近日盛传人民币对美元将继续大幅度升值，使人对中国经济前景格外担忧，这可能
意味着中国将重蹈日本20年前之复辄而落入美国圈套
约二十年前，日本经济携家电倚汽车一路腾飞，震惊了世界，其GDP迅速增长，已达
美国GDP的百分之八十，一跃成为世界第二经济大国，并直接挑战美国的世界老大地
位。日本经济腾飞更从根本上侵蚀美国经济，当时美国的计算机互联网等高科技还
尚未成大气候，占美国国民经济主干的钢铁电器汽车工业大幅度衰退，失业率上升，
政治经济危机重重。
面临如此严峻的形势，美国政府和华尔街携手，打了一场漂亮的经济围剿战，兵不
血刃，在很短的时间内把日本彻底打垮。当尘埃落定，日本的NIKKEI指数从四万多点
重跌到一万点，国民经济总值跌回仅相当于美国三分之一。坏债剧增，银行倒闭，
DEFLATION，失业率大幅度上升，并开始了长达十几年的经济衰退。。。。。
美国是怎么做的呢？
当时的日本经济和现在的中国有很多相似之处，对美有巨大的贸易顺差，出口实力
强大，经济增长迅速。先是美国政府以解决美日贸易逆差为名与日本政府协商日元
升值，这就是后来被认为是日本代价最昂贵的协议-“广场协议”的
由来。
当年的日本政府对美国言听计从(现在仍是)，绝不怀疑美藏有奸诈，1985年9月日本
政府公布了“广岛协议”，主要内容是增加了汇率的灵活性。日元对美元和欧洲货
币开始走强。
在不到两年的时间里，日元兑美元汇率从240：1升至120：1。随后，日本房地产和
股票市场也在银行的推波助澜下产生了巨大的泡沫，日本经济呈现出了虚假的繁荣，
股市直冲四万点。这时华尔街觉得时机已到，便倾巢而出，动用巨额资金，大肆卖
空日本股市，NIKKI一路狂跌致一万点，日本金融界吐血，股民跳楼，经济自此一蹶
不振。
直到此时，日本方知被他们崇尚信任的老大哥漂亮地玩了一把，其惨痛与震惊可与
广岛的原子弹相比，新仇旧恨。。。这之后日本广岛长崎的原子弹纪念馆的参观人
数激增，反美情绪再次暴涨。
日元升值的负面后果常达十几年，影响波及了整个亚洲经济，并慢性导致九七年的
亚洲金融风暴
历史总是在重演，历史正在重演，现在美国正在与华尔街合伙对中国玩当年搞垮日
本经济的这套把戏。
与日本相比，美国有着更多的动机，更强的理由害怕中国经济堀起。毕竟自二战后，日
本一直温顺地甘当美国小妾，且按联合国协议，日本无法扩充军事。尽管如此，当影
响到美国利益时，美国从来出手无情。而对中国，从意识形态，到国际政治势力的重
新分配，到中国因国力增强随之而来的军事实力对美国的威胁等等诸多的因素。。。
中国的经济崛起对美国有着太大太多的危险。
而搞垮中国经济，从美国国家利益与华尔街唯利是图的本质来看，两者目的空前一
致是不言而喻的。
在中国经济腾飞，股市高涨的过程中，美国资本家痛失了不少赚钱良机。当年A股上
海指数涨当1000点时，中国开放外国对中国A股投资，华尔街一路买进，但到3000点
时认为到顶，就大多都撤了，没成想中国股市不按理出牌，在广大股民的热情支持
与推动下继续狂飙到6000多点，使得华尔街的专业作手们捶胸顿足，这种心理使得
他们更加渴望看到中国股市崩盘。他们甚至希望中国股市继续泡沫，继续毫无道理
的狂涨。号称投资大师的罗杰斯说：“我看好中国股市100年牛市”
美国11月24日在纽约上市一只叫FXP的新股票，正式打响了作垮中国股市和经济的第
一枪。它的作用仅为专门买空中国股市，原理是新华指数降一点它涨两点。
华尔街在等待，他们在等中国股民满仓，他们在等美国政府继续向中国施加压力，
升值人民币，他们在等待2009年北京奥运会后的中国经济增长真空。。。他们手持
利剑，虎视眈眈迫不及待地等待着中国经济的任何一个空门！
美国政府也在磨刀，尽管享受惯了中国低成本的进口产品，他们已经无法坐视中国
加工业一步步地侵袭美国中低产阶级的生存利益，归根结底美国的高级资本家阶层
的盈利还是要靠中低产阶级的消费达到的。含铅的中国玩具在美国卖了多年了，今
年被拿出来当靶子打并不是偶然的。。。。。
有了日本的前车之鉴，中国政府在此紧要关头应该何去何从？
被骗一次是骗子的错，知道会被骗还要上钩，那只能是个不可原谅的傻瓜！！！
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me
Monday, December 3, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
China Bans Exports of Drug-Tainted Toy
China Suspends Exports of Toys Tainted With Precursor of 'Date Rape' Drug
BEIJING (AP) -- China's government has suspended exports of toys covered with a toxic chemical that have been subject to recalls from Australia to the United States after sickening children, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
China's move came as seven more U.S. children were reported ailing after ingesting Chinese-made toy beads because of the toxic chemical coating, bringing the total of U.S. children sickened to nine, according to a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The Chinese government's quality control administration issued the export ban, sealed the toys at the sites where they were produced and ordered an investigation, Xinhua said in a brief report.
Millions of units of the popular toys, which are sold as Aqua Dots in the United States and as Bindeez in Australia, were recalled in those countries as well as in Britain, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere this past week after children began falling sick from swallowing the toy's bead-like parts.
Tests showed they were coated with the industrial chemical 1,4-butanediol. When ingested the chemical metabolizes into the "date-rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate, and may cause breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death. In addition to the nine in the U.S., three children in Australia have taken sick.
The new reports of the sickened U.S. children, six of whom were hospitalized, came from at least five states: Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah, said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.
The agency recalled the Aqua Dots toy Wednesday after two children were hospitalized after eating the beads.
The U.S. recall covers 4.2 million of the Aqua Dots toys, which consist of colored beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water.
The agency received its first report of a sickened child Monday and ordered stores to pull the toy two days later, Vallese said.
For China, the recall is the latest in a slew of product quality scandals that has tarnished the image of the country as an exporter of reliable goods. The government has tried to shore up China's reputation by increasing inspections, selectively punishing companies and launching a publicity campaign to boost quality.
Few details were available about the latest export suspension and how a popular toy became coated with a toxic chemical. The toys' maker, Australia-based Moose Enterprises, has said the product was manufactured in China. But neither the company nor the Chinese government have identified the factory or factories where the toys were produced.
Reached by telephone Saturday, a duty officer at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which issued the ban, said officials were not available to comment.
In its report, Xinhua said inspectors "sealed the bead toys at the producer" whose name was not released.
Companies worldwide have increasingly outsourced manufacturing, often choosing Chinese factories for their cost and quality. But heated competition among factories and the rising cost of labor, land and fuel have sometimes put pressure on profits, causing some producers to cut corners.
In the latest case, the Aqua Dots or Bindeez were supposed to have been coated with nontoxic 1,5-pentanediol, a chemical commonly used in computer printer ink. But that chemical generally sells for three or four times the price of the toxic compound found on the tainted toys, 1,4-butanediol.
BEIJING (AP) -- China's government has suspended exports of toys covered with a toxic chemical that have been subject to recalls from Australia to the United States after sickening children, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
China's move came as seven more U.S. children were reported ailing after ingesting Chinese-made toy beads because of the toxic chemical coating, bringing the total of U.S. children sickened to nine, according to a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The Chinese government's quality control administration issued the export ban, sealed the toys at the sites where they were produced and ordered an investigation, Xinhua said in a brief report.
Millions of units of the popular toys, which are sold as Aqua Dots in the United States and as Bindeez in Australia, were recalled in those countries as well as in Britain, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere this past week after children began falling sick from swallowing the toy's bead-like parts.
Tests showed they were coated with the industrial chemical 1,4-butanediol. When ingested the chemical metabolizes into the "date-rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate, and may cause breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death. In addition to the nine in the U.S., three children in Australia have taken sick.
The new reports of the sickened U.S. children, six of whom were hospitalized, came from at least five states: Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah, said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.
The agency recalled the Aqua Dots toy Wednesday after two children were hospitalized after eating the beads.
The U.S. recall covers 4.2 million of the Aqua Dots toys, which consist of colored beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water.
The agency received its first report of a sickened child Monday and ordered stores to pull the toy two days later, Vallese said.
For China, the recall is the latest in a slew of product quality scandals that has tarnished the image of the country as an exporter of reliable goods. The government has tried to shore up China's reputation by increasing inspections, selectively punishing companies and launching a publicity campaign to boost quality.
Few details were available about the latest export suspension and how a popular toy became coated with a toxic chemical. The toys' maker, Australia-based Moose Enterprises, has said the product was manufactured in China. But neither the company nor the Chinese government have identified the factory or factories where the toys were produced.
Reached by telephone Saturday, a duty officer at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which issued the ban, said officials were not available to comment.
In its report, Xinhua said inspectors "sealed the bead toys at the producer" whose name was not released.
Companies worldwide have increasingly outsourced manufacturing, often choosing Chinese factories for their cost and quality. But heated competition among factories and the rising cost of labor, land and fuel have sometimes put pressure on profits, causing some producers to cut corners.
In the latest case, the Aqua Dots or Bindeez were supposed to have been coated with nontoxic 1,5-pentanediol, a chemical commonly used in computer printer ink. But that chemical generally sells for three or four times the price of the toxic compound found on the tainted toys, 1,4-butanediol.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
China Threat Sends Dollar Ever Lower
LONDON - Fresh concerns that China could diversify its currency assets away from the greenback sent the euro to a new record against the dollar, and the pound through the psychologically significant $2.10 barrier on Wednesday.
The pound rose to $2.1051 in morning trading in London before settling down to $2.1010, while the euro hit $1.4703, before settling at $1.4674, above its $1.4554 value in late trading in New York the day before.
The trigger was remarks by Cheng Siwei, the vice chairman of China's National People's Congress that the country's forex regulator would shift its foreign exchange holdings and that China should consider moving its reserves to "stronger" currencies.
"The comments certainly spooked the market to say the least," said Peter Scullion, Vice President of the FX Currency Department of Nomura in London. He added that too much should not be read into the comments, given that Cheng was not a particularly senior official and as the Chinese government tried to retract the comments soon after they were made. "It's also not a secret that many central banks, particularly in the Middle East, have been diversifying away from dollars," remarked Scullion.
Scullion said uncertainty about the dollar would continue to drag it down, potentially sending the euro across the $1.50 threshold. "Realistically over the medium term between now and the end of the year there is no reason why markets wouldn’t continue to push the dollar lower," he remarked.
Concerns about the health of the U.S. economy has been the underlying driver of the greenback's fall over the past months. "While we may see some periods of dollar buying, most market participants expect the dollar to weaken further given the tremendous uncertainty about the US economy," Scullion said.
Last week both the euro and the pound gained against greenback, as the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates to 4.5%, ahead of this week's meeting of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, in which both are expected to hold rates, thus broadening the rates differential even further. (See: " Rate Outlook Undercuts Dollar").
Worse than expected write downs at some of America's largest banks, including Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) and Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ), could mean that the Federal Reserve will be forced to cut interest rates again, despite some recent positive data, including on jobs.
Scullion said that the gloomy outlook had sent the dollar lower even against the Japanese yen. The yen has remained weak thanks to the stunningly low interest rates, currently 0.75%, that have been maintained by the Japanese central bank. The dollar was trading at 113.16 yen in Tokyo late on Wednesday, from 114.66 yen the day before.
The weak dollar has been a mixed blessing for Europe: while the soaring price of oil and commodities may not be felt as deeply in the stronger European currencies, it has also hit sales. British Airways (nyse: BAIRY - news - people ) and the French energy company Total (nyse: TOT - news - people ) both reported third quarter results that were weighed down by the weak dollar.
