China’s ICBC opens first subsidiary bank in Middle East
October 22, 2008
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) — The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by market capitalization, opened Monday its first Middle East subsidiary bank in Dubai, the commercial and financial hub of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The opening of ICBC Middle East, the first wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary bank in the region, marks a major step by the ICBC toward expanding overseas financial services and promoting its internationalization strategy.
Based on its financial resilience, advanced expertise and diversified business platform, ICBC Middle East will be committed to building a direct and accessible bridge for investment and trade among China, the UAE and other Middle East countries, said Jiang Jianqing, chairman of ICBC.
ICBC Middle East will make full use of the geographic advantage and financial resources of Dubai and will gradually expand the scope of business to the entire Middle East and North Africa, he added.
With the highest rating business license from local financial regulator, ICBC Middle East will provide a full range of financial services, including deposit, credit, trade finance, investment, asset management, consultation and custody.
As China’s largest commercial bank, the ICBC has been expediting the extension of overseas network and widening the field of business, in a bid to promote the strategy of internationalization.
The bank launched two branches in Sydney and New York in the past few weeks. It will open a new branch in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Tuesday.
By the end of June 2008, the ICBC has set up a total of 126 branches and subsidiary banks in 15 countries and regions, with another 1,360 correspondent banks in 122 countries and regions.
Source: China Daily
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As Inflation Falls,Time to Support Growth
October 19, 2008
As we frequently emphasized in our posts and told our clients, Chinese government was waging a war against inflation by tightening monetary policies which widely hurts exports of China. Now with the August inflation lowered to %4.9, China rapidly moved to support growth again:
It’s time for China to boost growth  (By Wang Yanlin, Shaghai Daily Newspaper)
IN the first eight months of the year, the government’s top priority, while framing macro economic policies, was the fight against inflation. But there has been a slight shift in emphasis.
Last Monday when Vice Premier Wang Qishan delivered a speech at the 12th China International Fair for Investment and Trade in Xiamen, Fujian Province, he said the current goal of the government was to “realize a stable and relatively fast economic growth” and “put the rising inflation under control.”
This is possibly the first time that “spurring growth” has been put higher on the agenda than “curbing inflation” by a heavy-weight government official during a formal business occasion this year.
Policy makers are usually very circumspect while commenting on policy issues in public. So is Wang’s public stance an indication that top decision makers could be considering the odds of adjusting macroeconomic policies? This may well be so.
Economists and analysts have been urging the government to shift focus from taming inflation to supporting growth.
The newly released economic data show China’s gross domestic product has slowed to 10.1 percent in the second quarter, down from 10.6 percent in the first three months and 11.9 percent last year.
The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, grew at 4.9 percent in August – the slowest pace in 14 months. It has been on the decline for four consecutive months and the speed at which inflation eased went beyond economists’ boldest expectations.
Industry slowing
In contrast to the softening inflationary pressure, the risk of slower economic growth is intensifying.
In August, industrial production grew 12.8 percent, the slowest since February last year.
Among the sectors which dragged down output was the automobile industry, which used to be a major growth driver. The automobile sector fell 3.3 percent last month.
Exports, another key element of overall economic expansion, rose 21.1 percent in August, cooling down from a 22.9-percent jump a month earlier.
The slower growth came despite the government increasing export tax rebates for textiles and garments – the two sectors hardest hit by yuan appreciation and weaker demand from developed markets.
China’s urban fixed-asset investment increased 27.4 percent in the first eight months, keeping a stable growth momentum. But analysts said this was mainly bolstered by the demand created by the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province.
On the other hand, domestic consumption looks robust. Retail sales in August jumped 23.2 percent, slightly up from the July figure which saw the fastest rise since 1996.
However, the rest of the year may see a downturn with no new strong selling points, like the housing and automobile sectors of the past, to boost growth.
All figures now seem to point in one direction °?- that the government should take concrete steps to sustain economic growth. Huang Yiping, an economist with Citigroup, said the CPI which fell below 5 percent in August could help shift the balance of policy concerns toward growth.
Sops may work
“The probability of a policy reversal may rise significantly in the coming months, as global economic conditions continue to deteriorate and domestic corporate sectors increasingly feel the impact of growth slowdown,” said Huang.
“Although the People’s Bank of China has so far maintained its bias toward tight monetary policies, it has introduced a number of measures to fine-tune trade policies as well in recent months,” he added.
The analyst said that the central bank’s steps include expansion of credit quota, slowdown of currency appreciation and increases in export tax rebates.
“This shift in policy concerns should be reinforced to keep the CPI at a healthy level,” Huang noted.
But there is a major hurdle in the way of a complete turnaround as producer prices, the factory-gate inflation measure, also keep going up.
