【财经看点】中国将6%和4%增值税征收率统一调整为3%

China to cut VAT China is to lower its value-added tax rates on some goods to three percent, down from between 4 and 6 percent. The move aims to ease the tax burden on businesses and boost economic vitality. According to the Ministry of Finance, the new rate will apply to tap water, some construction materials, and electricity produced by small hydropower plants. Meanwhile, duty-free goods sold at authorized shops will be subject to a 3-percent rate instead of 4 percent. The new rate will be effective as of July 1. CCB authorized as yuan clearing bank in London China's central bank has authorized China Construction Bank to be the clearing bank for renminbi businesses in London. The PBOC made the decision in accordance with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) it signed with the Bank of England in March. The MOU covered renminbi clearing and settlement arrangements in London, aiming to facilitate the use of yuan by banks and other firms in international transactions. China Construction Bank is the country's second-largest commercial bank. China starts direct yuan-sterling trade China's central bank has announced the start of direct trading of the yuan against the sterling. The announcement comes as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in the UK for a three-day visit. The People's Bank of China says the movd "is good for forming a direct exchange rate between the renminbi and the British pound and reducing exchange costs for market players." The PBOC has also vowed to give "active support" for yuan-sterling direct trading. Earlier this year, China allowed direct domestic trading of the yuan against the New Zealand dollar to encourage such trading as it internationalizes the Chinese currency. CNOOC, BP sign 20-year LNG supply deal Anchor: The China National Offshore Oil Corporation has announced its entered into a 20-year deal with British Petrolium for liquefied natural gas supplies. CNOOC says BP is going to begin supplying it with up to 1.5 million tones of liquefied natural gas per year starting in 2019. The signing of the agreement has been overseen by visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and British Prime Minister David Cameron. At the same time, the Chinese oil company and Shell have signed a "global strategic cooperation agreement" meant to try to create a tighter partnership around the world. For more on this, CRI's Paul James spoke earlier with Benjamin Cavender, associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai. … Back Anchor: That was Benjamin Cavender, Associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai China's sovereign fund mismanaged some investment China's top auditor says that China's sovereign wealth fund mismanaged some of its overseas investments between 2008 and 2013, leading to losses. The National Audit Office did not specify the size of the loss. The top auditor's report says some employees in China Investment Corp did not conduct adequate due diligence before investing in 12 overseas projects in the last six years. In addition, several CIC units within China, such as Central Huijin and a few others, were also found to have irregularities. These include breaking away from their core businesses and venturing into the real estate sector, and funding illegal property projects. Created in 2007, the CIC is tasked with helping China invest its near four trillion dollars of foreign exchange reserves. Muji reaches strategic partnership deal with Alibaba Japanese retailer Muji has reached a strategic partnership with Alibaba's B2C site Tmall, enabling it to introduce more tailor-made products to Chinese online shoppers. Muji will also collect information and feedback from users for product design through Tmall in the future. Alibaba is stepping up efforts to collaborate with multinational retailers and brands to build up its influence ahead of an initial public offering in the US later this year. Besides Muji, Tmall has also partnered with other brands including Burberry, Estee Lauder and ASOS. India's Modi government takes steps to control inflation India's new government has imposed export restrictions on certain farm commodities and ordered a crackdown on hoarding to control rising food prices. The move came a day after wholesale price inflation hit a five-month high. A jump in prices for potatoes and onions last month drove inflation to 6 percent from around 5 percent in April, contributing to a sell-off in financial markets. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made tackling inflation his top priority. India has stockpiles of staples like rice, wheat and sugar that can be released. But the government has limited means to control surges in the cost of fruit and vegetables, which have the largest impact on food inflation.