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China Youth Daily: Research Shows 54 Percent of Doctors Take Rebates

China Youth Daily recently reported that, based on research numbers cited by senior officials from the Chinese Medical Association, 54 percent of doctors have received “rebates” and 39 percent have accepted “conference sponsorship” from drug companies. The Medical Association called for higher moral standards in the medical profession. Statistics showed that, over the past five years, tension between doctors and patients has intensified. In the last five years, the percentage of cases that involve doctors being attacked has increased from 3.7 percent to 4.5 percent. The media has reported a large number of scandals involving doctors. Many doctors blame the government for dictating that the prices they charge for their medical services must remain at a very low level; the pricing does not offer them an opportunity to recover the cost of entering and sustaining their specialty in the medical profession. 
Source: China Youth Daily, November 3, 2012
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2012-11/03/nw.D110000zgqnb_20121103_5-01.htm

HSBC Chinese October PMI Number Released

NetEase recently reported that, on November 1, 2012, HSBC released the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) number for the Chinese manufacturing industry. The October number is 49.5, which is higher than last month’s figure of 47.9. This also indicates that the Chinese manufacturing sector is on the decline for the year. In October, manufacturing production output was still slipping. However total new orders had a slight increase due to more new customers. Meanwhile new export orders declined for the sixth consecutive month. Inventory was also shrinking, while ten percent of the manufacturers surveyed were reducing the size of their workforce. For the first time this year, the average price of manufacturing sector products saw a 9 percent increase. This was widely believed to be caused by the increased cost of material. Qu Hongbin, HSBC Chief Economist for the China Region, commented that the HSBC PMI number demonstrated that the Chinese manufacturing sector is showing signs of stabilization, which is largely the result of the earlier government “easing” measures. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.
Source: NetEase, November 1, 2012
http://money.163.com/12/1101/09/8F7ES76J00252G50.html

CRN: Government Consumes a Large Percentage of China’s Financial Resources

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that, based on the numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics, consumer spending contributed 55 percent to the economic growth in the third quarter of this year. However, government operational consumption is also considered part of the final consumer spending. Between 2000 and 2010, the Chinese government’s consumption grew from RMB 1.57 trillion to 5.36 trillion. Government operational spending takes about twenty percent of the annual government income. The same ratio number for the United Sates is 9.9%; it is five percent for the European Union and 2.8 percent for Japan. This indicates that it takes substantially more money to sustain the Chinese government. The statistical data also reflects a lowered quality of consumer spending because the government’s operational consumptions eats a large slice of the “consumer spending” pie.
Source: China Review News, November 3, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1022/8/2/7/102282777.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102282777&mdate=1027073850

People’s Daily: Government Planning 70 Billion RMB Rescue Package for the Solar Industry

People’s Daily recently reported that the Chinese government is planning to invest in the domestic solar industry. The planned total investment will be around 70 billion RMB. This plan is in response to the fact that both the United States and the European Union are filing anti-dumping and countervailing cases against China. The Chinese solar industry relies heavily on exports. Sixty percent of the production output goes to the European Union, while 30 percent goes to the United States. With the coming trade wars, the entire Chinese solar industry faces the possibility of total bankruptcy. The Chinese government’s plan is to establish a large domestic market that will be funded mainly by government investment. Meanwhile the government is also coordinating an effort to lower the cost of delivering solar-generated power to national networks.
Source: People’s Daily, October 27, 2012
http://energy.people.com.cn/n/2012/1027/c71661-19407371.html

CRN: Significantly More Environmental Emergencies in China

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that the 11th National People’s Congress Standing Committee held a seminar focusing on environmental protection issues. Since 1996, major environmental emergency events increased at an annual rate of 29 percent. Since 1995, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has directly handled 927 emergency events. In 2011, major emergencies suffered a 120% increase over 2010, especially in incidents involving heavy metals and dangerous chemicals. Experts suggested in the seminar that the country needs to establish an environmental public interest litigation system and also to pass an Environmental Damage Compensation Act. It is widely recognized that the government’s current environmental information lacks sufficient transparency and that environmental regulations are incomplete and vague. In the past decade, only one percent of the environmental conflicts were resolved through legal channels. Even today, much large scale environmental damage remains unresolved. 
Source: China Review News, October 27, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/crn-webapp/doc/docDetailCNML.jsp?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=102283121

Xinhua: Hong Kong Increases Real Estate Cost for Outsiders

Xinhua recently reported that the Hong Kong government just extended the real estate stamp duty for another three years. It also added a 15 percent duty for buyers, which will apply to local businesses and to non-residents. According to the Hong Kong government, the new requirement will help lower the cost that local permanent residents have to pay to purchase real estate. Another goal of the new policy is to place a more substantial restraint on the recent speculation in the housing market. Large outside capital has been targeting Hong Kong real estate. However, the government suggested that this new tax is a temporary measure designed to reduce the number of external buyers. Eventually the policy will expire. The background of this recent change in real estate policy is the loss of balance between demand and supply. The influx of capital has resulted in a sharp increase on the demand side of the housing market. If the new policy is not strong enough to improve stability, the government is determined to do more.
Source: Xinhua, October 26, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-10/26/c_113513933.htm

Xinhua: Upper Management’s Largest Wage 4553 Times Greater than that of Lowest Worker

Xinhua recently reported that, based on a report released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, upper management income in some industries has grown very rapidly. According to the report, the highest wage received by upper management is 4533 times more than the wage of the lowest grade worker. Based on the national labor union’s research, 23.4 percent of workers have not received a pay raise in the past five years. The biggest gaps in wages exist in the large scale state-owned companies, especially those with monopoly powers. Experts suggested that the government needs to regulate itself better and to truly consider the interests of the general public. They also called for closing the loopholes in the personal income tax system. 
Source: Xinhua, October 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2012-10/20/c_113435946.htm

Xinhua: Chinese Currency Exchange Rate Reached Record Highs

on October 19, 2012, Xinhua reported that the rate of exchange of China’s RMB to the U.S. Dollar hit record highs for the past six consecutive days. China’s central bank released the interbank foreign exchange market’s central parity rate at RMB 6.3021 to USD $1 on October 18. It is widely believed that the primary cause of this increase is that the U.S. Dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve kicked off QE3. Another possible cause is the RMB appreciation pressure from China’s neighboring countries. Experts are worried about the negative impact this round of RMB appreciation has had on China’s exports. However the RMB futures market also demonstrated an expectation that the RMB will be devalued in the long run. This means the probability of a major RMB fluctuation is unlikely. 
Source: Xinhua, October 19, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/finance/2012-10/19/c_123842468.htm