The pound rose to $2.1051 in morning trading in London before settling down to $2.1010, while the euro hit $1.4703, before settling at $1.4674, above its $1.4554 value in late trading in New York the day before.
The trigger was remarks by Cheng Siwei, the vice chairman of China's National People's Congress that the country's forex regulator would shift its foreign exchange holdings and that China should consider moving its reserves to "stronger" currencies.
"The comments certainly spooked the market to say the least," said Peter Scullion, Vice President of the FX Currency Department of Nomura in London. He added that too much should not be read into the comments, given that Cheng was not a particularly senior official and as the Chinese government tried to retract the comments soon after they were made. "It's also not a secret that many central banks, particularly in the Middle East, have been diversifying away from dollars," remarked Scullion.
Scullion said uncertainty about the dollar would continue to drag it down, potentially sending the euro across the $1.50 threshold. "Realistically over the medium term between now and the end of the year there is no reason why markets wouldn’t continue to push the dollar lower," he remarked.
Concerns about the health of the U.S. economy has been the underlying driver of the greenback's fall over the past months. "While we may see some periods of dollar buying, most market participants expect the dollar to weaken further given the tremendous uncertainty about the US economy," Scullion said.
Last week both the euro and the pound gained against greenback, as the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates to 4.5%, ahead of this week's meeting of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, in which both are expected to hold rates, thus broadening the rates differential even further. (See: " Rate Outlook Undercuts Dollar").
Worse than expected write downs at some of America's largest banks, including Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) and Merrill Lynch (nyse: MER - news - people ), could mean that the Federal Reserve will be forced to cut interest rates again, despite some recent positive data, including on jobs.
Scullion said that the gloomy outlook had sent the dollar lower even against the Japanese yen. The yen has remained weak thanks to the stunningly low interest rates, currently 0.75%, that have been maintained by the Japanese central bank. The dollar was trading at 113.16 yen in Tokyo late on Wednesday, from 114.66 yen the day before.
The weak dollar has been a mixed blessing for Europe: while the soaring price of oil and commodities may not be felt as deeply in the stronger European currencies, it has also hit sales. British Airways (nyse: BAIRY - news - people ) and the French energy company Total (nyse: TOT - news - people ) both reported third quarter results that were weighed down by the weak dollar.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
美国降息 竟是为“抢”别国的钱？
继９月份降息0.5个百分点后,美联储10月31日决定再次降息。此次降息，一方面固然与美国次贷危机继续蔓延有关系；另一方面从全球资本市场角度考虑，在全球流动性泛滥的背景下，美联储不断降息，有进一步放大全球资产价格泡沫的风险。可以说，美联储此次降息，缓解国内次贷危机是“虚”，通过美元贬值吹大资本输入国资产价格泡沫，为其投机性资金在海外攫取高额投机利润创条件是“实”。之所以如此判断，是基于以下几方面考虑。
首先，美元在国际货币体系中所处的特殊地位，决定了美联储的货币政策行为牵动全球金融市场神经。自布雷顿森林体系崩溃之后，美国凭借其综合实力使美元在国际货币体系中居主导地位。欧元出现以后，虽然在某种程度上挑战了美元的国际地位，但并未从根本上削弱美元在全球货币体系中所处的主导地位。由于美元在实体经济和虚拟经济运行中都处于主导地位，因此，美联储货币政策对全球实体经济和虚拟经济都会产生重要影响。
其次，美元与黄金脱钩以及美元的主导地位，决定了美联储可以通过货币政策调整对全球施加影响，为美国谋求国家利益的最大化。具体言之，在美国国内出现巨额财政赤字时，美国政府可以通过发行美元，以美元贬值的方式向全球输出通货膨胀和收取铸币税；与此同时，其国内投机资金也可以通过资本输出的方式进入那些本币升值的国家，以获取本币升值预期下的资产增值及汇兑收益双重利益。而当其国内资本大鳄在本币升值国赚得盆满钵满时，美元再通过大幅升值的方式，锁定和实现利润。当然从全球角度分析，美元一松一紧，并没有创造任何价值，其完成的只是财富在不同国度再分配而已。
再次，美联储近期再度降息，缓解国内次贷危机只是“虚”的借口。表面上看，美联储此次降息是为了缓解次贷危机的危害，实质上却在很大程度进一步吹大了国际金融市场资产价格泡沫，为美国国内投机资本在国际金融市场“浑水摸鱼”创造了条件。因此，从美元贬值真实内含来看，美元贬值只是美元货币国际流动所导致的供求因素影响所致，与美国综合国力衰退无关。而美国次贷危机对美国本身的经济影响有限，次贷危机的实际分担者是全球金融投资者。就此而言，美联储借次贷危机降息是“醉翁之意不在酒”。
另外，美联储再次降息，将进一步吹大国际金融市场资产价格泡沫。在美元贬值旗号下，美国国内投机资本纷纷进入发展中国家寻求新的投资机会，投机性外资对新兴市场的介入一方面提升了外资流入国本币的需求，使得外资流入国本币出现升值，另一方面外资利用流入国本币升值所形成的货币幻觉，对资源、资产等不动产进行大幅炒作，以获取巨额投机收益。从亚洲主要国家资本市场近年变化来看，2005年以后，随着美元的大幅贬值，亚洲各国房地产市场、证券市场都出现了大幅上涨。资产价格快速上涨已成为各国央行急待解决的难题。
从亚洲地区证券市场近来的表现看，中国内地与中国香港市场无疑成为美国次贷危机爆发后国际热钱热衷的宝地。就中国内地A股市场而言，目前A股市场已呈现明显的资金推动型特征。从资金来源上分析，人民币汇率、贸易顺差、A股走势有明显的正相关性。贸易顺差对人民币汇率的刚性特征，在很大程度上反映了外资正热切地进入中国资本市场。
而在我国国内CPI高企、人民币走入“对外升值对内贬值”怪圈、央行为应对通胀采取小幅加息之际，美联储此次再度降息，无疑加大了我国国内经济调控的难度。一方面，美元降息在很大程度上扰乱了国际金融秩序，进一步吹大了国际金融市场泡沫。另一方面，就中长期而言，美联储宽松的货币政策这么走下去，是否会进一步吹大资本流入国资产价格泡沫，从而为美国的投机资金回归创造条件，更值得关注。
首先，美元在国际货币体系中所处的特殊地位，决定了美联储的货币政策行为牵动全球金融市场神经。自布雷顿森林体系崩溃之后，美国凭借其综合实力使美元在国际货币体系中居主导地位。欧元出现以后，虽然在某种程度上挑战了美元的国际地位，但并未从根本上削弱美元在全球货币体系中所处的主导地位。由于美元在实体经济和虚拟经济运行中都处于主导地位，因此，美联储货币政策对全球实体经济和虚拟经济都会产生重要影响。
其次，美元与黄金脱钩以及美元的主导地位，决定了美联储可以通过货币政策调整对全球施加影响，为美国谋求国家利益的最大化。具体言之，在美国国内出现巨额财政赤字时，美国政府可以通过发行美元，以美元贬值的方式向全球输出通货膨胀和收取铸币税；与此同时，其国内投机资金也可以通过资本输出的方式进入那些本币升值的国家，以获取本币升值预期下的资产增值及汇兑收益双重利益。而当其国内资本大鳄在本币升值国赚得盆满钵满时，美元再通过大幅升值的方式，锁定和实现利润。当然从全球角度分析，美元一松一紧，并没有创造任何价值，其完成的只是财富在不同国度再分配而已。
再次，美联储近期再度降息，缓解国内次贷危机只是“虚”的借口。表面上看，美联储此次降息是为了缓解次贷危机的危害，实质上却在很大程度进一步吹大了国际金融市场资产价格泡沫，为美国国内投机资本在国际金融市场“浑水摸鱼”创造了条件。因此，从美元贬值真实内含来看，美元贬值只是美元货币国际流动所导致的供求因素影响所致，与美国综合国力衰退无关。而美国次贷危机对美国本身的经济影响有限，次贷危机的实际分担者是全球金融投资者。就此而言，美联储借次贷危机降息是“醉翁之意不在酒”。
另外，美联储再次降息，将进一步吹大国际金融市场资产价格泡沫。在美元贬值旗号下，美国国内投机资本纷纷进入发展中国家寻求新的投资机会，投机性外资对新兴市场的介入一方面提升了外资流入国本币的需求，使得外资流入国本币出现升值，另一方面外资利用流入国本币升值所形成的货币幻觉，对资源、资产等不动产进行大幅炒作，以获取巨额投机收益。从亚洲主要国家资本市场近年变化来看，2005年以后，随着美元的大幅贬值，亚洲各国房地产市场、证券市场都出现了大幅上涨。资产价格快速上涨已成为各国央行急待解决的难题。
从亚洲地区证券市场近来的表现看，中国内地与中国香港市场无疑成为美国次贷危机爆发后国际热钱热衷的宝地。就中国内地A股市场而言，目前A股市场已呈现明显的资金推动型特征。从资金来源上分析，人民币汇率、贸易顺差、A股走势有明显的正相关性。贸易顺差对人民币汇率的刚性特征，在很大程度上反映了外资正热切地进入中国资本市场。
而在我国国内CPI高企、人民币走入“对外升值对内贬值”怪圈、央行为应对通胀采取小幅加息之际，美联储此次再度降息，无疑加大了我国国内经济调控的难度。一方面，美元降息在很大程度上扰乱了国际金融秩序，进一步吹大了国际金融市场泡沫。另一方面，就中长期而言，美联储宽松的货币政策这么走下去，是否会进一步吹大资本流入国资产价格泡沫，从而为美国的投机资金回归创造条件，更值得关注。
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
吐纳当代国际高油价的美国利益和中国选择
