Business News

UPDATED: 20:45, June 25, 2007
  • China's auto makers to use 12.55 million tons of steel this year
    China's auto manufacturers will consume 12.55 million tons of rolled steel this year, Shi Jianhua, deputy head of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said on Monday.

  • BOC: government audit findings not to affect financial results
    The Bank of China (BOC), the nation's second largest bank, has said its overall performance and financial results will be unaffected by the cases of irregularities and violations of rules revealed in last year's government audit.

  • Gold price lower in Hong Kong -- June 25
    Gold price in Hong Kong went down 9 HK dollars to 6,051 HK dollars per tael on Monday, according to the Bank of China (Hong Kong).

  • Speculation over interest rate hikes drives Chinese shares down
    All three major Chinese stock indices plummeted on Monday amid speculation over the possibility of further interest rate hikes.

  • Indonesia, Australia may start feasibility study of eastablishing FTA
    Australian Trade Minister Warren Truss said here Monday Australia and Indonesia are considering a feasibility study of signing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two neighbouring countries.

  • More effort needed to prevent fixed asset investment bounce back
    This year, China's investment growth rate has been continuously increasing. Between January and May, investment grew at a rate of 25.9 percent, which is more than last year's total growth rate of 24 percent. This scenario needs to be taken seriously because if fixed an asset investment bounce back cannot be effectively prevented, and the problem gets worse, economic growth will take the risk of overheating. If this predicament takes place, the country's efforts to regulate and adjust its economic goals, as well as the people's development goals will all be affected in a negative way.

  • Largest cycle economy program started in Qinghai
    The second phase of Million-ton Potash Fertilizer Comprehensive Utilization Project of the Qinghai Salt Lake Group's that cost a total investment of 4.68 billion yuan started on June 21 at the Cha Er Han lake of the Basin of Chadamu. It is China's largest cycle economy project up to now.

  • Indonesia revises assumption of oil price for 2007 to 60 U.S. dollars
    Indonesia revised on Monday the assumption of oil price for this year from 63 U.S. dollars per barrel to 60 U.S. dollars per barrel, Mines and Mineral resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta.

  • China's dairy production ranks third in the world
    China overtook Russia and Pakistan to rank third in the world after India and the United States in the production of dairy products in 2006, Monday's China Securities Journal reports.

  • M&As face security scrutiny
    Mandatory national security checks on foreign companies' acquisition of domestic players have been included to the draft anti-monopoly law submitted yesterday to the top legislature for a second reading.

  • Sinopec nominates new board director after chairman resigns
    Sinopec Corp. has nominated Su Shulin as a new candidate for a director of its board following the resignation of its chairman, Chen Tonghai.

  • Indonesian life insurance industry surging
    The life insurance industry of Indonesia showed significant growth in the first quarter of the year, with total premium revenue increasing by 62 percent, local press said Monday.

  • Vietnam's investment abroad up to over 1 billion dollars
    Vietnam has invested abroad over 1 billion U.S. dollars in nearly 200 projects by now, Labor newspaper reported Monday.

  • Malaysian rubber glove producer optimistic for robust growth
    Malaysian rubber glove producer Supermax, the second biggest one in the world, is ready to achieve up to 35 percent growth in both revenue and profit in 2007, local media reported Monday.

  • Global economy performs well, but risks remain, says BIS
    The performance of the global economy over the last few years has been extraordinary, and high level growth is expected to continue in 2007, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said on Sunday.

  • More than 80 pct of overseas-returned Chinese want to work in Beijing: survey
    Over 80 percent of overseas-returned Chinese pick Beijing as their preferred city to work in, Sunday's Beijing Youth Daily quoted a survey as saying.

  • Beijing airport to launch emergency alert mechanism for Olympics
    Beijing's Capital International Airport will set up an emergency alert system for extreme weather and security threats so as to ensure smooth transportation for millions of visitors from home and abroad during next summer's Olympic Games.

  • Brunei exempts tariff on more than 200 Myanmar products
    Brunei has exempted tariff on more than 200 products imported from Myanmar in a bid to boost bilateral trade which is low, a local media reported Sunday.

  • Vietnam encourages more foreign investment: DPM
    Vietnam encourages more foreign investors to come to the country which is changing from a command economy to a market economy, First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung on Sunday, who is attending the 16th World Economic Forum on East Asia, said Sunday.

  • China to build first inter-city subway in southern Guangdong
    Construction will begin Thursday on an inter-city subway linking two cities in south China's Guangdong Province,heralding faster rail services in the Pearl River Delta area, one of the country's economic engines.

  • Fishing restrictions eased in Sri Lanka's east
    Fishing restrictions imposed by the Sri Lanka Navy for fishermen in Sri Lanka's eastern coast have been relaxed, officials said Sunday.

  • Nepali gov't for single milk price
    The Nepali government has decided to fix the price of milk at 29 Nepali rupees per liter throughout the year, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported Sunday.

  • Italian, Russian companies to study feasibility of building gas pipe from Russia to EU
    Italy's biggest oil and gas company Eni SpA and Russia's state gas giant OAO Gazprom on Saturday announced they have agreed to study the feasibility of building a pipeline under the Black Sea to transport Russian gas to the European Union countries.

  • China, Saudi Arabia to boost engineering project cooperation
    Chinese construction enterprises can tender for projects directly in Saudi Arabia, according to an agreement signed by China and Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

  • Bangladesh gov't endorses transforming national carrier Biman into limited company
    The Bangladesh government has approved a draft law for converting the problem-ridden national airlines Biman Corporation to a public limited company (PLC), private news agency UNB reported.

  • Flurry of export activity as tax rebate deadline looms
    Chinese companies whose export tax rebates will drop or disappear after July 1 are rushing exports out the doors and worrying about future industrial strategy.

  • Chinese govt to allocate 6.5 bln yuan to tether pork prices
    With the dramatic rise in pork price, the Chinese government has said that it plans to spend 6.5 billion yuan (850 million U.S. dollars) this year to contain pork prices.

  • Mundell: U.S. calls for RMB appreciation an attempt to slow China's expansion
    Professor Robert Mundell, widely dubbed "father of the Euro", said in Beijing Saturday that constant pressure from the United States on China to appreciate its currency Renminbi can be interpreted as "a move to slow China's expansion".

  • Nepali interim plan to focus on development
    The three-year Interim Plan to be implemented from the coming fiscal year aims to spend 587.7 billion Nepali rupees on development activities in Nepal, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported Saturday.

  • Bangladesh seeks World Bank's fund for gas exploration
    Bangladesh has sought 150 million U. S. dollars worth of fund from the World Bank to finance exploration of gas, local daily The Financial Express reported Saturday.

  • People's Daily Online --- http://english.people.com.cn/