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CHINA'S first law on the "circular economy" is expected to be launched in January 2008. It is aimed aprotecting the environment in economically feasible ways.
The major contents of the draft law include the establishment of a green economic policy, an luation system and the standards for an effective environmentally-conscious economy.
The National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, will also promote the collection and utilization of waste, prevent pollution production, and improve innovative capabilities in this circular economy.
CHINA has tripled the stamp tax on securities trading from the current 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent, aimed at promoting the healthy development of the securities markets.
The move came after China announced increases of benchmark interest rates and bank reserve requirements in a bid to curb excessive liquidity and cool the overheated economy.
Driven by the huge transaction volume, China's securities stamp tax revenue more than doubled in 2006 to over 2 billion U.S. dollars, recording a year-on-year growth-rate of over 500 percent in the first quarter, to nearly 1.6 billion US dollars.
THE Shanghai Stock Exchange has ordered long-time loss-making firms to make public disclosures on important corporate matters at least once every two weeks. It aims to make small investors be aware of market risks and to curb speculation due to rumors about corporate restructuring.
Special-treatment firms, or those charting losses for at least two years, must publish fortnightly statements to detail whether they have price-sensitive information to unveil.
Important company actions include: stake transfers, share placements, debt disposals and business restructuring, as well as asset spin-offs or injections.
A company listed on the mainland's stock markets will be referred to as an "ST firm" if it posts losses for two fiscal years. Should a company fail to return to profit in the coming 12-month period, it will be delisted.
REVENUE in China's electronics sector grew 17 percent year-on-year in its core manufacturing business in the first four months of the year.
The Ministry of Information Industry says the growth rate was a little lower than that for the first quarter, due to slowdowns in exports and in fixed-assets investment.
The sector's core business income amounted to nearly 160 billion U.S. dollars in the four-month period.
Of the total, computer manufacturing accounted for 35 percent. Electronic components made up 18 percent, and electronic components, 12 percent.
INVESTMENT in China's steel sector picked up in the first quarter of this year, up 13 and a half percent over the same period last year.
The National Development and Reform Commission says that it’s the highest growth rate in the past year.
The investment totaled 4.8 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months.
CHINA is considering opening its nuclear power industry to private and foreign investors.
But domestic and foreign companies cannot hold a controlling stake.
China plans to increase its nuclear power capacity to 40 million kilowatts in 2020, with construction work beginning on at least three nuclear power generating units in each of the coming 10 years.
Currently, there are 10 commercial nuclear-power-generating units operational in China. Their combined installed capacity stands at eight million kilowatts.
CHINESE gloss paper exporters have suffered the second blow in two months as the US Department of Commerce made a preliminary decision to impose duties of 23 percent to nearly 100 percent on Chinese imports of gloss paper, used in catalogues and premium magazines.
Late in March, the US Department of Commerce announced anti-subsidy duties of some 11 percent to 20 percent, which are expected to take effect in August.
In corporate news,
CHINA Southern Airlines has announced it will be the first mainland airline to recruit 100 pilots willing to pay for their own training.
Chinese airlines normally cover all the costs of pilot training, but China Southern is aiming to train more pilots at their own expense, to meet huge demand.
The civil aviation sector is expected to have a shortfall in demand of almost 10 thousand pilots by 2010. The whole sector is descibed as being restricted by a lack of skills.
CHINA'S Industrial Securities and the Netherlands' AEGON have agreed to establish an asset management joint venture.
Under the agreement, AEGON, one of the world's largest life insurance and pension companies, will acquire a 49 percent interest in the joint firm, Industrial Fund Management Company, with approximately 1.7 billion euros in assets under management.
Industrial Securities, one of China's leading securities companies, will retain the remaining 51 percent of the joint venture.
The transaction will be submitted to the China Securities Regulatory Commission for approval.
THE mainland's biggest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, also known as ICBC has launched a service to help investors buy stocks in Hong Kong with mainland currency, a first step in widening the scope of overseas investment for domestic lenders.
Individual investors will be able to buy stocks, bonds and other financial products, by entrusting their yuan-denominated assets to ICBC.
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