介绍:
China economic data for Jan- Feb
Meanwhile the National Bureau of Statistics today released the latest data on the performance of the Chinese economy.
For the first two months of this year, China's retail sector saw sales growth slow to 11.8 percent year on year.
This is down from growth of 12.3 percent in December.
In the break down, urban consumption in the January to February period went up by 11.7 percent year on year, whilst rural consumption growth stood at 12.8 percent.
Meanwhile, industrial added value rose by 8.6 percent for that period year on year, a slight improvement of 8 percent expansion clocked in December.
The growth was disappointing compared to the Bloomberg survey of economists median estimate of 9.7 percent.
The gauge measures output of large enterprises which have annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan, or 3.26 million US dollars.
Elsewhere, the growth rate of China's urban fixed-asset investment saw a 17.9 percent expansion for the first two months of 2013.
This was down from the 21.2 percent growth registered for the same period last year and dwarfed by the economists median projection of 19.4 percent.
Local government measures to curb the rise in the value of homes reigned in home sales, with the value of homes sold falling 5 percent for January to February compared to the previous two months.
China to expand VAT reforms
China will expand a pilot reform to replace turnover tax with value-added tax (VAT).
The move by the Ministry of Finance aims to reduce companies' tax burdens and curb double taxation.
VAT reform will expand to cover more sectors, including the telecommunications, construction, real estate, finance and living service sectors.
Living services refer to services that meet people's daily life needs, such as catering, accommodation, hairdressing and photography services.
Following regional experiments since the beginning of 2012, VAT reform in transportation and some modern service sectors was rolled out throughout the country on Aug. 1, 2013.
This January, the reforms were expanded to cover the railway and postal sectors.
The Ministry added that by the end of 2013, the reform reduced companies' tax burdens by more than 140 billion yuan (23 billion U.S. dollars).
Iron Ore panic over China
Anchor:
Recent weak data out of China has been having a significant impact on the iron ore market, prompting panic selling.
Iron ore this week has suffered its biggest drop in more than four years, compounded by a surge in stockpiles.
The price for iron ore for immediate delivery to China yesterday slid 8.3-percent to 104-dollars-70-cents a tonne.
The spot price for iron ore has fallen 22-percent so far this year.
Facing tighter credit and the possibility of higher interest rates on loans, China's steel manufacturers and consumers have seen a marked decline in activity in recent weeks.
For more on this, CRI's Paul James spoke to Cao Can, CRI's Financial Commentator.
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That was CRI's Paul James speaking to our financial commentator Cao Can.
China Overseas Land profits climb
China's biggest developer, China Overseas Land and Investment, announced that profits climbed 23 percent over the course of last year.
The gains are attributed to property revaluations and sales.
The company's strategy to focus on first-tier cities paid off, as property prices in Beijing and Shanghai gained more than 15 percent year on year in December.
Net income surged to HK $23 billion, just under $3 billion US.
This out performed a Bloomberg analyst's estimate of a rise of HK $22 billion.
However, the cooling economy and tightened credit market pose obstacles for property developers in the year ahead.
China Overseas Land saw contracted sales fall 4.7 percent in the first two months of this year compared to the same period a year earlier.
South Africa's trade with China surges by 32 pct in 2013
South African authorities are reporting a 32-percent rise in bilateral trade with China this past year.
South Africa's Trade and Industry Minister says trade between the two countries has increased from 19-billion U.S. dollars in 2012 to 25-billion dollars last year.
Chinese investments in South Africa have also continued to grow.
Between January of 2003 and January of 2014, a total of 38 foreign direct investment projects from China have been launched in South Africa.
These projects represent a total capital investment of about 1.2-billion dollars.
That represents an average Chinese investment of 33-million dollars per project.
US Fed Nominee Fischer says Easing still needed
The nominee for the role of vice Fed Chair says that the US economy still needs easing amid high unemployment.
Stanley Fischer, the former bank of Israel governor, says that the 6.7 percent unemployment rate remains too high.
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