1，中国油荒祸由美国，主要因缘中国成品油的行政性定价体制。它已经成为跨国金融资本向中国出口国际商品通胀的战略通道和重要的突破口，构成了对中华民族生存方式的深刻挑战。
近日国际原油价格出现了超过９０美元的过快跳长，引转了包括中国在内的全球所有重大利益集团的对弈，它使全球每年４０亿吨左右的原油产量成为新的造富平台；它使全球每年用于石油出口贸易的近２０亿吨原油价值大幅上涨超过４０００多亿美元；最重要的是它使以美元定价的数万亿的国际石油期货交易牛气旺盛，再造了国际资本新的繁荣点。值此美国调整次贷危机之时，成为修补美元纸币体系高速运转的故障部件的强大支持力量。
与此同时，单薄而又扭曲的中国成品油定价体制饱受煎熬，中国部分地区近日甚至出现油荒。中国油荒的实质一方面祸起美元，祸由美国；另一方面也反映了拥有巨大的进出口贸易总量，又实行不完全市场化运转的国家大宗商品管理、特别是油气价格管理的重大制度缺陷。这种缺陷正使得中国利益面临人为刀俎，我为鱼肉的惨局。构成这个鲜美鱼肉的至少有两道大餐，同时它们也是中国与全球交往的两条最重要的战略价格通道，其一是１９９４年以来中国实行的强制性结售汇和外汇占款制度，它使人民币采取了紧盯美元为主的一篮子货币政策。这种类似固定汇率的汇率制度，在人民币不断升值的预期内，中国资产的预期收益已经转化为当期价格和现价体系，热钱入华导致处于转型中的当代中国出现了流动性过剩，由此也迫使当代中国发展需要同时应对通胀和升值两大世界性难题；其二就是中国的大宗商品，特别是成品油的行政性定价体制，它使世界上的第二大成品油消费国的成品油与国家行政主管部门的行政调控政策挂钩，也即行政部门决定中国最大宗商品的价格，从而使中国的成品油价格具有行政与市场双重属性。而且成品油的行政价格调控还往往成为主导，由此它使跨国资本可以肆无忌惮地拉高国际原油期货价格，并借助中国对国际原油的巨大需求向中国的经济运行体系输出商品通胀，使得国际资源性商品的价格的预期收益转化为中国的生产成本、消费成本；由此高油价也导致了中国能源企业难于有效的开展全面改革并成功地向国际上输出生产上涨的生产成本，迫使中国的发展需要应对资源性商品全面通胀和加快经济转型的民族生存难题。
因此，无论是人民币的升值，还是成品油的行政性定价问题，都反映了目前以行政力量定价中国与全球交往的价格通道的运转的后果，它不但有增长的好处，也是吃大亏的传导载体。目前中国这种成品油与国际成品油的价格倒挂，成品油价格由行政机制主导的特殊能源价格政策是国际上的一种典型的人治体制，也必然是过渡性的、临时的。同时也是需要行政部门展现英雄精神，甚至超人意志的体制，它既透支国家的行政资源，也使最需要市场化的能源商品人为的与活跃的市场价格变动脱节，因此往往弊大于利。
油价下调，人民未必享受好处；油价上涨，企业又需要国家补贴。这种人造的对国际投机力量炒高油价的包容，变相地支持了美元的贬值，使美国顺利的索引中国、日本、印度等的亚洲美元储蓄运转，而且还可以再造国际大宗商品价格的繁荣以弥补国际次贷的损失，以高油价的综效反应阻断次贷在国际金融体系的传导，恢复美元纸币体系的活力，并使美国成为高油价的最大赢家。
因此，油气价格的跳长得到了美国经济领袖的联合力挺。美联储前主席格林斯潘１０月３０日表示：油价上升损害全球经济的增长，唯油价即使升到１００美元也不是坏事。美国财长保尔森１０月２６日则表示：油气不断上涨对美国经济并不产生积极作用，但高油价对美国经济的负面影响并不大。美国能源部长博得曼近日更表示：原油价格大幅上扬是由供求不平衡造成的，而非投机炒作所致。美国经济领袖对高油价的瞻评说明：油市繁荣的目的就是要造就国际大宗商品上涨的繁荣。它的繁荣不但要避免石油和大宗商品期货市场形成继次贷危机之后又一个体系散架的米牌反应，从而促生一次以美国为主的全面的金融危机，而且其繁荣还将修复次贷问题造成的国际金融体系的运转故障。这是美国的追求，也是美国利益的实质。
2，高油价的美国利益
目前美国是建立在负债基础之上的超真实的联合组装体，是世界上的负债大王，大脑是美国的，心脏可能是中国和日本的。负债创造了美国经济的增长，营造了高油价、通货膨胀、货币贬值、低利率和金融工具的活跃惯习，解决美元纸币健康运转的核心就必须降低美国经济的负债水平，实现预期收入与当期收入的双向合理转换。美国目前已在调整这个结构，保尔森财长和伯南克主席正在推进美元体系的重大转型。截止2007年4月30日，美国政府债券为8,753.070万亿美元，其中政府间相互持有的数量为3,778.255万亿美元，投资者持有的数量为4,974.815万亿美元，目前美国经济转型要对付的难点和重点就是巨大的负债。如果减债成功了，建立适度的负债体量，美圆体系仍可能再造辉煌。
全球性的债务改变了美国，从某种角度而言，美国的意义已经不大了，美国的利益代表就是美元，美国已经成为一项投资工具，美国也成为融资主体。由此债务美国必然需要应对不断增长的危机，也需要大力制造经济的兴奋点和繁荣点，延债益美。
2007年8月激化的美国次贷危机大规模地冲击了美元纸币体系的转型，目前虽集美国官民结合的力量仍难以克服。因此最好的办法就是在美元纸币体系主导的最大宗商品—油气市场上制造一次繁荣，化解美元纸币体系基于次贷问题形成的局部危机。并构造这样一个局面：即消费国支付过高的油价制造产油国的美元财富；产油国又以美元储备或美元交易大大强化美国的资本顺差；产油国、消费国都为美国提供资本顺差服务的体制，维持这个运转制度就会为美元体系改革创造千载难逢的机遇，并维持美国的期货体系对全球大宗商品的绝对定价权。
为此，美国政府已经开始推进大规模消减预算赤字的战略，2007年2月布什政府向国会报告，计划到2012年消除赤字，实现财政平衡，5月布什政府进一步估计2007年美国赤字将降低到2441亿美元。目前美国政府已开始借鉴欧元体系的稳定经验，创造美元体系的第二春，创造美元体系的另一个巨大革命的时代。为此美国可能采取五项措施以扭转美元纸币体系的运转：其一，利用美圆纸币体系的优势，保持合理水平的通货膨胀，均衡降低美元负债总量，通货膨胀是纸币贬值的最好杀手。高油价全面制造的财富肯定大于通胀，甚至淹没通胀，因此高油价比低油价好，放大财富是美圆纸币体系的最大长处，它可以有效防止美国出现次贷危机以后的米牌反应。其二，保持贸易顺差，用纸币换取更多的全球产品和服务，同时大力发展美国的海外债权，对冲美国的国内负债水平，对称性降低中国等地外汇储备的纸币收益。高油价的实质是美元体系贬值，也是控制亚洲外汇储备的手段之一。因此油价的高低是次要的，重要的是需要美圆纸币交换。其三，采取有选择的汇率战，对外推行适度的美元贬值，保持美元体系对欧元体系的国际优势，有效防止国际储备向欧元的转换，高油价会加强目前美圆纸币的储备地位。其四，对内加强税收，维持美元债务体系的良性运转，较高的油价可以提高美国的税基。其五，充分发挥美国的金融智慧，创造更多更新的金融工具，弥补美元纸币体系的集资能力，继续保持美圆的资本顺差，高油价引致的大宗商品价格上涨是美国加大实现资本顺差的重要手段，也是让美国期货体系繁荣的关键点。其六，促进新的能源革命和技术革命，保持美元资产的升值，保持美元体系对欧元体系的国际优势，有效防止国际储备向欧元的转换。例如美国正在推进天然气水合物，又称可燃冰的能源变革。由于1立方米天然气水合物相当于164立方米的常规天然气，1998年5月24日美国参议院能源委员会通过1418号议案《天然气水合物研究与资源开发计划》，该议案强调：天然气水合物列入美国战略能源规划，要求2015年美国能源部实施商业性开采。可燃冰的商业利用将改变能源美元的重大利益和国际政治版图，为美元转型创造机会。届时天然气水合物将扭转油气资源独秀的局面，因此，国际油气价格实际上在未来十到十五年内面临着上涨受到抑制的重大挑战，为此目前启动高油价可以实现最大的末日利润。其七，推进大宗资源性商品的金融属性的演化，构建美元体系新的复合基础，高油价作为第一冲击波是最为可行的。其八，全面发展以美国为中心的跨国公司的全球生产体系，保持对中、日、印等国的竞争力量，再建美国经济在消费和生产领域的双重优势，在全球美元实体经济和虚拟经济的大盘局中，相对降低美国的债务水平，高油价的本质是再一次巩固以美国为中心的大宗商品定价体系。
这个转型期长则10年左右，短则5年上下即可初步实现。改革成功了，美元即使从稳定性方面也将超过欧元；改革失败了，将是美元纸币体系的一次重大危机。从目前情况判断，由于美国掌握美元体系的全部主动权，转型成功的希望很高，然而美国必然以盘剥它国经济为代价，因此油气等大宗商品几乎是一个必然被选择的主体工具。
但是，我们也必须注意到美元体系调整面临的困难：为了应对2001年美国科技股的泡沫调整，格林斯潘将联邦基金利率即商业银行隔夜拆借利率从6.25%下调到1%，以配合克林顿政府刺激美国经济，此后又逐步回调到5.25%。伯南克主持的美联储在艰难做着减息的、低息的决定，也即美联储要用五厘以内的利率水平实现四个目标：即：对付通胀，保持资本顺差，促进国内消费增长和推动全球经济稳定，这是非常高的经济调控难度。
3，面对高油价的中国选择
面对国际高油价的上涨，中国必然应有两个选择,其一，利用中国的需求调节国际市场，以强化开发国内油气资源的战略大举替代进口。加快参与全球油气价格的定价运转，目前中国政府应全面改变油气上涨的中国预期因素。其二，果断地放开成品油价格，建立政府指导的多层次的成品油市场价格运转体制，因此10月31日即开始调整国内成品油价格是完全必要的，它将改变中国能源企业的估值体系；改变全球石油贸易的运转；改变全球石油期货走势。而且还应尽快地建立汽油以外的柴油、石脑油等成品油与国际成品油挂钩的市场运转体制。
近日国际原油价格出现了超过９０美元的过快跳长，引转了包括中国在内的全球所有重大利益集团的对弈，它使全球每年４０亿吨左右的原油产量成为新的造富平台；它使全球每年用于石油出口贸易的近２０亿吨原油价值大幅上涨超过４０００多亿美元；最重要的是它使以美元定价的数万亿的国际石油期货交易牛气旺盛，再造了国际资本新的繁荣点。值此美国调整次贷危机之时，成为修补美元纸币体系高速运转的故障部件的强大支持力量。
与此同时，单薄而又扭曲的中国成品油定价体制饱受煎熬，中国部分地区近日甚至出现油荒。中国油荒的实质一方面祸起美元，祸由美国；另一方面也反映了拥有巨大的进出口贸易总量，又实行不完全市场化运转的国家大宗商品管理、特别是油气价格管理的重大制度缺陷。这种缺陷正使得中国利益面临人为刀俎，我为鱼肉的惨局。构成这个鲜美鱼肉的至少有两道大餐，同时它们也是中国与全球交往的两条最重要的战略价格通道，其一是１９９４年以来中国实行的强制性结售汇和外汇占款制度，它使人民币采取了紧盯美元为主的一篮子货币政策。这种类似固定汇率的汇率制度，在人民币不断升值的预期内，中国资产的预期收益已经转化为当期价格和现价体系，热钱入华导致处于转型中的当代中国出现了流动性过剩，由此也迫使当代中国发展需要同时应对通胀和升值两大世界性难题；其二就是中国的大宗商品，特别是成品油的行政性定价体制，它使世界上的第二大成品油消费国的成品油与国家行政主管部门的行政调控政策挂钩，也即行政部门决定中国最大宗商品的价格，从而使中国的成品油价格具有行政与市场双重属性。而且成品油的行政价格调控还往往成为主导，由此它使跨国资本可以肆无忌惮地拉高国际原油期货价格，并借助中国对国际原油的巨大需求向中国的经济运行体系输出商品通胀，使得国际资源性商品的价格的预期收益转化为中国的生产成本、消费成本；由此高油价也导致了中国能源企业难于有效的开展全面改革并成功地向国际上输出生产上涨的生产成本，迫使中国的发展需要应对资源性商品全面通胀和加快经济转型的民族生存难题。
因此，无论是人民币的升值，还是成品油的行政性定价问题，都反映了目前以行政力量定价中国与全球交往的价格通道的运转的后果，它不但有增长的好处，也是吃大亏的传导载体。目前中国这种成品油与国际成品油的价格倒挂，成品油价格由行政机制主导的特殊能源价格政策是国际上的一种典型的人治体制，也必然是过渡性的、临时的。同时也是需要行政部门展现英雄精神，甚至超人意志的体制，它既透支国家的行政资源，也使最需要市场化的能源商品人为的与活跃的市场价格变动脱节，因此往往弊大于利。
油价下调，人民未必享受好处；油价上涨，企业又需要国家补贴。这种人造的对国际投机力量炒高油价的包容，变相地支持了美元的贬值，使美国顺利的索引中国、日本、印度等的亚洲美元储蓄运转，而且还可以再造国际大宗商品价格的繁荣以弥补国际次贷的损失，以高油价的综效反应阻断次贷在国际金融体系的传导，恢复美元纸币体系的活力，并使美国成为高油价的最大赢家。
因此，油气价格的跳长得到了美国经济领袖的联合力挺。美联储前主席格林斯潘１０月３０日表示：油价上升损害全球经济的增长，唯油价即使升到１００美元也不是坏事。美国财长保尔森１０月２６日则表示：油气不断上涨对美国经济并不产生积极作用，但高油价对美国经济的负面影响并不大。美国能源部长博得曼近日更表示：原油价格大幅上扬是由供求不平衡造成的，而非投机炒作所致。美国经济领袖对高油价的瞻评说明：油市繁荣的目的就是要造就国际大宗商品上涨的繁荣。它的繁荣不但要避免石油和大宗商品期货市场形成继次贷危机之后又一个体系散架的米牌反应，从而促生一次以美国为主的全面的金融危机，而且其繁荣还将修复次贷问题造成的国际金融体系的运转故障。这是美国的追求，也是美国利益的实质。
2，高油价的美国利益
目前美国是建立在负债基础之上的超真实的联合组装体，是世界上的负债大王，大脑是美国的，心脏可能是中国和日本的。负债创造了美国经济的增长，营造了高油价、通货膨胀、货币贬值、低利率和金融工具的活跃惯习，解决美元纸币健康运转的核心就必须降低美国经济的负债水平，实现预期收入与当期收入的双向合理转换。美国目前已在调整这个结构，保尔森财长和伯南克主席正在推进美元体系的重大转型。截止2007年4月30日，美国政府债券为8,753.070万亿美元，其中政府间相互持有的数量为3,778.255万亿美元，投资者持有的数量为4,974.815万亿美元，目前美国经济转型要对付的难点和重点就是巨大的负债。如果减债成功了，建立适度的负债体量，美圆体系仍可能再造辉煌。