The Producer Price Index in August soared to 10.1 percent, the highest in 12 years. Rising factory-gate costs are generally passed on to the end users, but this may in turn affect consumer prices, analysts said.
Economists suggest China should continue with its fine-tuning measures for the time being. Relaxing the credit quota, slowing down yuan appreciation and selected reduction of tax burden could go a long way to boost the economy.
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China’s inflation cools at last
October 14, 2008
Inflation rates are crucially important for China’s economy. To me, it is the most decisive indicator in shaping government policies on economy, finance, trade etc.
For example, the soaring inflation at the beginning of the year was the main reason behind the tightening monetary policy which squeezes credits for factories, makes trade policies restrictive, quickens the appreciation of chinese currency. So every company making business with China needs to follow the inflation gadget to foresee possible risks and opportunities.
China’s inflation cools at last
By Lydia Chen (Sanghai Daily)
CHINA’S inflation rate dropped to the slowest pace since June 2007 with smaller gains in food prices, a boost to policy makers working on adjusting macroeconomic policies to support the country’s economic growth.
The consumer price index, a broad measure of inflation, rose 4.9 percent in August from a year earlier, after gaining 6.3 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said this morning.
Food costs, accounting for a third of the CPI basket, surged 10.3 percent year on year last month. Within the category, meat and poultry prices soared 8 percent in August.
The cost of pork, the nation’s staple meat, increased 1 percent last month from a year ago while cooking oil prices rose 22.7 percent. Vegetable prices were down 0.5 percent last month from a year ago. Grain prices gained 8 percent in the period.
The combined CPI grew 7.3 percent from January to August, the bureau said.
Consumer-price inflation has slowed for four months. February’s 8.7 percent pace was the fastest in 12 years. The central bank’s target for the year is 4.8 percent, the same as the actual rate in 2007.
But producer-price inflation advanced 10.1 percent in August after rising 10 percent in July. The August jump was the fastest pace since at least 1996, according to the bureau today.
The faster producer inflation rate may lead policy makers to introduce more balanced measures to boost growth against the risk that inflation will accelerate again.
China may adopt tax cuts, a slower pace of yuan appreciation and more easing of lending restrictions to protect jobs and avoid an economic slump as export demand falters.
China’s economy expanded 10.1 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, slowing for a fourth straight quarter, as exports cooled. Many economists said the growth may ease to 9 percent this year.
Profit growth for listed companies slumped in the first half, helping push the key stock index in the Shanghai market down nearly 60 percent so far this year. Weaker overseas demand, rising costs and a strengthening currency have put pressure on exporters of shoes, toys and clothes.
Economists expect China’s monetary policy will steadily turn more growth-friendly, given the concerns and moderating inflation.
In July, the central bank eased restrictions on how much banks can lend. It raised the 2008 loan quotas for national banks by 5 percent and for regional lenders by 10 percent, according to reports by the Goldman Sachs Group Inc, BNP Paribas SA, and the China Merchants Bank Co.
The People’s Bank of China has kept interest rates unchanged this year and hasn’t increased the reserve ratio for banks — the proportion of deposits that lenders are required to set aside — since June.
The Chinese yuan has climbed only 0.2 percent against the dollar this quarter after a 6.5 percent advance in the first half. Gains hurt exporters by making their products more expensive and less attractive in overseas markets.
The government has already cut taxes on exports of textiles and garments and encouraged more lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Officials are working on a plan for as much as 400 billion yuan (US$58 billion) in tax cuts and spending to prevent an economic slump, according to economists and reports in domestic news media.
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Arbitration in China
September 7, 2008
China’s law system allow disputes to be resolved in mechanism of arbitration. Â Here you can read the basics of arbitration in China :
The Basics of Arbitration in China    (Source: China Briefing Magazine)
Arbitration on contracts involving a Chinese party is a concern for international counsel and overseas-based lawyers. Chinese parties will usually insist upon the clause in contracts, which can be a good thing, as no one wants to see disputes end up in courts if there is another way to resolve matters.
Moreover, arbitration is advantageous regarding the possibility for the parties to choose a judicial body with trusted arbitrators. The dispute can be solved by a simplified procedure on which the parties have influence. The chosen arbitrators can be experts, a competence ordinary courts sometimes lack. Arbitration is also less time consuming than court procedures and cases are normally resolved within 6 to 9 months.
An arbitration award once issued is considered final. It becomes enforceable and stable; subject to recourse only by court action. Arbitration is not restricted to national jurisdictions and gives the parties the possibility to avoid the disadvantages and expenses of going abroad.
