According to Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, China‘s agricultural population may decline to about 10 percent. Currently, about 40 percent of China’s population is engaged in agriculture.
Economy/Resources - 154. page
Survey Finds Sixteen Percent of the Land in China is Polluted
On April 17, China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Land and Resources released an "Official Report on National Soil Pollution," based on an eight-year survey of over 6.3 million square kilometers of land across the country. The report found that about 16 percent of the country’s soil and 19 percent of its arable land were polluted to one degree or another. The vast majority of the pollution came from cadmium, nickel, copper, arsenic, mercury, lead, DDT and PAHs. The latest results contrast with the situation in October 2011, when 8.3 percent of the arable land was polluted.
In his government report earlier this year, Chinese premier Li Keqiang announced the initiation of a "Soil Remediation Project." However, Chinese scholars estimated that soil pollution prevention and remediation demands trillions or even tens of trillions in investment, while the central government’s budget for soil remediation during the twelfth five-year plan period, or 2011 to 2015, is only 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion).
China’s 2013 Gold Production Topped the World for the Seventh Year
People’s Daily reported that China has been the world’s largest gold producer for seven years in a row. In 2013, its gold output reached 428.16 tons. According to the president of China’s Gold Association, "China’s 2013 gold production increased by 6.23% over last year, a new historic record."
As of the end of 2012, China’s gold reserves of 8,196.24 tons ranked second in the world. In addition, for the first time, China’s gold consumption, which was 1176.40 tons in 2013, jumped to world’s top spot. According to an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, "For the first time, China’s gold consumption has surpassed India. With an increase of 41.3 percent over last year, China has become the world’s largest gold consumer." In 2013, China’s gold consumption was about 27 percent of the global consumption of physical gold.
Source: People’s Daily Online, June 5, 2014
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2014/0605/c1004-25105841.html
Problems in China’s Outbound Investment in the Mining Industry
According to a Xinhua report, over the past five years, over 95 percent of the overseas mergers and acquisitions made by Chinese companies in the mining industry ended in failure.
A major problem is that most individual Chinese companies lack an in-depth understanding of the political, economic, legal, and cultural differences in the host countries. Another issue is the proportion of stock ownership on the Chinese side. A higher Chinese ownership simplifies the decision making process and streamlines the operations. However, it invites opposition from the host countries and may even result in a lower market valuation. Chinese companies have also complained about fraudulent mining data and exaggerated mining exploration statistics.
In 2013, China topped the world in both production and consumption of iron ore, crude steel, steel, and non-ferrous metals. Chinese outbound investment in the mining sector jumped from US$4.2 billion in 2007 to 20.2 billion in 2013.
Source: Xinhua, June 1, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-06/01/c_126570335.htm
Corrupt Officials Are behind the Housing Market Downturn
New regulations have been proposed, to be implemented by the end of 2014, requiring the registration of real estate. Corrupt officials are trying to sell their real estate before the regulations take effect. According to Zhongyuan, a leading real estate brokerage firm in China, the effort to sell quickly has played a large role in the downturn of the housing market. Zhongyuan, one of the largest brokerage firms in China, has tens of thousands employees in over 30 major cities throughout China. Shi Yongqing, Zhongyuan’s founder, is pessimistic about the prospects for the housing market. “There are three indicators of a real estate bubble: over-building, excess credit, and prices that are too high. China’s housing market has all three. None of these problems can be solved easily.”
Pessimism in China’s Housing Market Continues
Since January, the housing market has been experiencing a sharp downturn due to the facts that, in addition to other factors, banks have been tightening credit and inventory has increased. Commodity housing sales in large and medium sized cities slid by 20 to 30 percent with some down as much as 40 to 50 percent.
http://fangchan.21cbh.com/2014/5-29/5MMDA1NzFfMTE4MjM5MA.html
China Daily: China To Allow Ten Provinces and Cities to Issue Bonds
Ten Local Governments Allowed to Issue Bonds to Repay Debts
According to China’s Ministry of Finance, the State Council has approved 10 local governments as part of a pilot program to give them the authority to issue municipal bonds and be responsible for the repayment of their debts.