全球性的债务改变了美国，从某种角度而言，美国的意义已经不大了，美国的利益代表就是美元，美国已经成为一项投资工具，美国也成为融资主体。由此债务美国必然需要应对不断增长的危机，也需要大力制造经济的兴奋点和繁荣点，延债益美。
2007年8月激化的美国次贷危机大规模地冲击了美元纸币体系的转型，目前虽集美国官民结合的力量仍难以克服。因此最好的办法就是在美元纸币体系主导的最大宗商品—油气市场上制造一次繁荣，化解美元纸币体系基于次贷问题形成的局部危机。并构造这样一个局面：即消费国支付过高的油价制造产油国的美元财富；产油国又以美元储备或美元交易大大强化美国的资本顺差；产油国、消费国都为美国提供资本顺差服务的体制，维持这个运转制度就会为美元体系改革创造千载难逢的机遇，并维持美国的期货体系对全球大宗商品的绝对定价权。
为此，美国政府已经开始推进大规模消减预算赤字的战略，2007年2月布什政府向国会报告，计划到2012年消除赤字，实现财政平衡，5月布什政府进一步估计2007年美国赤字将降低到2441亿美元。目前美国政府已开始借鉴欧元体系的稳定经验，创造美元体系的第二春，创造美元体系的另一个巨大革命的时代。为此美国可能采取五项措施以扭转美元纸币体系的运转：其一，利用美圆纸币体系的优势，保持合理水平的通货膨胀，均衡降低美元负债总量，通货膨胀是纸币贬值的最好杀手。高油价全面制造的财富肯定大于通胀，甚至淹没通胀，因此高油价比低油价好，放大财富是美圆纸币体系的最大长处，它可以有效防止美国出现次贷危机以后的米牌反应。其二，保持贸易顺差，用纸币换取更多的全球产品和服务，同时大力发展美国的海外债权，对冲美国的国内负债水平，对称性降低中国等地外汇储备的纸币收益。高油价的实质是美元体系贬值，也是控制亚洲外汇储备的手段之一。因此油价的高低是次要的，重要的是需要美圆纸币交换。其三，采取有选择的汇率战，对外推行适度的美元贬值，保持美元体系对欧元体系的国际优势，有效防止国际储备向欧元的转换，高油价会加强目前美圆纸币的储备地位。其四，对内加强税收，维持美元债务体系的良性运转，较高的油价可以提高美国的税基。其五，充分发挥美国的金融智慧，创造更多更新的金融工具，弥补美元纸币体系的集资能力，继续保持美圆的资本顺差，高油价引致的大宗商品价格上涨是美国加大实现资本顺差的重要手段，也是让美国期货体系繁荣的关键点。其六，促进新的能源革命和技术革命，保持美元资产的升值，保持美元体系对欧元体系的国际优势，有效防止国际储备向欧元的转换。例如美国正在推进天然气水合物，又称可燃冰的能源变革。由于1立方米天然气水合物相当于164立方米的常规天然气，1998年5月24日美国参议院能源委员会通过1418号议案《天然气水合物研究与资源开发计划》，该议案强调：天然气水合物列入美国战略能源规划，要求2015年美国能源部实施商业性开采。可燃冰的商业利用将改变能源美元的重大利益和国际政治版图，为美元转型创造机会。届时天然气水合物将扭转油气资源独秀的局面，因此，国际油气价格实际上在未来十到十五年内面临着上涨受到抑制的重大挑战，为此目前启动高油价可以实现最大的末日利润。其七，推进大宗资源性商品的金融属性的演化，构建美元体系新的复合基础，高油价作为第一冲击波是最为可行的。其八，全面发展以美国为中心的跨国公司的全球生产体系，保持对中、日、印等国的竞争力量，再建美国经济在消费和生产领域的双重优势，在全球美元实体经济和虚拟经济的大盘局中，相对降低美国的债务水平，高油价的本质是再一次巩固以美国为中心的大宗商品定价体系。
这个转型期长则10年左右，短则5年上下即可初步实现。改革成功了，美元即使从稳定性方面也将超过欧元；改革失败了，将是美元纸币体系的一次重大危机。从目前情况判断，由于美国掌握美元体系的全部主动权，转型成功的希望很高，然而美国必然以盘剥它国经济为代价，因此油气等大宗商品几乎是一个必然被选择的主体工具。
但是，我们也必须注意到美元体系调整面临的困难：为了应对2001年美国科技股的泡沫调整，格林斯潘将联邦基金利率即商业银行隔夜拆借利率从6.25%下调到1%，以配合克林顿政府刺激美国经济，此后又逐步回调到5.25%。伯南克主持的美联储在艰难做着减息的、低息的决定，也即美联储要用五厘以内的利率水平实现四个目标：即：对付通胀，保持资本顺差，促进国内消费增长和推动全球经济稳定，这是非常高的经济调控难度。
3，面对高油价的中国选择
面对国际高油价的上涨，中国必然应有两个选择,其一，利用中国的需求调节国际市场，以强化开发国内油气资源的战略大举替代进口。加快参与全球油气价格的定价运转，目前中国政府应全面改变油气上涨的中国预期因素。其二，果断地放开成品油价格，建立政府指导的多层次的成品油市场价格运转体制，因此10月31日即开始调整国内成品油价格是完全必要的，它将改变中国能源企业的估值体系；改变全球石油贸易的运转；改变全球石油期货走势。而且还应尽快地建立汽油以外的柴油、石脑油等成品油与国际成品油挂钩的市场运转体制。
华盛顿时报：有钱的中国人很多很多
英国前首相丘吉尔曾说，在他父亲生活的１９世纪后半叶，“世界是少数人的……极少数人的”。他所指的不是今天这个世界，甚至也不是西方。他所说的“世界”是指英国，当时地球上最富有的国家。
自二战结束以来，我们业已见证了经济“奇迹”改变欧洲、日本以及其他亚洲国家。少数人已变成了许多人。但是，你绝不会料想到上海当前所发生的一切。人类历史上也许从未有过在如此短的时间内，造出如此多的建筑；人类的历史上也许从未有过如此多的人，能如此迅速地发家致富。
当美国人提到中国时，大多数人想到的是为了微薄工资而苦干的工人大军，他们生产出的产品不仅质量低劣而且经常造成危险，并且总是很便宜。我们觉得中国人偷走了我们的工作，并向我们出售常常被召回的垃圾产品。但在上海待个数日，就能使这些想法一扫而光，并获得另一种全新的视角。
上海在进行人类历史上最庞大的建筑活动。高楼大厦拔地而起，其数量比笔者在其他任何地方看到的都要多。上世纪７０年代，美国纽约市长纳尔逊·洛克菲勒重建纽约州首府奥尔巴尼，这个浩大的工程甚至改变了整个美国的建筑业。据一些专家称，上海如今对世界有着类似的影响。
一些建筑属于典型的“国际风格”现代派，一些则是“后现代”建筑。在西方人看来，许多建筑都有些怪异。这可能是某种建筑宣言，或者与风水有关。
许多人仍生活在旧式的“鸽子笼”和狭小的巷子里，那里洗完的衣服都是挂在横挑的竹竿上的。它们看上去整洁干净，据说许多居民不愿意搬到离市中心较远的新的楼房里。
街道和高速路上挤满了汽车。令人震惊的是，中国如今是世界第二大汽车市场，并且也是全球增长最快的汽车市场。路上跑的许多都是美国生产的别克车，偶尔会有福特车和雪佛兰车，更多的是中国生产的大众汽车。
在１９世纪，美国的商人梦想着进入中国的市场——向中国销售灯油，他们知道那里的人很穷，但人口众多，哪怕能分到市场的小小部分都能发大财。如今，有钱的中国人很多很多。所以，别以为中国人只会生产廉价货，我们应该想到他们是一切产品的消费者。
忘记灯油吧。我们错过了那个机会，他们如今都用上电了。但是，所有那些亮锃锃的浴室的管道呢？还有中国厕所的马桶呢？
自二战结束以来，我们业已见证了经济“奇迹”改变欧洲、日本以及其他亚洲国家。少数人已变成了许多人。但是，你绝不会料想到上海当前所发生的一切。人类历史上也许从未有过在如此短的时间内，造出如此多的建筑；人类的历史上也许从未有过如此多的人，能如此迅速地发家致富。
当美国人提到中国时，大多数人想到的是为了微薄工资而苦干的工人大军，他们生产出的产品不仅质量低劣而且经常造成危险，并且总是很便宜。我们觉得中国人偷走了我们的工作，并向我们出售常常被召回的垃圾产品。但在上海待个数日，就能使这些想法一扫而光，并获得另一种全新的视角。
上海在进行人类历史上最庞大的建筑活动。高楼大厦拔地而起，其数量比笔者在其他任何地方看到的都要多。上世纪７０年代，美国纽约市长纳尔逊·洛克菲勒重建纽约州首府奥尔巴尼，这个浩大的工程甚至改变了整个美国的建筑业。据一些专家称，上海如今对世界有着类似的影响。
一些建筑属于典型的“国际风格”现代派，一些则是“后现代”建筑。在西方人看来，许多建筑都有些怪异。这可能是某种建筑宣言，或者与风水有关。
许多人仍生活在旧式的“鸽子笼”和狭小的巷子里，那里洗完的衣服都是挂在横挑的竹竿上的。它们看上去整洁干净，据说许多居民不愿意搬到离市中心较远的新的楼房里。
街道和高速路上挤满了汽车。令人震惊的是，中国如今是世界第二大汽车市场，并且也是全球增长最快的汽车市场。路上跑的许多都是美国生产的别克车，偶尔会有福特车和雪佛兰车，更多的是中国生产的大众汽车。
在１９世纪，美国的商人梦想着进入中国的市场——向中国销售灯油，他们知道那里的人很穷，但人口众多，哪怕能分到市场的小小部分都能发大财。如今，有钱的中国人很多很多。所以，别以为中国人只会生产廉价货，我们应该想到他们是一切产品的消费者。
忘记灯油吧。我们错过了那个机会，他们如今都用上电了。但是，所有那些亮锃锃的浴室的管道呢？还有中国厕所的马桶呢？
中国反垄断法将动真格？
经过长期讨论，中国全国人大常务委员会周二通过反垄断法，新法定于2008年8月1日起施行。
据说中国的方便面生产厂家私下商定价格、垄断市场，损害消费者利益，引发群众不满，最终促成了反垄断法的制定和通过。新苏黎世报认为，其实中国食品业总体竞争激烈，而中国国家操控的行业垄断问题最为严重：
“中国大部分经济领域都处于严重的垄断或寡头卖主垄断状况。这些领域带有战略性国有企业的印记，与政府和无所不在的共产党紧密结合。尽管这些企业已登上股市，但它们多数仍然为国家所有，其业务活动受政治考虑和欲望的左右。许多这样的大集团提供的服务没有什么竞争力，但却收取超高的费用，它们的工作不透明，是政界及其干部的重要收入来源。
这个国家资本主义的‘中国股份公司’控制了中国股市的大多数资本。属于这个股份公司的有石油和天然气领域、整个电信和金融服务行业。国家保护银行，一再向银行提供大笔补贴，因为这些银行往往不是从经济、而是从政治角度做出决定，经常资助不能赢利的面子工程。银行为客户提供的服务很差，存款人获得的利息实际上是负数。”
正是由于国家控制的企业坚持垄断地位，反对自由竞争，中国的反垄断法经过千呼万唤才得以出台。那么，新出台的反垄断法将保持还是打破原有体制呢？新苏黎世报的文章最后写道：
“现在通过的法律版本给两者都留下了余地。法律规定禁止有损竞争的行为，必须实行市场价格，国有企业也须遵守这一法律。但是，法律又包括一些为了保护’国家利益’的例外规定，这样实际上可以随意巩固现有状况。规定中表达不清的地方是，外资参与的企业是否违反国家利益的问题有待从新做出解释。另外，法律提出，要按照竞争法原则审查专利保护。这两条都有可能被滥用，使外国竞争对手吃亏并把他们排挤出中国市场。
新的竞争法能否及如何改变中国的企业景观，取决于新法的执行情况。由于国家及其干部在经济界依然存在，所以难以想象，目前结构并不强大的反垄断部门在没有强有力的政治影响的条件下能够有效执法。驻北京的外国企业家联合会一致认为，中国的竞争环境带有至今仍不明确的政治意志烙印。但是，明年夏天毕竟有了竞争法和反垄断部门，外国投资者表示欢迎，不过他们也异口同声地希望中国政府能遵循国际做法，明确统一地贯彻法律规定。”
据说中国的方便面生产厂家私下商定价格、垄断市场，损害消费者利益，引发群众不满，最终促成了反垄断法的制定和通过。新苏黎世报认为，其实中国食品业总体竞争激烈，而中国国家操控的行业垄断问题最为严重：
“中国大部分经济领域都处于严重的垄断或寡头卖主垄断状况。这些领域带有战略性国有企业的印记，与政府和无所不在的共产党紧密结合。尽管这些企业已登上股市，但它们多数仍然为国家所有，其业务活动受政治考虑和欲望的左右。许多这样的大集团提供的服务没有什么竞争力，但却收取超高的费用，它们的工作不透明，是政界及其干部的重要收入来源。
这个国家资本主义的‘中国股份公司’控制了中国股市的大多数资本。属于这个股份公司的有石油和天然气领域、整个电信和金融服务行业。国家保护银行，一再向银行提供大笔补贴，因为这些银行往往不是从经济、而是从政治角度做出决定，经常资助不能赢利的面子工程。银行为客户提供的服务很差，存款人获得的利息实际上是负数。”
正是由于国家控制的企业坚持垄断地位，反对自由竞争，中国的反垄断法经过千呼万唤才得以出台。那么，新出台的反垄断法将保持还是打破原有体制呢？新苏黎世报的文章最后写道：
“现在通过的法律版本给两者都留下了余地。法律规定禁止有损竞争的行为，必须实行市场价格，国有企业也须遵守这一法律。但是，法律又包括一些为了保护’国家利益’的例外规定，这样实际上可以随意巩固现有状况。规定中表达不清的地方是，外资参与的企业是否违反国家利益的问题有待从新做出解释。另外，法律提出，要按照竞争法原则审查专利保护。这两条都有可能被滥用，使外国竞争对手吃亏并把他们排挤出中国市场。
新的竞争法能否及如何改变中国的企业景观，取决于新法的执行情况。由于国家及其干部在经济界依然存在，所以难以想象，目前结构并不强大的反垄断部门在没有强有力的政治影响的条件下能够有效执法。驻北京的外国企业家联合会一致认为，中国的竞争环境带有至今仍不明确的政治意志烙印。但是，明年夏天毕竟有了竞争法和反垄断部门，外国投资者表示欢迎，不过他们也异口同声地希望中国政府能遵循国际做法，明确统一地贯彻法律规定。”
美国制造业价值领先世界 远超中国
尽管中国有世界工厂之称，但美国研究人员发现，美国制造业所创造的产品价值在世界上仍然处于领先地位，大幅度领先于中国制造业。
