介绍:
China's FDI inflows down 6.7 pct in May
Foreign investment in China fell in May to its lowest level in 16 months, partly due to slowing growth.
The Ministry of Commerce says foreign direct investment, or FDI into the Chinese mainland fell nearly 7 percent year on year to less than 9 billion U.S. dollars last month.
Cumulatively, China drew 49 billion dollars of FDI in the first five months, up less than 3 percent from a year earlier, also the worst showing in a year.
In the five month period, the top five investors in the Chinese mainland were Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
Investment from South Korea and the United Kingdom saw the biggest increases, up around 90 percent and 60 percent year on year, respectively.
FDI from Japan, however, slumped over 40 percent from a year ago.
Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang.
"But from a political perspective, the current continued cooling of political relations between the two countries will mean a worsening environment for economic cooperation between the two countries. It could also mean a decline in trade relations and could seriously affect the desire for business cooperation."
Shen also hit back at the US, asking it to stop its anti-dumping investigations into imported carbon and alloy steel wire from China.
FDI from the United States in China dropped nine percent.
China's non-financial ODI drops Jan-May
The combined outbound investment of Chinese companies has plunged in the first five months of this year.
The Ministry of Commerce says China's outbound direct investment, or ODI, in non-financial sectors slumped 10 percent year on year to 31 billion U.S. dollars in the January-May period.
Investment went to 146 countries and regions.
Investment to Hong Kong plummeted over 30 percent year on year.
While overall ODI is down, US investment from China soar 144 percent to 2 billion U.S. dollars.
Russia and Japan also saw gains of more than 100 percent, but that's mostly because ODI in the previous year was such a low number in those countries.
BP to sign $20 bln LNG supply deal with China's CNOOC
British Petroleum Chief Executive Bob Dudley says his company will sign a deal worth around 20 billion US dollars on Tuesday to supply China National Offshore Oil Corporation with liquefied natural gas.
The agreement will be signed in London, as British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to announce a series of trade deals to coincide with the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for a three-day visit.
Dudley reveals that "it is a 20-year supply agreement on LNG.
He calls it a "fair" deal for both sides and "a good bridge between the UK and China in terms of trade."
BP already supplies CNOOC with LNG from Indonesia.
Shell cuts its stake in Australia's Woodside in $5bn sale
Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell is cutting its stake in Australia's Woodside in a share sale that will net it some five billion US dollars.
Shell will sell around 160 million shares, which represents 19 percent of Woodside's issued share capital.
Upon completion, the European firm's stake in Woodside will be reduced from its current 23 percent to less than five percent.
Shell has said in a statement it wants to focus its "Australian growth in directly owned assets."
Earlier this year Shell reported a 44 percent drop in first-quarter profits after it wrote down the value of refineries in Asia and Europe.
Airline companies charge passengers for seat selection 2'33
Anchor:
Recent decisions by Air China and Hainan Airlines to begin charging international passengers for seat selections is creating a lot of debate among Chinese air travellers.
CRI's Li Dong has more.
Reporter:
The airline's seat selection fee applies for those flying economy class, but does not apply to all international routes.
The fee ranges from 100 to 500 yuan per passenger. Travelers are required to pay 500 yuan if they want to sit in the first row of the cabin or next to the emergency exit.
Meanwhile, Spring Airlines, a China-based budget-airline company, which is the vanguard of seat selection fees in the country, will continue to carry on its policies.
For Shanshan, the seat selection fee sounds reasonable if it applies to international travel.
"You may be very tired if you are taking a long-international flight. The lack of space makes is really uncomfortable. I'm okay with paying extra money for seat selection if it's a really long journey."
But Zhang Na is not too happy about the added fee.
"I think the airline companies already distinguish first class, business and economic classes. The price difference already reveals the different quality of seats. It's totally unnecessary for the airlines to charge passengers for their preferences of seats in the same class."
Li Xiaojin, a professor at the Civil Aviation University of China in Tianjin, says it is a legal and market-oriented move to charge extra for seat selection, but needs more explanation to the public.
"This is a new fee, which intends to turn a previous 'free' service into a paid service; so the airline companies need to better explain to passengers why they want to do so. Seat selection fees can only increase airlines' revenues to a very limited extent. I think the purpose of adopting the fee is to try and partially resolve passenger disputes over seat selection via market move."
But the director of a law firm in Shanghai, Li Dongpin, argues, according to the law, price adjustments that affect the mass should follow certain procedures, like holding a hearing before implementation.
Zhang Qihuai, chief expert at the China Aviation Law Service Center, adds the seat selection fees are masking inflation. He says the cost of flying these air routes can be accurately counted. Not charging passengers for s
