介绍:
China's pension funds ready for stock investment in 2016: ministry
China's pension funds will be ready for investment in stocks and equities in 2016 after the government set rules to regulate the change.
The Authorities are reportedly working on how best to transfer and allocate funds to authorized institutions for investment.
China's cabinet, the State Council, finalized guidelines in August allowing pension funds to invest in higher-return products, including stocks and equities.
That means around 2 trillion yuan , or some 315 billion U.S. dollars can be invested.
China's Sept. industrial profits narrow decline
The Profits of Chinese industrial firms declined less sharply in September, but the outlook remains dim.
The National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday said profits for China's major industrial firms fell 0.1 percent year on year in September, narrowing from the 8.8-percent decline posted in August.
The better performance was mainly due to slower growth in costs, a decline in business taxes and surcharges, and cheaper raw materials.
Though the figure showed an improvement on last month, analysts say the outlook for industrial firms is still gloomy due to downward pressure.
The prime operating revenue for industrial firms declined 0.5 percent in September, the first time in many years, indicating increasing difficulties in production and business operations.
State-owned industrial companies saw their profits plummet a quarter of a percent during the first nine months, while private firms offered a brighter outlook, with profits rising 7 percent.
China's urban unemployment rate slightly up
The latest registered-unemployment rate in China's cities stands at 4.05 percent in the first three quarters of this year.
According to official statistics, China created 10.66 million new jobs for urban residents in the first nine months of 2015.
Li Zhong, spokesperson for the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said the latest figure shows China's job market was generally stable.
"With the economy feeling the weight of downward pressure, there had been a decline in job vacancies, however it was a small loss and China's job market was generally stable. In the first nine months, decline in positions at the monitored companies has narrowed compared with that of the first half.
He also pointed out the drop in vacancies only affected sectors struggling with overcapacity or environmental problems, including the coal, steel and chemical sectors.
He forecast the job market will remain steady in the fourth quarter, and into next year, as government measures bear fruit, including cuts to bank reserve requirement ratios and interest rates.
The government pledged to create at least 10 million new jobs and keep the unemployment rate below 4.5 percent for the rest of this year.
Beijing opens wider to foreign investment
The Beijing municipality is to relax market access for foreign investment in travel, aircraft maintenance and performance brokerages.
Starting from today, rules and regulations will be adjusted until May, 2018.
Earlier this year, the State Council approved a plan for Beijing to carry out a three-year pilot scheme into opening its service industries more widely to foreign investment.
The pilot program covers six service areas that are comparatively mature, including science and technology, internet and information services, culture and education, business and travel, financial services, health and medical services.
It means qualified travel agencies backed by both Chinese and foreign capital will be allowed to provide services to Chinese tourists traveling abroad.
Foreign capital could also take a controlling stake in aircraft maintenance projects, and the city could also see foreign capital used to set up wholly-owned entertainment brokerage companies and provide services within the municipality.
Opportunities and Challenges Both Exist for Private Investors in PPP Projects: Experts
Anchor:
With more and more private capital invited into public-private partnership ventures, also known as PPP projects, many experts believe that private investors will be facing both a series of opportunities and several challenges.
CRI's Xie Cheng has more.
Reporter:
7 Chinese provinces announced last week that 287 PPP projects collectively worth around 940 billion yuan, or 148 billion U.S. dollars, will be open to private investors.
Those projects include municipal works, highways, rail, airports, water conservation and energy projects.
The announcement was made during a PPP promotion teleconference organized by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in cooperation with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
Zhang Yong, deputy head of the NDRC, says the partnerships could help improve structural reform of investment and financing, energize private investment, while improving public products and services.
"We'll make great efforts to promote the PPP mode. For the past three quarters of this year, private investment in the fields of infrastructure and public utilities, where private companies seldom invested in before, has increased by around 27% compared to the same period of last year. The acceleration of such investment is 16.6% higher than the whole investment."
However, in some of the PPP projects, private enterprises still lack enough participation compared to their state-owned counterparts.
Wang Qinmin, head of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, says private investors still face a series of problems and challenges.
"Some private enterprises still lack confidence and willingness to invest due to the decrease of their own space for gaining profits, while others don't know which areas they could invest in. The environment for PPP projects investment still needs improvement."
He adds that some of the private investors lack enough understanding towards relevant policies, which might bring negative effects to their investments.
The NDRC will next hold more project promotion meetings in many different types so as to attract more private enterprises to participate in investing in PPP projects.
For CRI, I'm Xie Cheng.
Silk Road Fund to invest $100m in Chinese company's IPO
It's been reported that the Silk Road Fund will invest 100 million U.S. dollars in China International Capital Corp's (CICC) initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The First Sino-Foreign Investment Bank and its existing shareholder the National Council for Social Security Fund are expected to raise as much as 811 million U.S. dollars through the act.
CICC is raising money to expand its equity sales and trading, wealth management and international businesses.
It's the first time that the Silk Road Fund has invested in an initial public offering.
Founded in 2014, the fund aims to provide investment and financing support to infrastructure, resources, industrial cooperation and other projects related to the "Belt and Road" activities.
Volkswagen recalls 5,906 cars in China
German carmaker Volkswagen has begun to recall some 5,900 vehicles in China over defective batteries.
China's quality watchdog on Tuesday said the battery nuts of those affected vehicles may become loose while driving, and be a risk to safety.
Starting from today, Volkswagen is recalling the cars and says it will replace the faulty parts free of charge.
The models being recalled include Flying Spur vehicles imported between 2012 to 2014, and Continental models, manufactured between Feb. 5, 2011 and May 15, 2014.
Chinese investors buy more housing properties in Seoul
According to South Korean media reports, more and more Chinese investors are buying properties in the capital city Seoul than ever before.
The report says the number of properties owned by Chinese people is now five times greater that it was just four years ago.
It also notes that their investment purpose lies not only with their accommodation needs, but also in the hope of making a profit.
Most Chinese investors appear to prefer properties in Seoul's Chinatown, while others tend to invest in resorts.
Currently, Americans remain Seoul's biggest foreign property buyers, but Chinese investors are catching up quickly.
大家还在听
