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Economy/Resources - 250. page

China Exports Slows Down

Chinese Customs authorities released export statistics for the first three quarters of 2008 showing an 11.8% net growth of export, totaling $1,074 billion.  It is a reduction of 8.1 percentage point comparing to the same period last year. The reduction was mostly caused by the decrease in the traditional and bulk products. A China Customs official warned that China cannot ignore the impact on its import and export trade of the U.S. financial crisis.

Source: Xinhua, November 6, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/06/content_10317019.htm

China Fears Jobless Rate Hike

Minister of Human Resources and Social Security alerts local authorities to “closely monitor the impact of changing economy that may have on employment.” His directive was made during his visit to Guangdong, one of the fastest growing regions in China. According to Shenzhen job market statistics, the number of employers hiring started to decrease in the 2nd quarter 2008. It was down 30% in 3rd quarter comparing to the 2nd quarter. On the other hand, job seeker increased close to 40 percent in the past 4 months.

Earlier release from National Development and Reform Commission shows that over 67,000 enterprises of small and medium sizes closed down in the first 6 months of 2008.

Source: China Federation of Trade Unions, November 6, 2008
http://acftu.people.com.cn/GB/67561/8291394.html
Xinhua, September 8, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/2008-09/08/content_9848744.htm

NDRC Will Allow Corporate Bond to Grow in 2009

“National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is to allow the increases in the corporate bond, exercise measures to mitigate the risk and improve the bond-issuing system” a representative of the NDRC spoke at the “Seminar on the Industry Development of China in 2009” on November 2. The increases will be in quantity and variety, he said.  By the end of October, total approved corporate bond has exceeded 180 trillion compared with 171 trillion in 2007. The ratio of direct equity financing versus the indirect was 1:4.

Source: Xinhua, November 3,2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-11/03/content_10298794.htm

100,000 cases of Tainted Milk Improperly Disposed

A waste disposal center in Baiyun district of city of Guangzhou dumped over 100,000 cases of melamine-tainted milk into the nearby Shijing River without proper treatment which has caused a white layer of milk floating on the river and emitting odor in the warm weather. The local residents filed complaints with the local authority but the waste center claimed that they have received the approval from the local Sanitation Bureau on the way that the tainted milk was disposed.

Source: Xinhua, November 2, 2008
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/www.gd.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/02/content_14806970.htm

More Chinese eggs in Hong Kong Tainted

Hong Kong found more Chinese eggs containing an excessive amount of the industrial chemical melamine, the Hong Kong government said, as a new food safety problem on the mainland expanded. Hong Kong will inspect all eggs from China in the coming week and will expand the scope of inspection to meat and Animal offal. 60% of eggs in Hong Kong are imported from Mainland China.

Source: Xinhua, October 26, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/video/2008-10/28/content_10264684.htm

Sinopec Third Quarter Net Profits Tumbled

Sinopec booked third-quarter net profit of 8.3 billion yuan, down by 38.7% from 13.41 billion yuan a year earlier, Xinhua reported. Sinopec posted 17.64 billion yuan of net profits for the first three quarters, a 63.7% fall comparing to the same period last year. Sinopec attributes the fall to higher crude prices that have pushed its refining business deep into the red. In the first 6 months of 2008, it has received government subsidies of 45.1 billion yuan in total including fiscal subsidies, import subsidies and import tariff rebates for crude oil. Cash flow for the first three quarters was 3.427 billion, down 103.4% from the same period last year.

Source: Xinhua, October 29, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune//2008-10/29/content_10276297.htm

Lin Yifu: It’s Inappropriate for China to Bottom-fish U.S. Market

Lin Yifu, deputy director and executive economist of World Bank, warns that “developing countries will see dramatic decrease in exports due to the recession in developed countries’ economy, and will face shortage of investment money.” He does not agree with the suggestion that China should utilize the foreign reserve to bottom fish the U.S. market. He believes it’s not the right time to send money to the United States at the moment. He says China should use the foreign currency to acquire resource, or help China’s products enter the world market, and acquire new technology. Lin had the above comments while he went back to China for a conference on October 26.

Source: Xinhua, October 27, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-10/27/content_10257112.htm

Millions to Lose Jobs; Tough Job Markets for College Graduates

As many as 9,000 factories in Dongwan, Shenzheng, and Guangzhou are facing closing down and 2.7 million workers will lose jobs, reported United Daily News. In the mean time, 6 million college graduates are challenged with tough job market as many colleges received cancellation of on-campus job affairs notice from the businesses. There have been increases in students enrolled in the graduate degree study or competing over the limited spots to study overseas.

Moreover, public servant positions, the ones with more job security, are facing the worst competition ever. As of October 26, over 970,000 applications were accepted, 200,000 higher than the year before. Average ratio is 73 applicants competing for 1 position. The most competitive position is the one with Chinese Association of the handicapped which have 4723 applicants competing for 1 position.

Source:
United Daily News, October 25, 2008
http://udn.com/NEWS/MAINLAND/MAI2/4572614.shtml
Xinhua, October 27, 2008-10-26
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-10/27/content_10258124.htm