously the world¡¯s biggest bank, when its shares closed at .73 in New York on Friday. HSBC Holdings was in third place with 5bn. Shares in ICBC, which listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong last October, have gained 15% this month on the back of a rally in China¡¯s booming stock market as well as strong growth in the bank¡¯s own earnings. Weakness in Citigroup¡¯s share price, and appreciation of the yuan against the dollar have also shifted market values in favour of ICBC. But some analysts believe ICBC¡¯s ballooning capitalisation may also be a sign of a dangerously overheated Shanghai stock market as speculating Chinese investors pour money into shares. ICBC, a state-controlled behemoth which is trying to modernise a creaky branch network operating almost entirely inside China, reported income of bn last year. Citigroup, one of the world¡¯s most sophisticated financial institutions with operations around the globe, reported income almost four times as large, at bn. ICBC¡¯s share price yesterday valued it at 28 times analysts¡¯ forecasts for its earnings per share in 2007, far above 11 times for Citigroup and an average of 16 times for major global banks, according to Reuters Estimates. ¨C Reuters
Fifty-two workers were trapped early Sunday when a torrent of mud and water engulfed a rail tunnel under construction in central China. Rescue teams managed to free 35 of the workers building the tunnel in Hubei province and the remaining 17 trapped about 200 metres (660 feet) below ground would soon be freed, the Xinhua New Agency added. Earlier reports said 38 workers were trapped in the accident Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding and mudslides across many areas of central China in recent weeks. According to Xinhua news agency, 78 people died and 18 are still missing after three days of downpours set off flash floods in Henan province in the past week. More than 700 people have been killed by floods, landslides and lightning this year in China, according to latest official figures that have yet to tally the past week's casualties.
HANGZHOU -- China needs to "free itself from conservative ideas" if it wants to further open the country to the world, a gathering of foreign affairs officials concluded at meeting held in East China's Zhejiang Province on Tuesday.Officials in charge of foreign affairs at both the provincial and municipal levels agreed on future policies to open up their respective regions wider to the world."We need to free ourselves from conservative ideas, seek new ways to expand economically and have culture exchanges with other cities and regions in the world," said a statement issued at the meeting.The officials agreed that foreign affairs departments at local levels were facing great challenges which also offer great opportunities. They discussed the ways to implement the guidelines of the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in their foreign affairs work, the statement said.Opening wider to the world will contribute to China's drive to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, realize peaceful development and create a harmonious world, it said.Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also addressed the meeting on China's foreign policies and international relations.
An increasing amount of investment capital is flowing from the Chinese stock market to the relatively stable real estate markets in major cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, according to several banks and property consultancies. Low- and medium-level residential properties have been attracting the bulk of the funds diverted from stocks, while luxury residential houses and office buildings are taking in a much smaller share, according to a recent survey by Shenzhen-based Worldunion Properties Consultancy (China) Limited. The survey, which covers 16 real estate projects in Shenzhen, Beijing and Tianjin, estimates that funds diverted from stocks accounted for around 50 percent of the total transactions in low- to medium-priced residential properties from October 2006 to June 2007, 10 to 20 percent in luxury apartments and about the same percentage in office premises. "The volatility of the stock market after the stamp tax hike in late May has also increased the potential risks and reduced the returns of stock investment, prompting many risk-averse investors to shift their focus to the property market," the Worldunion report said. "It can be seen from the weak and uncertain performance of the stock market and the strong performance of property prices in various major cities," the report said. Housing prices in 70 large-and medium-sized cities in China continued to rise in June, up 7.1 percent over the same period last year, while the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 7 percent that month. "From my experience in other markets, the risks of investment in real estate are relatively lower than that in the stock market," said Mao Zhi, a professor at China Real Estate Index Research Academy. Some are even selling their stocks to pay for house loans before the recent lending rate hike of 27 basis points. These funds have indirectly flowed into the real estate market, analysts said. "The interest rate hike is not expected to have a negative impact on the property market. The gap between long-term deposit and lending rates narrowed only 9 basis points after the rate adjustment, showing that the measure is not targeting the real estate market," said Li Maoyu, an analyst at Changjiang Securities. At the macro level, the fund flow trend from stocks to real estate is reflected in the sharp increase in bank loans, economists and market analysts said. According to statistics from the People's Bank of China, the increase of loans outstanding in June alone was 451.5 billion yuan, while it's only 247.3 billion in May. Of the additional increase of 56.6 billion yuan loans from the same time a year ago, 79.9 percent were household loans. "Since the majority of household loans were mortgage loans, it's clear that more funds have been relocated to the property market lately," said Shen Minggao, an economist at Citigroup. "Investments in luxury residential properties also shot up as many investors cashed out of the Shanghai stock market and turned to luxury properties as long-term investments," said Lina Wong, managing director of Colliers, an international real estate service provider. In line with the increased transaction volume, selling price for luxury properties grew 2.7 percent in the first half, compared with 3.5 percent in the past 12 months. The rents also grew 2.9 percent, while it rose 3.8 percent from last June. Worldunion said it's like the two markets are on a seesaw, when "one goes up, the other comes down." The National Bureau of Statistics has announced that China's real estate investment rose 28.5 percent from a year earlier to 988.7 billion yuan in the first half of 2007. "Anticipation of further renminbi appreciation should secure a continuous inflow of foreign capital and help fuel the property market," said Wong of Colliers.