研究人员指出，制造业工作岗位减少是全球范围的普遍现象，其主要原因是生产力显著提高，美国制造业近年来的大批裁员并不像一些批评人士所说的那样单纯是由于生产项目外包所致。
美国财经刊物福布斯杂志报导说，美中贸易的巨大逆差并不能说明美国制造业生产力的全貌。报导指出，中国只是在生产运动鞋、塑料玩具和服装等低成本和劳动密集型产品方面超过美国，而美国工厂的总产量实际上远远超过中国工厂，而且在价钱方面，美国产品远比中国产品值钱。
*美国制造业生产高增值产品*
美国智囊机构卡托研究所贸易政策研究中心副主任丹.艾肯森(Dan Ikenson)对美国之音表示，他从美国政府、联合国以及世界银行获得的数据中研究发现，美国制造业在世界上制造出来的产品总价值中占21%，跟 1995年的21.3%几乎持平，处于全球第一的地位没有改变。
他说，中国制造业在世界产品总价值中所占的份额正在增大，但是只有8%。
他说：“从中国工厂里每生产出来价值一美元的产品，美国工厂就生产出价值两美元50美分的产品。其主要原因是，美国工厂现在生产的是高增值的产品。你知道，我们生产飞机，我们生产价格高昂的通讯设备、人造卫星等成本较高的产品。从重量来看，中国工厂生产的东西多，但是以价值来计算的话，美国仍然在世界上是最多产的制造国。”
*生产力提高制造业就业人数下降*
他说：“在整个世界，制造业的就业人数都在下降，在中国也是如此。事实上，中国制造业丧失的工作机会比美国制造业还多，其原因也是因为生产力提高。而这并不是坏事。”
美国卡托研究所的研究员艾肯森说，随著生产力的大幅度提高，人们的生活水平和生活质量也在逐渐提高。他表示，人们可以通过高效率的生产把更多的人力物力节省下来投入到其他方面。
有专家指出，目前服务业在美国经济中所占的比例高达80%到85%，而侧重于生产技术含量高和资本密集型产品的美国制造业仍然在美国和世界经济中发挥重要作用。
研究人员指出，制造业工作岗位减少是全球范围的普遍现象，其主要原因是生产力显著提高，美国制造业近年来的大批裁员并不像一些批评人士所说的那样单纯是由于生产项目外包所致。
美国财经刊物福布斯杂志报导说，美中贸易的巨大逆差并不能说明美国制造业生产力的全貌。报导指出，中国只是在生产运动鞋、塑料玩具和服装等低成本和劳动密集型产品方面超过美国，而美国工厂的总产量实际上远远超过中国工厂，而且在价钱方面，美国产品远比中国产品值钱。
*美国制造业生产高增值产品*
美国智囊机构卡托研究所贸易政策研究中心副主任丹.艾肯森(Dan Ikenson)对美国之音表示，他从美国政府、联合国以及世界银行获得的数据中研究发现，美国制造业在世界上制造出来的产品总价值中占21%，跟 1995年的21.3%几乎持平，处于全球第一的地位没有改变。
他说，中国制造业在世界产品总价值中所占的份额正在增大，但是只有8%。
他说：“从中国工厂里每生产出来价值一美元的产品，美国工厂就生产出价值两美元50美分的产品。其主要原因是，美国工厂现在生产的是高增值的产品。你知道，我们生产飞机，我们生产价格高昂的通讯设备、人造卫星等成本较高的产品。从重量来看，中国工厂生产的东西多，但是以价值来计算的话，美国仍然在世界上是最多产的制造国。”
*生产力提高制造业就业人数下降*
他说：“在整个世界，制造业的就业人数都在下降，在中国也是如此。事实上，中国制造业丧失的工作机会比美国制造业还多，其原因也是因为生产力提高。而这并不是坏事。”
美国卡托研究所的研究员艾肯森说，随著生产力的大幅度提高，人们的生活水平和生活质量也在逐渐提高。他表示，人们可以通过高效率的生产把更多的人力物力节省下来投入到其他方面。
有专家指出，目前服务业在美国经济中所占的比例高达80%到85%，而侧重于生产技术含量高和资本密集型产品的美国制造业仍然在美国和世界经济中发挥重要作用。
Is China's stock rally about to burst?
The bull that stands outside the Shanghai stock exchange could not be more apt.
The Chinese market has almost tripled in value this year as investors clamour for a slice of the world's fastest growing economy.
And if the shares of PetroChina soar when it lists in Shanghai next week, there's a chance the Chinese oil giant could become the world's most valuable quoted company, stealing the crown from ExxonMobil.
For some, this is a natural extension of China's economic rise.
For others, it's evidence of a massive stock market bubble that parallels the height of the dotcom boom.
Too hot?
China's market is displaying many of the classic warning signs of a bubble.
Cab drivers, college kids and Buddhist monks are making small fortunes in a frenzy of "chao gu" or stir frying stocks - Chinese slang for trading.
Internet chatrooms are abuzz with investment tips and reports say that millions of stock trading accounts are being opened each month.
People have a bullish feeling before the Olympics
Professor Yao Shujie, China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham
Investment guru Warren Buffett, who recently sold his Hong Kong-listed PetroChina shares for a huge profit, warned last week that China is too hot to buy.
By most conventional yardsticks, valuations of many of China's largest shares do look stretched.
China's main stock index trades at more than 50 times projected earnings of the companies listed on it, almost triple that of major European and US stock markets.
Different standards
Shanghai-based fund manager Chris Ruffle says China's market cannot be judged by the same standards as other exchanges.
Inflation exceeds the return on bank deposits and real estate has lost its appeal following measures taken by Chinese authorities.
Strict investment rules forbid Chinese households from putting their $2.3 trillion savings in overseas assets, leaving China's stock market the only option.
"If it was a normal market it would be overheated, but it's a closed system here," says Mr Ruffle, who manages a $3bn fund for Martin Currie, an investment management business with its headquarters in Edinburgh.
Mr Ruffle says that companies have enjoyed explosive profit growth of 30% in recent years and this could pick up pace as management techniques at state-run firms improve.
"Attitudes are changing. Managers regard themselves as executives rather than civil servants," says Mr Ruffle.
He plans to steer clear of big-name Chinese companies like PetroChina, but says he can still find good value firms in sectors such as healthcare, where the Chinese government is channelling investment.
Record listing
One factor behind the market's white-hot rally has been a slew of stock market listings. In the third quarter alone, China hosted 75 share offerings.
Many recent debuts have been household names in China and a big draw for local investors' cash.
BIGGEST FIRMS BY MARKET VALUE
ExxonMobil
PetroChina
General Electric
China Mobile
ICBC
Gazprom
Sinopec
AT&T
BP
China Life
Source: Reuters
PetroChina, which is also listed in Hong Kong and New York, said this week it raised almost $9bn from its share sale, the largest amount raised in Shanghai to date.
"Prior to 2006, there were few big heavyweight firms listing in Shanghai," says Professor Yao Shujie, at Nottingham University's China Policy Institute.
"If prices continue to rocket when it's smaller firms doing [initial public offerings], to me that's a much clearer sign of a bubble."
Chinese authorities have taken some steps to cool the market but investors have so far paid little heed.
There is a strong conviction that the government will not allow a huge crash in share prices.
"People have a bullish feeling before the Olympics," says Professor Yao.
"They believe the government will do what it can support the market in case of difficulty therefore they are not so cautious about protecting their investments."
Political fallout
A crash would have political ramifications for China's leaders, who have staked their legitimacy on maintaining a breakneck pace of economic growth.
Ordinary urban Chinese would be the biggest victims of any crash, with foreign investment in the Shanghai market still subject to limits.
