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Competition Might Save the Chinese Stock Market

On August 3, 2015, Chen Peixiong, a researcher at the Guangdong Industry Development Institute, published a commentary in Hexun stating that few understood the reason for the failure of the Chinese stock market. He proposed that competition among multiple stock markets might save the Chinese stock market. 

In the commentary, Chen held that the Chinese stock market is not a stock market. Therefore, any attempts to analyze, administer, and rescue the Chinese stock market by applying economics and stock market theories would be doomed. 
Chen said that one should go beyond the stock trades and should see whether the stock market moves with the economic trends. A stock market serves as an economic barometer of a country and its existence is conditioned upon whether it is consistent with the economic trends. It is totally nonsensical to say the Chinese style stock market is irrelevant to the Chinese economic trends. The problem with the Chinese stock market lies in the design of the rules or mechanisms. As a planned economy, China can regulate and monitor the stock market to the maximum extent, but it will have no effect. 
Chen recommended either allowing multiple stock markets to compete or to design a stock market outside the constraints of the current system. 
Source: Hexun, August 3, 2015 
http://opinion.hexun.com/2015-08-03/178026529.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s 2014 GDP Consumed a Quarter of World’s Energy

Well-known Chinese news site Netease recently reported that, according to Li Yizhong, the former Minister of Industry and Information Technology, in 2014, China consumed 25 percent of the world’s energy in order to produce 13 percent of the world’s GDP. According to Li, the Chinese economy relied heavily on resource consumption. This has caused the large scale of environmental pollution which is too severe to sustain. Statistically, China’s unit GDP energy cost was twice as much as the rest of the world. Li called for optimization of resource planning and utilization, not only to reduce manufacturing energy costs, but also to bring the green environment back to the nation. Li made the comments at a summer economists’ forum held recently in Beijing.
Source: Netease, July 25, 2015
http://money.163.com/15/0725/10/AVC4VKQ500252G50.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Sale of Century Place in Shanghai: The Golden Age of China’s Real Estate Market is Gone

People’s Daily published an article on the fact that [Hong Kong Billionaire] Li Ka-shing, the owner of Cheung Kong Property Holdings Limited, recently sold Century Place in Shanghai. The article said that the sale is an indication that China’s real estate market is slowing down and facing slower or declining growth. The report indicated that the highest bid for Century Place was currently running at 20 trillion yuan (US$3.22 trillion). Cheung Kong Property acquired Century Place 11 years ago for 12,000 yuan (US$1,932) per square meter. It is expected to sell for over 70,000 yuan (US$11,272) per square meter. The report stated that if the sale goes through, it will be Li Ka-shing’s 6th property sale in the past two years. In the same period, Li he has not made any new acquisitions.

Source: People’s Daily, August 1, 2015
http://house.people.com.cn/n/2015/0801/c164220-27395200.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China Significantly Increased Its Gold Reserves for the First Time in Six Years

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to China’s central bank, China’s official gold reserves reached 53.31 million ounces (1,658 tons) as of the end of June. This is a 57 percent increase from the previous official number revealed in April 2009, which was 33.89 million ounces (1,054.6 tons). The central bank announced the intent to continue the increase of the gold reserves in the future to have better management of financial risks. According to the World Gold Council (WGC), China surpassed Russia to become the world’s fifth largest country in gold reserves (excluding the International Monetary Fund). Analysts have indicated that, according to cost figures, the Chinese central bank did not reach this new gold reserve level with a recent one-time acquisition. China is the largest gold producer in the world and is the second largest gold consumer after India. Since 2009, the central bank has never updated its official gold reserve level.
Source: Sina, July 17, 2015
http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/nmetal/20150717/192622719369.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

70 Percent of Investors Suffered Losses in the Stock Market Crash

Southern Metropolis Daily published the results of a survey in which individual investors in the stock market in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province were asked to respond. The survey closed on July 21, 2015. Of the 1,006 participants, about 70 percent suffered losses, 20 percent had gains, and 10 percent had neither gains nor losses. As to the extent of losses, over 40 percent of respondents said they lost over 30 percent of their investment. 

Of those responding, male investors accounted for 87 percent and female 13 percent. As for the level of experience, those with less than two years of experience in the market accounted for 40 percent of the participants in the survey. Over 40 percent indicated they had invested over 50 percent of their savings in the market. 
Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, July 23, 2015 
http://hz.southcn.com/content/2015-07/23/content_129102070.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

The Stock Market Crash ‘Destroyed’ 600,000 Members of the Middle Class

On July 17, 2015, China Business Journal published an article titled, “The Stock Market Crash Has ‘Destroyed’ 600,000 Members of the Middle Class.” Since June of 2015, a total value of ten trillion Chinese yuan has evaporated as a result of the stock market crash in China. Forbes once predicted that the Chinese middle class would number over 14 million people. If 500,000 to 600,000 members of the Chinese middle class have disappeared as a result of the stock crash, 3 percent of the Chinese middle class has disappeared.

Source: China Business Journal, July 17, 2015
http://news.cb.com.cn/html/economy_9_26382_1.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Automobile Market Declined in June

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, following a disappointing May, the Chinese automobile market suffered another tough month in June. According to the data that the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) just released, the national automobile manufacturing volume declined by 5.8 percent, month-over-month, or by 0.2 percent, year-over-year. In the meantime, the national automobile sales volume declined by 5.3 percent, month-over-month, or by 2.3 percent, year-over-year. This record is only better than the February numbers, when the month-over-month manufacturing and sales volume declined by 28.7 percent and 31.3 percent, respectively. Most of the automobile manufacturers started cutting prices after February, led by Shanghai Volkswagen and followed by the joint-venture companies of Ford, Hyundai, Peugeot and GM. Only Japanese automobile vendors saw growth and did not join the price war. However the overall market did not rebound. The last time the Chinese automobile market saw a major decline was in 2008, when the global financial crisis started. 
Source: Sina, July 15, 2015
http://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/cyxw/20150715/153922694743.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s SEC Cracks Down on Improper Disclosure of Information

On July 15, 2015, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced that it was investigating 10 cases that involved improper disclosure of information. The effort was the fifth if the CSRC’s 2015 campaign to crack down on illegal activities in stock trading. 

The 10 cases focus on five types of behavior: obtaining approval for IPOs through the use of fictitious assets and profits; covering up major stock holders’ illegal acquisition of the listed companies through the fabrication of major stock transactions; forging bank documents to inflate assets and profits and whitewashing listed companies’ financial statements; making up the  achievements of listed or targeted companies during the merger and acquisition period; and failing to disclose information in a timely manner or selectively disclosing important information, leading to abnormal fluctuations in the stocks of listed companies. 
Source: Xinhua, July 15, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-07/15/c_1115936989.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources