Economy/Resources - 191. page

On March 30, 2013, the Beijing Municipal government introduced new measures to cool off the overheated real estate market. The measures included limiting unmarried singles to owning no more than one home and imposing a 20 percent capital gain tax on those who own multiple homes.

Xinhua reported that, as of April 7, the statistics showed that the transaction volume for used homes was down 50 percent compared with the week prior to the measure being introduced. Experts speculated that the slowdown was because both buyers and sellers are delaying their decisions as the result of the new measures. It is expected that the used home market may loosen up in the next six months.

Source: Xinhua, April 7, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-04/07/c_115294819.htm

People’s Daily reported that, starting at the end of March, dead fish have been found in the Si Jing Tang River in the Songjiang District of Shanghai. The number has continued to grow until, in recent days, it reached over a thousand dead fish found within one hundred meters (328 feet) of the river. It has caused concern over the safety of the drinking water in the area. The Authorities in the Songjiang district claim that the water quality remains normal and an investigation is being conducted into the cause.

Source: People’s Daily, April 7, 2013
http://society.people.com.cn/n/2013/0407/c86800-21045466.html

China’s Ministry of Water Resources and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the first official survey on the nation’s water resources. According to the survey, China’s rivers may be disappearing. The survey shows that China has 45,203 rivers that each cover an area of at least 50 square kilometers and 22.909 rivers that each cover an area over 100 square kilometers.

Pang Jinwu, representative of the China’s Ministry of Water Resources, stated that the survey corrected some statistics that had been used since the 1950s. For example, based on the estimates of the experts in 1950s, China had over 50,000 rivers that each covered an area of at least 100 square kilometer. That number was more than double the figure from the first official survey.

Source: Xinhua, March 27, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-03/27/c_115183982.htm

A rough estimate, based on official statistics, shows that, in 2012, the Chinese government and the state banks’ revenue from real estate amounted to 4.8 trillion yuan (US$0.8 trillion). This was about 75 percent of the total real estate sales for the year of 6.4 trillion yuan (US$1.0 trillion).

In 2012, China’s commercial housing sales were 6.4456 trillion yuan, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year. Zhou Jiangong, editor-in-chief of the Chinese version of Forbes magazine, posted an online message that included comprehensive statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Finance. It said: "In 2012 real estate sales were 6.4 trillion yuan (US$1.0 trillion), with paid deed taxes of 287.4 billion yuan (US$46.3 billion), property taxes 137.2 billion yuan (US$22.1 billion), business taxes 405.1 billion yuan (US$65.3 billion), and land appreciation taxes 271.9 billion yuan (US$43.8 billion) for a total of about 1.1 trillion yuan (US$0.18 trillion) in tax. The bank mortgage balance of 12 trillion yuan (US$1.9 trillion) generated interest payments of 840 billion yuan (US$135.4 billion), plus land sales revenue amounted to 2.8517 trillion yuan (US$0.46 trillion). The government and the banks revenue from real estate totaled 4.7917 trillion yuan (US$0.77 trillion), accounting for 75 percent of the total revenue of 6.4 trillion yuan (US$1.0 trillion)."

11 types of taxes are involved in real estate development and maintenance: the business tax, value added tax, land appreciation tax, property tax, urban land use tax, deed tax, farmland tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, stamp duty, the urban maintenance and construction tax, and the education surcharge.

Source: Guangming Daily, April 4, 2013
http://economy.gmw.cn/2013-04/04/content_7209230.htm

On March 18, 2013, China Review News published an article criticizing the government for intervening in the market. “Because of the government’s interference in the market, inefficient central government enterprises can obtain low cost funds; because of the government’s interference in the market, enterprises that operate at a loss can gain profit in writing by availing themselves of government subsidies; because of the government’s interference in the market, inefficient companies have consumed China’s energy, thus accelerating the risk of a future crisis.”

The government’s distortion of prices has caused excess capacity, which present both a current and future long term risk to China’s economy. It means the failure of market allocations, resulting in even more government control.

Source: China Review News, March 18, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1024/7/2/7/102472794.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102472794&mdate=0318054412

On March 30, Xinhua reported that Premier Li Keqiang toured the Yangtze Delta Area in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai from March 27 through 29. During his visit, Li praised the economic achievements made in Jiangsu and Shanghia. According to Xinhua, Li also gave instructions regarding the conditions for the economy to develop further. He pointed out the need "to promote modernization in agriculture; to expand domestic consumption during the urbanization phase; for businesses to increase their drive to compete and pressure (for growth) in the reform and opening up era; and to allow people to benefit from those dividends resulting from reform.”

Source: Xinhua, March 30, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-03/30/c_115220301.htm