"When it does fall it will be the middle classes marching on the streets," says Kerry Brown, associate fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House.
"It would cause unease among those that have kept out of politics for the past two decades and dent confidence in the Communist Party's economic management."
The stock market boom has given China five of the world's 10 biggest companies by market value.
For now this is a source of pride for China's government, but it is an honour that could turn into a big headache.
The Chinese market has almost tripled in value this year as investors clamour for a slice of the world's fastest growing economy.
And if the shares of PetroChina soar when it lists in Shanghai next week, there's a chance the Chinese oil giant could become the world's most valuable quoted company, stealing the crown from ExxonMobil.
For some, this is a natural extension of China's economic rise.
For others, it's evidence of a massive stock market bubble that parallels the height of the dotcom boom.
Too hot?
China's market is displaying many of the classic warning signs of a bubble.
Cab drivers, college kids and Buddhist monks are making small fortunes in a frenzy of "chao gu" or stir frying stocks - Chinese slang for trading.
Internet chatrooms are abuzz with investment tips and reports say that millions of stock trading accounts are being opened each month.
People have a bullish feeling before the Olympics
Professor Yao Shujie, China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham
Investment guru Warren Buffett, who recently sold his Hong Kong-listed PetroChina shares for a huge profit, warned last week that China is too hot to buy.
By most conventional yardsticks, valuations of many of China's largest shares do look stretched.
China's main stock index trades at more than 50 times projected earnings of the companies listed on it, almost triple that of major European and US stock markets.
Different standards
Shanghai-based fund manager Chris Ruffle says China's market cannot be judged by the same standards as other exchanges.
Inflation exceeds the return on bank deposits and real estate has lost its appeal following measures taken by Chinese authorities.
Strict investment rules forbid Chinese households from putting their $2.3 trillion savings in overseas assets, leaving China's stock market the only option.
"If it was a normal market it would be overheated, but it's a closed system here," says Mr Ruffle, who manages a $3bn fund for Martin Currie, an investment management business with its headquarters in Edinburgh.
Mr Ruffle says that companies have enjoyed explosive profit growth of 30% in recent years and this could pick up pace as management techniques at state-run firms improve.
"Attitudes are changing. Managers regard themselves as executives rather than civil servants," says Mr Ruffle.
He plans to steer clear of big-name Chinese companies like PetroChina, but says he can still find good value firms in sectors such as healthcare, where the Chinese government is channelling investment.
Record listing
One factor behind the market's white-hot rally has been a slew of stock market listings. In the third quarter alone, China hosted 75 share offerings.
Many recent debuts have been household names in China and a big draw for local investors' cash.
BIGGEST FIRMS BY MARKET VALUE
ExxonMobil
PetroChina
General Electric
China Mobile
ICBC
Gazprom
Sinopec
AT&T
BP
China Life
Source: Reuters
PetroChina, which is also listed in Hong Kong and New York, said this week it raised almost $9bn from its share sale, the largest amount raised in Shanghai to date.
"Prior to 2006, there were few big heavyweight firms listing in Shanghai," says Professor Yao Shujie, at Nottingham University's China Policy Institute.
"If prices continue to rocket when it's smaller firms doing [initial public offerings], to me that's a much clearer sign of a bubble."
Chinese authorities have taken some steps to cool the market but investors have so far paid little heed.
There is a strong conviction that the government will not allow a huge crash in share prices.
"People have a bullish feeling before the Olympics," says Professor Yao.
"They believe the government will do what it can support the market in case of difficulty therefore they are not so cautious about protecting their investments."
Political fallout
A crash would have political ramifications for China's leaders, who have staked their legitimacy on maintaining a breakneck pace of economic growth.
Ordinary urban Chinese would be the biggest victims of any crash, with foreign investment in the Shanghai market still subject to limits.
"When it does fall it will be the middle classes marching on the streets," says Kerry Brown, associate fellow at international affairs think tank Chatham House.
"It would cause unease among those that have kept out of politics for the past two decades and dent confidence in the Communist Party's economic management."
The stock market boom has given China five of the world's 10 biggest companies by market value.
For now this is a source of pride for China's government, but it is an honour that could turn into a big headache.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
China Netcom to open London headquarters
China Netcom, China's second largest fixed-line telephone company, will on Thursday open a London office that will be its European headquarters.
China Netcom is looking to use its global telecoms network to serve the voice and data needs of Chinese companies with operations in Europe, said one person familiar with the situation. It also wants to serve the telecoms needs of European companies with operations in China.
The move by China Netcom is part of efforts by Chinese companies to expand overseas under the Beijing government's "go global" policy. The government wants to ensure that Chinese companies can compete with US, Japanese and European companies.
China Netcom's telecoms network extends to cities in Asia, Europe and the US, and it is looking to expand it further, said the person familiar with the company's plans.
The London office will be opened by Jidong Zhao, China Netcom's senior vice-president.
Its efforts to serve the voice and data needs of multinationals will pit it against European and US telecoms companies such as BT, AT&T and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ).
China Netcom is not the first Chinese telecoms company to open a London office. China Telecom, China's largest fixed-line company, opened a London office in 2005. Like China Netcom, China Telecom is looking to serve the telecoms needs of Chinese companies with operations in Europe.
Huawei and ZTE, the increasingly powerful Chinese telecoms equipment makers, opened London offices in 2002 and 2004. They were initially sales offices but now also focus on financing.
Telefónica, the Spanish telecoms company with a leading presence in Latin America, on Tuesday said it hoped to increase its minority stake in China Netcom to 10 per cent by the end of the year. Vodafone, the UK mobile phone group, has a 3 per cent stake in China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, which plans to open a London office early next year.
China Netcom is looking to use its global telecoms network to serve the voice and data needs of Chinese companies with operations in Europe, said one person familiar with the situation. It also wants to serve the telecoms needs of European companies with operations in China.
The move by China Netcom is part of efforts by Chinese companies to expand overseas under the Beijing government's "go global" policy. The government wants to ensure that Chinese companies can compete with US, Japanese and European companies.
China Netcom's telecoms network extends to cities in Asia, Europe and the US, and it is looking to expand it further, said the person familiar with the company's plans.
The London office will be opened by Jidong Zhao, China Netcom's senior vice-president.
Its efforts to serve the voice and data needs of multinationals will pit it against European and US telecoms companies such as BT, AT&T and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ).
China Netcom is not the first Chinese telecoms company to open a London office. China Telecom, China's largest fixed-line company, opened a London office in 2005. Like China Netcom, China Telecom is looking to serve the telecoms needs of Chinese companies with operations in Europe.
Huawei and ZTE, the increasingly powerful Chinese telecoms equipment makers, opened London offices in 2002 and 2004. They were initially sales offices but now also focus on financing.
Telefónica, the Spanish telecoms company with a leading presence in Latin America, on Tuesday said it hoped to increase its minority stake in China Netcom to 10 per cent by the end of the year. Vodafone, the UK mobile phone group, has a 3 per cent stake in China Mobile, China's largest mobile operator, which plans to open a London office early next year.
State funds and banks lead China's hunt
China's National Council for Social Security Fund is an unlikely candidate to buy into US private equity groups, but the disclosure in Tuesday's Financial Times that it has held preliminary talks about buying stakes in companies such as Carlyle and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts underlines how dramatically China's global ambitions have grown.
The fund joins a number of large state institutions investing overseas, such as China Investment Corp, the newly-established sovereign fund, and China Development Bank, a specialist lender for infrastructure projects.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, last week struck a deal to pay $5.56bn for a stake in Standard Bank in South Africa, and Citic Securities recently bought into the troubled US firm Bear Stearns. Other big Chinese commercial banks are hunting for deals.
The sudden flood of overseas deals runs parallel with a wave of foreign equity investment by Chinese entities through mandates issued by the securities regulator.
Since September, $37bn (£17.9bn, EU25.6bn) in subscriptions has been received by four funds each approved to raise $16bn. JPMorgan says it expects Beijing to approve another $20bn by mid-December and a total of up to $90bn by the end of next year.
The broad framework allowing investment overseas has been laid down gradually by the central government in the last three years or so, with a variety of policy objectives in mind.
The portfolio investment is driven by a need to gain greater returns and spread risks away from the domestic market, as well as relieve the pressure on the financial system from huge capital inflows.
CDB, meanwhile, is heading overseas with a quite different mandate - to support Chinese investment in Africa and to test its ambitions to become a force in global development finance.
The drive offshore by China's big state banks, although under the wary eye of the regulators, is more driven by their commercial ambitions than acentral government plan.
"I don't really see [the banks] as being driven by the state pushing people out the door, overseas," said Jonathan Anderson, of UBS, in Hong Kong. "This is primarily being driven by the corporates themselves."
For deal-hungry global investment banks, the Chinese institutions they once chased for overseas stock market listings are now becoming valuable merger and acquisition clients.
"Chinese companies are being assiduously courted by dealmakers - and no wonder. They are cash-rich and the beneficiaries of a bull market," said Jing Ulrich, of JPMorgan, in Hong Kong.
However, one common challenge facing the Chinese institutions is the lack of global experience, both in investing overseas and running enterprises in foreign countries.
In the case of the social security fund, its most experienced global manager, Gao Xiqing, who has extensive experience on Wall St, has been shifted in recent months to a senior post at the sovereign fund.
The fund's talks with US firms surprised some market observers, who say they would not have expected it to tie up money in large, illiquid investments.
However, the fund might be being driven by a sense of competition with other Chinese state investors and may have pressed to be allowed access to similar investment opportunities.
For all the headlines, the wave of Chinese capital heading overseas is at an early stage and its impact on markets, perhaps aside from Hong Kong, is limited in terms of investments flows. "They are very small players at the moment," said Mr Anderson.
Politically and psychologically, however, the impact is much larger.
Background
Established in 2000, the National Council for Social Security Fund was part of China's strategy to fill the gaping holes left in its pension policies by the collapse of large swathes of state industry.
The NCSSF does not attempt to cover the entire country's pension needs, but is a kind of national pension fund of last resort, with no designated members eligible for benefits. It has assets Rmb460bn ($62bn, EU43bn, £30bn).
Much revenue came from the offshore initial public offerings of state companies, which had to put 10 per cent of money raised into the fund.
The fund joins a number of large state institutions investing overseas, such as China Investment Corp, the newly-established sovereign fund, and China Development Bank, a specialist lender for infrastructure projects.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, last week struck a deal to pay $5.56bn for a stake in Standard Bank in South Africa, and Citic Securities recently bought into the troubled US firm Bear Stearns. Other big Chinese commercial banks are hunting for deals.
The sudden flood of overseas deals runs parallel with a wave of foreign equity investment by Chinese entities through mandates issued by the securities regulator.
Since September, $37bn (£17.9bn, EU25.6bn) in subscriptions has been received by four funds each approved to raise $16bn. JPMorgan says it expects Beijing to approve another $20bn by mid-December and a total of up to $90bn by the end of next year.
The broad framework allowing investment overseas has been laid down gradually by the central government in the last three years or so, with a variety of policy objectives in mind.
The portfolio investment is driven by a need to gain greater returns and spread risks away from the domestic market, as well as relieve the pressure on the financial system from huge capital inflows.
CDB, meanwhile, is heading overseas with a quite different mandate - to support Chinese investment in Africa and to test its ambitions to become a force in global development finance.
The drive offshore by China's big state banks, although under the wary eye of the regulators, is more driven by their commercial ambitions than acentral government plan.
"I don't really see [the banks] as being driven by the state pushing people out the door, overseas," said Jonathan Anderson, of UBS, in Hong Kong. "This is primarily being driven by the corporates themselves."
For deal-hungry global investment banks, the Chinese institutions they once chased for overseas stock market listings are now becoming valuable merger and acquisition clients.
"Chinese companies are being assiduously courted by dealmakers - and no wonder. They are cash-rich and the beneficiaries of a bull market," said Jing Ulrich, of JPMorgan, in Hong Kong.