BEIJING - China's top legislature on Sunday started to read draft amendment to the Law on Lawyer which aims to make lawyers easier to meet criminal suspects, obtain evidences, improve their moral standards and allow them to open individual law firms. The draft amendment to the Law on Lawyer was on Sunday submitted to the six-day 28th session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), or China's top legislature, for the first reading.
Central China's Hubei Province has banned pearl farming in all lakes, rivers and reservoirs in an attempt to prevent water quality from worsening, local aquatic products administration said Saturday.Pearl farms have covered a total area of 13,000 hectares in the province, and the annual output has exceeded 400 tons, a spokesman with the administration said.Some farmers resorted to pesticides and manure to farm the pearl oysters, which has caused swathes of algae to bloom in the water, and turned the water stinky, he said.The administration said it would not approve new applications to establish such farms, and has ordered all water areas used to cultivate pearls to be cleaned.Over the past several months, blue-green algae outbreaks, usually caused by pesticides runoffs and other pollutants, have been reported in Taihu Lake, Chaohu Lake and the Dianchi Lake in southwestern China, endangering domestic water supplies.Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), unveiled a set of tough new rules early July to tackle worsening pollution in the three lakes.The rules include a ban on all projects involving discharges containing ammonia and phosphorus. He also ordered all fish farms to be removed from the three lake areas by the end of 2008.
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XI'AN -- Lawmakers in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province enacted a law on Saturday that is intended to improve protection of the Qinling Mountains, a habitat of endangered giant pandas.The law, which will take effect on March 1, is aimed at preserving biodiversity, preventing soil erosion (which averages 84 million tons a year) and promoting harmony between man and nature in the mountain range, which is a divide between China's north and south.It requires all future development projects in the Qinling Mountains to be assessed for their possible impact on the ecology and bans real estate projects and polluting industries in nature reserves, where the ecology is more vulnerable.The law also bans mining and resource exploration in nature reserves and forest parks.Local governments must ensure immediate demolition of existing projects that are potentially harmful to the ecology, it says.The Qinling range, which largely spans Shaanxi Province, covers more than 50,000 square kilometers.The range is home to approximately 300 Qinling pandas, a sub-species of giant pandas on the verge of extinction, and many other rare animals under state protection, such as golden monkeys, the red ibis and antelopes.
Wuhan -- China's first bank-invested trust company is officially set up in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday.The new trust company is held by the Bank of Communications (BOCOM), China's fifth largest lender, and Hubei provincial finance department, which control 85 percent and 15 percent of the total shares respectively.The BOCOM invested 1.2 billion yuan (about US0m) to buy the shares of the Hubei international trust and investment company, the first commercial bank investment in a trust company approved by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.Jin Dajian, chairman of the new company named "jiaoyin-guoxin", or BOCOM-International Trust, said the company would focus on "professional wealth management".Jin called the establishment of the new trust company "a breakthrough for China's trust industry", given that the country's law on commercial banks, effective since 1995, did not allow commercial banks to make trust investment.The regulation was not lifted until the end of last year, when the China Banking Regulatory Commission encouraged financial institutions, including commercial banks, to acquire trust companies.The BOCOM, a large state-owned commercial bank, was established in 1908, and the Hubei international trust investment company was founded as a non-banking financial institution under Hubei provincial government in 1981.
The government is to increase the level of pensions and housing subsidies for poor families in a bid to bridge the widening income gap. A State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday pledged to increase pensions for more than 40 million retirees from State-owned enterprises over the next three years. The government has already raised their pensions in the past three years by an average of 8 percent a year. But the cabinet considers the present pension level "still quite low". It said the increases over the next three years would exceed the rises made between 2005 and 2007 to "further ease social tensions caused by the income gap". The move is aimed at helping retired senior technology professionals and those who now get a relatively low pension. The cabinet ordered local governments to make sure this year's pensions are paid by the end of the month. While pledging to regularize pension increases, the cabinet also called for the development of other forms of pension rather than solely relying on the budget. It mentioned commercial and enterprise-funded insurance schemes. The average pension of enterprise employees is about 750 yuan (0) per month - the minimum salary set for developed cities, including Beijing. "With my pension, I can just about make ends meet. Consumer prices have kept on rising in the first half of this year," a 72-year-old retiree said. The cabinet also endorsed a plan to provide affordable housing to urban low-income groups. The policy aims to provide rent subsidies or low-rent housing for those who cannot afford commercial housing in the cities. By pledging to set aside more funding and land for the construction and acquisition of such housing, the government hopes to provide low-rent housing for all low-income urban residents - not just the poorest - by the end of 2010. The government aims to achieve this goal through multi-channels - construction, purchases, renovation and donations. "With the country's economic boom, it's time to share the pie with all levels of society," Chen Liangwen, an economic researcher with Peking University, said.
The Chinese government on Tuesday expressed indignation and opposition to the resumption of "diplomatic relations" between St. Lucia and Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement that the resumption of "diplomatic relations" between St. Lucia and Taiwan was a flagrant violation of the declaration on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and St. Lucia. It also constituted interference in the internal affairs of China, Liu said. He said the embassy of China in St. Lucia had already lodged a strong protest to the government of St. Lucia. He said the government had instructed the embassy to request the St. Lucian government live up to the principle of the declaration that the two countries issued on the establishment of diplomatic links in 1997. It also instructed the embassy to request St. Lucia return to the rightful stance of recognizing one-China. "Otherwise, the government of St. Lucia will be responsible for the consequences incurred," Liu said. Liu said the Taiwan authority's attempts to pursue "money diplomacy" and create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" had no support in the international community and would not succeed.