China’s March Manufacturing Falls to Four-month Low: HSBC
Source: AFP China’s manufacturing activity fell to a four-month low in March, HSBC said Thursday, adding fuel to concerns over slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. HSBC’s preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.1 in March from 49.6 in February, following a sharp slowdown in exports, the British banking giant said in...
China Hikes Fuel Prices by Biggest Margin in Three Years
Source: AFP China on Tuesday hiked fuel prices by the biggest margin in nearly three years after a surge in the cost of global crude, the government and state media said. The rise is the second this year and comes as the government has more leeway to adjust price levels while inflation eases from three-year...
China says Conditions Ripe to Liberalise Interest Rates
Source: AFP The head of China’s central bank said conditions are ripe for Beijing to liberalise interest rates, which would boost domestic consumption as the nation’s exports are hit by weaker overseas demand. Beijing has cut the nation’s growth target for 2012 as its export-driven economy slows, and a key policy focus this year will...
China may Raise Fuel Prices on Tuesday: Industry
Source: Reuters China may raise gasoline and diesel retail prices on Tuesday, an industry website reported, a move that would lift fuel prices to fresh highs but would not be strong enough to choke oil demand by the world’s second-largest oil importer. Some industry analysts expected the government could increase fuel prices by RMB400-500 a...
China’s Stocks Advance to One-week High
Source: Bloomberg China’s stocks rose, driving the benchmark index to a one-week high, after International Monetary Fund official Zhu Min said China will avoid an economic hard- landing as investment remains strong. Kingdream Public Ltd, whose businesses include gas distribution, jumped 10 per cent after the government said it will boost development of the...
Traders Split on PBOC’s Next Move in China
Source: Reuters China’s interest-rate swaps were mostly unchanged in the interbank market on Monday on ample liquidity, with traders expecting little movement until further clues emerge about the course of monetary policy next quarter. “The key is to see what the central bank does next. I personally think the reserve ratio cuts will continue, but...
China Smartphone Market to Overtake US: IDC
Source: AFP China is set to be the biggest smartphone market this year after shipments in the second-half of 2011 outstripped the US, a technology research firm said. Figures by US-based International Data Corporation (IDC) indicate China will account for 20.7 per cent or almost 137 million units of the global smartphone market, compared with...
China Central Bank Sees Room for Policy Maneuvering
Source: Reuters China has ample room to tweak policy to support credit growth in the face of volatile foreign capital flows that will inevitably see market forces play a greater role in determining the value of the yuan currency, the central bank said on Monday. Speaking days after China posted its biggest trade deficit in...
China’s Property Stocks Fall on Weak Sales
Source: Bloomberg China’s property stocks fell after the country reported weak sales for the first two months of the year as the government pledged to maintain its housing curbs. China’s home sales declined 25 per cent in January and February, the national statistics bureau reported March 9. That compared with 26-per cent growth in the...
China’s Inflation Slows Sharply in February
Source: AFP China’s inflation rate slowed sharply in February from the previous month, official data showed Friday, giving Beijing more room to loosen credit restrictions to boost flagging economic growth. The consumer price index was 3.2 per cent in February ‒ the lowest since June 2010 ‒ compared with 4.5 per cent in January, when...
China Blocks Airbus Deals over EU Carbon Tax: EADS
Source: AFP China has blocked purchases of Airbus planes by Chinese companies in reaction to a disputed European carbon tax, the head of Airbus’ parent company EADS said Thursday. “Airbus is subjected to retaliation measures,” EADS chief executive Louis Gallois told a press conference as he presented annual results, adding: “The Chinese government rejects...
China Wealth Fund gets US$30-billion Injection
Source: AFP China’s US$410-billion sovereign wealth fund received a US$30-billion injection from the government last year, boosting its investment war chest for European assets, state media said Monday. China Investment Corporation (CIC) was set up in 2007 to invest some of the country’s world-beating foreign exchange reserves overseas. The fund received the additional capital from...