However, one common challenge facing the Chinese institutions is the lack of global experience, both in investing overseas and running enterprises in foreign countries.
In the case of the social security fund, its most experienced global manager, Gao Xiqing, who has extensive experience on Wall St, has been shifted in recent months to a senior post at the sovereign fund.
The fund's talks with US firms surprised some market observers, who say they would not have expected it to tie up money in large, illiquid investments.
However, the fund might be being driven by a sense of competition with other Chinese state investors and may have pressed to be allowed access to similar investment opportunities.
For all the headlines, the wave of Chinese capital heading overseas is at an early stage and its impact on markets, perhaps aside from Hong Kong, is limited in terms of investments flows. "They are very small players at the moment," said Mr Anderson.
Politically and psychologically, however, the impact is much larger.
Background
Established in 2000, the National Council for Social Security Fund was part of China's strategy to fill the gaping holes left in its pension policies by the collapse of large swathes of state industry.
The NCSSF does not attempt to cover the entire country's pension needs, but is a kind of national pension fund of last resort, with no designated members eligible for benefits. It has assets Rmb460bn ($62bn, EU43bn, £30bn).
Much revenue came from the offshore initial public offerings of state companies, which had to put 10 per cent of money raised into the fund.
Nufarm Surges on Report of Blackstone, China's BlueStar Bid
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Nufarm Ltd. surged the most in nine years after the South China Morning Post said Australia's biggest supplier of farm chemicals may receive a takeover bid from Blackstone Group LP and China National BlueStar Group Corp.
The companies may make a revised bid after Melbourne-based Nufarm rejected an offer at $2.7 billion, or A$17.10 a share, the newspaper said, citing sources it didn't identify. The stock surged A$1.81, or 13 percent, to A$15.67 at 12:24 p.m. in Sydney, its biggest gain since July 1998.
The new bid, to be lower than A$20 a share, would be the first acquisition for closely held BlueStar, according to the newspaper.
Nufarm missed its profit forecast in September as Australia's worst drought dented demand. Net income rose to A$148.8 million ($137 million) in the year ended July 31, from A$117.2 million a year earlier. The company forecast full-year profit of A$160 million in March.
The drought is reducing water supplies used for fruit, grape and cotton crops, and forcing forecasters and farmers to cut expectations for wheat and barley output.
A spokeswoman for Nufarm wasn't immediately able to comment on the report when contacted by Bloomberg.
The companies may make a revised bid after Melbourne-based Nufarm rejected an offer at $2.7 billion, or A$17.10 a share, the newspaper said, citing sources it didn't identify. The stock surged A$1.81, or 13 percent, to A$15.67 at 12:24 p.m. in Sydney, its biggest gain since July 1998.
The new bid, to be lower than A$20 a share, would be the first acquisition for closely held BlueStar, according to the newspaper.
Nufarm missed its profit forecast in September as Australia's worst drought dented demand. Net income rose to A$148.8 million ($137 million) in the year ended July 31, from A$117.2 million a year earlier. The company forecast full-year profit of A$160 million in March.
The drought is reducing water supplies used for fruit, grape and cotton crops, and forcing forecasters and farmers to cut expectations for wheat and barley output.
A spokeswoman for Nufarm wasn't immediately able to comment on the report when contacted by Bloomberg.
China's Africa Dream
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- It's rare that a business deal intrigues investors and political scientists alike. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.'s move to buy 20 percent of Africa's largest bank is such a transaction.
It's the biggest overseas investment by a Chinese company, in this case the world's No. 1 bank by market value. ICBC's $5.6 billion purchase of the Standard Bank Group Ltd. stake is the largest in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994.
Yet there's something even bigger at play here. This is arguably the first Chinese investment in Africa that doesn't carry a whiff of political strategy. Nor is it directly related to China's desire for resources, which can often help despots more than African households.
ICBC's Standard Bank deal may be the watershed that begins propelling China's designs on Africa from talk to just plain business, and smart business at that.
``From the regulators' point of view, this kind of diversification is a great idea,'' says Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University. ``Chinese banks are too highly concentrated in China and it's not in their best interest that banks depend exclusively on Chinese growth. That kind of dependence is highly pro-cyclical and can feed booms and busts.''
Standard Bank has offices in 18 African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, and 21 other nations such as Argentina and Taiwan. The Johannesburg-based bank has 713 branches in South Africa and 240 throughout the continent. The deal is a sign that even if the Chinese Communist Party has strategic reasons for investing in Africa, companies are heading there for the economic potential.
See No Evil
Until now, China's Africa push has raised warning flags around the globe, and rightfully so. To get resources to feed its 11.5 percent growth, China has hopped into bed with some of Africa's most unsavory regimes, such as Sudan's and Zimbabwe's. That see-no-evil-hear-no-evil approach is raising eyebrows.
Warren Buffett can deny it all he wants, but it's hard to believe that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. would have dumped its entire holding of PetroChina Co., Asia's biggest oil company, without the public criticism over China's support of Sudan.
PetroChina's state-controlled parent is the biggest foreign investor in Sudan. PetroChina's stock gained more than 11-fold since Buffett first bought it in 2003. And yet he recently abandoned what he says is ``absolutely a first-class company.''
Buffett was under increasing pressure from human-rights groups over accusations that the Sudanese government supports genocide. There was even a role for actress Mia Farrow, who helped publicize the worldwide campaign to dub next year's games the ``Genocide Olympics.''
No Baggage
ICBC's stake in Standard Bank comes without that kind of baggage. It's a state-controlled China bank, making it hard to figure out where politics end and business begins. Yet the deal shows China is now making bets on Africa's economy.
Standard Bank is gaining access to the fastest-growing major economy and fattening its capital base. China is getting a foothold into Africa's nascent investment-banking and insurance industries. It's also a way for China to use its growing cash piles overseas rather than making fresh domestic loans that may go bad or fuel inflation.
All this is stellar news for Africa, which usually suffers from the ``paradox of plenty.'' All too often, inhabitants of resource-rich nations fail to prosper while corrupt politicians and their cronies get wealthy and ignore the development needs of the struggling masses.
That has been Africa's experience for far too long. And the failure of Western efforts to reverse the dynamic left the region's leaders open to Chinese investment.
Investment, Not Aid
One interesting element of ICBC's deal is how different it is from the usual overture from Western banks. It didn't come laden with demands about how much control ICBC will have over Standard Bank. It didn't require pledges for financial change. It's merely one bank buying a piece of another with transparent terms and conditions. It's a sign Chinese managers are willing to treat Africans as peers.
The West hasn't learned that lesson with its aid programs and lecturing. By trying a new tack, China may be testing what development economists have argued for years: Africa doesn't need more aid, it needs more genuine investment and trade.
Bono and Columbia University's Jeffrey Sachs will keep plugging away, and thank the gods for that. But Chinese companies appear to see something in Africa many in New York, London and Tokyo don't. Africa represents huge and lucrative business opportunities if it gets its act together.
That's a big ``if.'' With the exception of Botswana and Ghana, Africa's biggest consistency seems to be to pull the rug out from under wide-eyed investors. China's interests are offering Africa a rare opportunity to boost its economies.
China's Money
Another interesting angle here concerns investors. Looking at ICBC along with other Chinese deals of late -- like Citic Securities Co. buying a stake in Bear Stearns Cos. -- it's clear something transformational is afoot.
In recent years, China sought foreign investments in financial firms to shore up capital and gain expertise. Now, cash-rich from trade, stock offerings and surging share prices, China no longer needs Wall Street's money. Increasingly, it's foreigners who want a cut of China's money.
``Getting access to China's market may no longer require putting money in China,'' says Brad Setser, director of research at Roubini Global Economics LLC in New York. ``It may instead require accepting investment from China.''
China may have just found a way to tame its own pressures and tap Africa without the baggage of the past.
It's the biggest overseas investment by a Chinese company, in this case the world's No. 1 bank by market value. ICBC's $5.6 billion purchase of the Standard Bank Group Ltd. stake is the largest in South Africa since apartheid ended in 1994.
Yet there's something even bigger at play here. This is arguably the first Chinese investment in Africa that doesn't carry a whiff of political strategy. Nor is it directly related to China's desire for resources, which can often help despots more than African households.
ICBC's Standard Bank deal may be the watershed that begins propelling China's designs on Africa from talk to just plain business, and smart business at that.
``From the regulators' point of view, this kind of diversification is a great idea,'' says Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Peking University. ``Chinese banks are too highly concentrated in China and it's not in their best interest that banks depend exclusively on Chinese growth. That kind of dependence is highly pro-cyclical and can feed booms and busts.''
Standard Bank has offices in 18 African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya, and 21 other nations such as Argentina and Taiwan. The Johannesburg-based bank has 713 branches in South Africa and 240 throughout the continent. The deal is a sign that even if the Chinese Communist Party has strategic reasons for investing in Africa, companies are heading there for the economic potential.
See No Evil
Until now, China's Africa push has raised warning flags around the globe, and rightfully so. To get resources to feed its 11.5 percent growth, China has hopped into bed with some of Africa's most unsavory regimes, such as Sudan's and Zimbabwe's. That see-no-evil-hear-no-evil approach is raising eyebrows.
Warren Buffett can deny it all he wants, but it's hard to believe that his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. would have dumped its entire holding of PetroChina Co., Asia's biggest oil company, without the public criticism over China's support of Sudan.
PetroChina's state-controlled parent is the biggest foreign investor in Sudan. PetroChina's stock gained more than 11-fold since Buffett first bought it in 2003. And yet he recently abandoned what he says is ``absolutely a first-class company.''
Buffett was under increasing pressure from human-rights groups over accusations that the Sudanese government supports genocide. There was even a role for actress Mia Farrow, who helped publicize the worldwide campaign to dub next year's games the ``Genocide Olympics.''
No Baggage
ICBC's stake in Standard Bank comes without that kind of baggage. It's a state-controlled China bank, making it hard to figure out where politics end and business begins. Yet the deal shows China is now making bets on Africa's economy.
Standard Bank is gaining access to the fastest-growing major economy and fattening its capital base. China is getting a foothold into Africa's nascent investment-banking and insurance industries. It's also a way for China to use its growing cash piles overseas rather than making fresh domestic loans that may go bad or fuel inflation.
All this is stellar news for Africa, which usually suffers from the ``paradox of plenty.'' All too often, inhabitants of resource-rich nations fail to prosper while corrupt politicians and their cronies get wealthy and ignore the development needs of the struggling masses.
That has been Africa's experience for far too long. And the failure of Western efforts to reverse the dynamic left the region's leaders open to Chinese investment.
Investment, Not Aid
One interesting element of ICBC's deal is how different it is from the usual overture from Western banks. It didn't come laden with demands about how much control ICBC will have over Standard Bank. It didn't require pledges for financial change. It's merely one bank buying a piece of another with transparent terms and conditions. It's a sign Chinese managers are willing to treat Africans as peers.
The West hasn't learned that lesson with its aid programs and lecturing. By trying a new tack, China may be testing what development economists have argued for years: Africa doesn't need more aid, it needs more genuine investment and trade.
Bono and Columbia University's Jeffrey Sachs will keep plugging away, and thank the gods for that. But Chinese companies appear to see something in Africa many in New York, London and Tokyo don't. Africa represents huge and lucrative business opportunities if it gets its act together.
That's a big ``if.'' With the exception of Botswana and Ghana, Africa's biggest consistency seems to be to pull the rug out from under wide-eyed investors. China's interests are offering Africa a rare opportunity to boost its economies.
China's Money
Another interesting angle here concerns investors. Looking at ICBC along with other Chinese deals of late -- like Citic Securities Co. buying a stake in Bear Stearns Cos. -- it's clear something transformational is afoot.
In recent years, China sought foreign investments in financial firms to shore up capital and gain expertise. Now, cash-rich from trade, stock offerings and surging share prices, China no longer needs Wall Street's money. Increasingly, it's foreigners who want a cut of China's money.
``Getting access to China's market may no longer require putting money in China,'' says Brad Setser, director of research at Roubini Global Economics LLC in New York. ``It may instead require accepting investment from China.''