It also has the advantage of being confidential which avoids souring relations between two parties and helps maintain good business relations given that they both submitted to this type of dispute settlement voluntarily.
Not surprisingly, some overseas lawyers have a marked distrust for Chinese based arbitration and want to see cases resolved in overseas jurisdictions instead. It is difficult to obtain the Chinese side’s mandate for this but there are also legal difficulties. Following the Chinese law, contracts in certain industries that involve a Chinese party must be heard by a specific Chinese arbitration body experienced in the field.
There are no exceptions to the rule. Parting from Chinese jurisdiction will be equal to breaking the law and will have far more serious consequences for the rest of the contractual agreement.
Some overseas lawyers are afraid that Chinese arbitration cannot be trusted and lacks impartiality. That attitude, although historically correct, is already outmoded. In the past five years, China’s arbitration courts have been filling with both lawyers and industry experts familiar with the field, thus dramatically improving basic dispute resolution. Disputes will arise as a matter of business and China’s arbitration mechanism has been coping well.
That said, there is still the question of dealing contractually with standard arbitration clauses – where should the hearings be based and who should hear them?
The settlement of a dispute via arbitration between domestic parties must be held in China. Under Chinese law, foreign-invested enterprises, even wholly foreign-owned one, are considered domestic. Therefore a dispute between FIEs or between a FIE and a domestically invested Chinese company is a domestic one and has to be arbitrated in the country.
A foreign arbitration clause in a contract between such entities will be deemed invalid and the award unenforceable in China. The People’s Courts will still have jurisdiction over the dispute.
While foreign parties prefer to arbitrate abroad; a compromise might be arbitration in Hong Kong instead with its reliable reputation among foreign and Chinese investors. Another alternative could be the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or the Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC).
The ICC will be able to assist as it is an organization recognized by Beijing with an affiliate office in the city. In addition, the ICC has an Arbitration Commission, which is governed by dispute mediation protocols laid down according to international law.This arrangement can satisfy both ways: Chinese parties wanting arbitration based in the country and the foreign parties wanting an impartial internationally recognized body out of reach from perceived political interference.
On the other hand, the BAC is a permanent organization providing a forum for arbitration of disputes associated with contractual and other property rights based on its Arbitration Rules. It is established in accordance with the Arbitration Law of the People’s Republic of China and accepts domestic and foreign-related disputes.
China is also signatory to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards which requires the courts of the contracting states to give effect to agreements to arbitrate and accordingly recognize and enforce arbitration awards from other contracting states.
The convention applies awards which are not considered to be domestic ones in the state where recognition and enforcement is sought. Although enforcement in China is not easy, a refusal to enforce a foreign arbitral award by a lower court requires the confirmation by the Supreme People’s Court to be effective. As for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, awards are enforceable under special bilateral agreements similar to the latter.
The common arbitration route for foreign investors seeking to solve a domestic dispute is through the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC). The CIETAC has headquarters in the capital and sub-commissions in Shanghai and Shenzhen while also being officially affiliated with the Chinese government.
CIETAC offers domestic, foreign-related and international arbitration. It administrates a panel of more than 250 approved foreign arbitrators including arbitrators from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Majority of them are experienced in China and their respective fields. Arbitration may be conducted in Chinese, English, or another language, although it might be difficult to convince a Chinese party to agree to conduct the process in another language other than Chinese.
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Privately-Owned Companies in China Plans to Enter Overseas Markets
September 5, 2008
Here is interesting survey conducted by Fudan University on behalf of HSBC. According to the Survey, more than 40 percent of private companies in China are planing to enter overseas markets by exporting their products:
Overseas markets a lure
MORE than 40 percent of Chinese privately-owned enterprises are planning to break into overseas markets in the next three years, an industry survey found yesterday.
Fudan University, on behalf of HSBC, surveyed 1,000 of these firms, mainly in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta in the first half, HSBC said yesterday.
Based on survey data and related models, the research indicated that 700,000 POEs nationwide had overseas expansion plans.
The respondents are from manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and information technology industries.
The research showed that among the 43 percent surveyed POEs with overseas expansion plans, 63 percent intended to establish sales networks.
The survey also found 55 percent of respondents had overseas economic and trade activities, including exporting their own products, selling products overseas via trade agents and setting up joint ventures with overseas firms.
POEs still depend on domestic banks for lending needs when seeking finance.
The survey found about 60 percent of the respondents had no contact with foreign banks.
Respondents also showed increasing interest in foreign banks’ services, such as short-term yuan loans, hedging and merger and acquisition advice, the survey found.
The deciding factors for POEs when choosing a bank for international business are rates for services offered and borrowing costs, the bank’s global reach, brand reputation and specialist expertise.
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