China may have just found a way to tame its own pressures and tap Africa without the baggage of the past.
Monday, October 29, 2007
GM sets up clean fuel research lab in China
US giant General Motors said Monday it would launch a 250-million-dollar alternative fuel research centre in China, as it looks to dramatically ramp up production of more environmentally friendly cars.
The new centre in Shanghai, which will conduct research into fuels and vehicles, will be launched in conjunction with the firm's Shanghai auto partner, SAIC, GM's chief executive Rick Wagoner told reporters.
GM also said it would begin selling a hybrid vehicle model in China next year using locally made engines.
"GM is proud to be announcing one of the most important and far-reaching collaborative strategies to promote energy efficiency and environmentally friendly transportation in China and around the world," Wagoner said.
GM expects hybrid and biofuel vehicles will comprise around 10 percent of its worldwide production of 9.2 to 9.4 million units this year.
"(But) if you look out five years or so, I think that number is going to be significantly higher. It could be 50 percent of global production," Wagoner said.
The first phase of construction, in which the Chinese government is a partner, will be completed next year.
The centre will focus on developing bio and other alternative fuels, and the engines for them, Wagoner said.
An additional agreement with SAIC and Beijing's Tsinghua University will establish a five-million-dollar clean fuel research laboratory in the Chinese capital.
"The centre is responsible for reducing China's dependence on petroleum-based fuels," Wagoner said.
"China has the potential to become the market leader in the adoption of alternative propulsion systems."
With climate change and pollution in the global spotlight, China's auto industry, one of the main engines of its booming economy, has come under scrutiny.
A recent report from the State Environmental Protection Administration said car fumes caused 79 percent of air contamination in China's highly polluted cities on bad days.
Auto sales in China, the world's second largest car market after the United States, soared in the first nine months of 2007 to 4.58 million units, a 23.84 percent increase from a year ago, Chinese state media said.
Detroit-based General Motors expects to sell more than one million vehicles in China for the first time this year, compared with 876,747 units in 2006.
For his part, SAIC chairman Chen Hong said his company planned to produce 10,000 hybrid fuel vehicles a year by 2010, as it steps up a commitment to find cleaner ways to power vehicles.
The global automobile industry is in the process of movoing production away from highly-developed countries and into emerging markets.
Sales in countries like China, India, Russia and South Africa have taken off. GM said in August these markets will account for a quarter of its new car sales, exceeding North America.
The new centre in Shanghai, which will conduct research into fuels and vehicles, will be launched in conjunction with the firm's Shanghai auto partner, SAIC, GM's chief executive Rick Wagoner told reporters.
GM also said it would begin selling a hybrid vehicle model in China next year using locally made engines.
"GM is proud to be announcing one of the most important and far-reaching collaborative strategies to promote energy efficiency and environmentally friendly transportation in China and around the world," Wagoner said.
GM expects hybrid and biofuel vehicles will comprise around 10 percent of its worldwide production of 9.2 to 9.4 million units this year.
"(But) if you look out five years or so, I think that number is going to be significantly higher. It could be 50 percent of global production," Wagoner said.
The first phase of construction, in which the Chinese government is a partner, will be completed next year.
The centre will focus on developing bio and other alternative fuels, and the engines for them, Wagoner said.
An additional agreement with SAIC and Beijing's Tsinghua University will establish a five-million-dollar clean fuel research laboratory in the Chinese capital.
"The centre is responsible for reducing China's dependence on petroleum-based fuels," Wagoner said.
"China has the potential to become the market leader in the adoption of alternative propulsion systems."
With climate change and pollution in the global spotlight, China's auto industry, one of the main engines of its booming economy, has come under scrutiny.
A recent report from the State Environmental Protection Administration said car fumes caused 79 percent of air contamination in China's highly polluted cities on bad days.
Auto sales in China, the world's second largest car market after the United States, soared in the first nine months of 2007 to 4.58 million units, a 23.84 percent increase from a year ago, Chinese state media said.
Detroit-based General Motors expects to sell more than one million vehicles in China for the first time this year, compared with 876,747 units in 2006.
For his part, SAIC chairman Chen Hong said his company planned to produce 10,000 hybrid fuel vehicles a year by 2010, as it steps up a commitment to find cleaner ways to power vehicles.
The global automobile industry is in the process of movoing production away from highly-developed countries and into emerging markets.
Sales in countries like China, India, Russia and South Africa have taken off. GM said in August these markets will account for a quarter of its new car sales, exceeding North America.
Friday, October 26, 2007
China will pursue exchange rate reform: deputy central bank head
MADRID (AFP) - China will pursue exchange rate reform, the deputy head of the Chinese central bank pledged here Friday in the face of mounting pressure in the West for Beijing to ease restrictions on its currency.
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"We will continue to promote exchange rate reforms," Liu Shiyu told the closing session of a Spanish-Chinese financial forum.
The United States and other key trading powers have repeatedly complained that the Chinese currency, the yuan, has been artificially undervalued by Beijing's relatively inflexibile exchange rate policies, giving Chinese exports an unfair advantage.
Group of Seven finance chiefs meeting in Washington last week hailed China's stated willingness to allow the yuan to float more freely but said that "in view of its rising current account surplus and domestic inflation we stress its need to allow an accelerated appreciation of its effective exchange rate."
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday reiterated the G7 appeal, arguing that "prospects for achieving sustained, balanced growth in China and in the world economy (would be) much greater, if the Chinese increase the pace of appreciation in the short term and implement a fully market-determined currency in the medium-term."
The following day the yuan broke through the key 7.5-to-the-dollar level for the first time in Wednesday trade but there was little expectation the rise would allay concerns in the United States.
"Psychologically this has a rather large impact, but technically the impact isn't huge," said Cai Sijuan, a forex dealer with Guangzhou Commercial Bank.
Speaking in Madrid Friday, Liu Shiyu also insisted that "China doesn't deliberately look for a trade surplus."
China routinely records large trade surpluses with the United States, which are seen in some of its trading partners as contributing to imblances in the global economy, notably in light of Washington's huge trade deficit.
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"We will continue to promote exchange rate reforms," Liu Shiyu told the closing session of a Spanish-Chinese financial forum.
The United States and other key trading powers have repeatedly complained that the Chinese currency, the yuan, has been artificially undervalued by Beijing's relatively inflexibile exchange rate policies, giving Chinese exports an unfair advantage.
Group of Seven finance chiefs meeting in Washington last week hailed China's stated willingness to allow the yuan to float more freely but said that "in view of its rising current account surplus and domestic inflation we stress its need to allow an accelerated appreciation of its effective exchange rate."
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday reiterated the G7 appeal, arguing that "prospects for achieving sustained, balanced growth in China and in the world economy (would be) much greater, if the Chinese increase the pace of appreciation in the short term and implement a fully market-determined currency in the medium-term."
The following day the yuan broke through the key 7.5-to-the-dollar level for the first time in Wednesday trade but there was little expectation the rise would allay concerns in the United States.
"Psychologically this has a rather large impact, but technically the impact isn't huge," said Cai Sijuan, a forex dealer with Guangzhou Commercial Bank.
Speaking in Madrid Friday, Liu Shiyu also insisted that "China doesn't deliberately look for a trade surplus."
China routinely records large trade surpluses with the United States, which are seen in some of its trading partners as contributing to imblances in the global economy, notably in light of Washington's huge trade deficit.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Why Beijing Maintains Its Hearty Thirst for Crude
By NATALIE OBIKO PEARSON and DAVID WINNING
The Wall Street Journal Online
LONDON -- Most of the world winced as crude-oil prices tiptoed above $90 a barrel, yet China -- the world's second-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. -- appears set to continue sucking up oil at ever higher prices.
Experts say the country isn't entirely immune to oil's price, but a timely combination of robust finances, strong political incentive to uphold costly fuel subsidies, and less exposure to world oil-price fluctuations than many realize is keeping China's oil demand seemingly insatiable.
Chinese consumers, though less energy-efficient than their Western counterparts, are shielded from the impact of surging oil prices by hefty government subsidies. The burden falls primarily on Chinese oil companies China National Offshore Oil Corp. and PetroChina Co., which are obliged to pay a windfall oil tax whenever the price rises above $40 a barrel. In the first half, the companies shelled out more than $2.3 billion. "There will be at some point a limit to that, unless [the companies] get additional funds from the Chinese government," said Simon Wardell, an energy analyst at Global Insight in London.
The Chinese government is comfortably positioned to offer such funds, sitting on $1.43 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves as of the end of September.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil-market report this month, that Beijing was likely to take whatever steps necessary to maintain stability. Talk of rolling back subsidies or imposing a fuel tax on consumers, "should probably not be taken at face value," it said.
Zhu Zhixin, a vice minister with the National Development and Reform Commission -- China's economic planning agency -- indicated last week that China was comfortable with record oil prices, hoping they would aid its drive to increase energy efficiency.
While the dollar hit a new low against the euro Friday, oil surged to an intraday record of $90.07 before closing down 87 cents at $88.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The dollar's weakness has supported high oil prices because a lower dollar makes oil cheaper in countries paying in other currencies.
China hasn't benefited from the currency cushion as much as other nations because its currency is pegged to trade in a narrow band with the dollar. That is offset by the stimulus a low exchange rate gives its roaring exports. The yuan's depreciation against the euro in recent months has made Europe China's largest export market.
China's export sector could face weaker demand from the U.S. and Europe because of subprime-credit woes and market turmoil. But "this pessimistic scenario is far from certain," as the government would be likely to step in, the IEA said.
China also isn't as exposed as some might think: It still depends overwhelmingly on coal for energy, while 10% of its energy consumption comes from domestically produced oil. That means only about 10% of its energy consumption is exposed to world oil-price fluctuations -- though that is still a sizable 3.3 million barrels a day.
Meanwhile, imports from less traditional sources, such as the 50.5 million barrels of oil provided by Sudan between January and August, have offered some protection. Sudan's Dar Blend crude is highly acidic so it trades at a substantial discount to market prices and reduces China's need to tap more expensive sources.
Yet China isn't impervious to oil prices. Demand is expected to have grown a relatively sluggish 3%-5% in September from a year earlier. China also is more exposed to sudden disruptions because its stockpiles are lower than those in major industrialized countries, about 21 days' worth compared with 53.5 days for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Wall Street Journal Online
LONDON -- Most of the world winced as crude-oil prices tiptoed above $90 a barrel, yet China -- the world's second-largest oil consumer behind the U.S. -- appears set to continue sucking up oil at ever higher prices.
Experts say the country isn't entirely immune to oil's price, but a timely combination of robust finances, strong political incentive to uphold costly fuel subsidies, and less exposure to world oil-price fluctuations than many realize is keeping China's oil demand seemingly insatiable.
Chinese consumers, though less energy-efficient than their Western counterparts, are shielded from the impact of surging oil prices by hefty government subsidies. The burden falls primarily on Chinese oil companies China National Offshore Oil Corp. and PetroChina Co., which are obliged to pay a windfall oil tax whenever the price rises above $40 a barrel. In the first half, the companies shelled out more than $2.3 billion. "There will be at some point a limit to that, unless [the companies] get additional funds from the Chinese government," said Simon Wardell, an energy analyst at Global Insight in London.
The Chinese government is comfortably positioned to offer such funds, sitting on $1.43 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves as of the end of September.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency said in its monthly oil-market report this month, that Beijing was likely to take whatever steps necessary to maintain stability. Talk of rolling back subsidies or imposing a fuel tax on consumers, "should probably not be taken at face value," it said.
Zhu Zhixin, a vice minister with the National Development and Reform Commission -- China's economic planning agency -- indicated last week that China was comfortable with record oil prices, hoping they would aid its drive to increase energy efficiency.
While the dollar hit a new low against the euro Friday, oil surged to an intraday record of $90.07 before closing down 87 cents at $88.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The dollar's weakness has supported high oil prices because a lower dollar makes oil cheaper in countries paying in other currencies.
China hasn't benefited from the currency cushion as much as other nations because its currency is pegged to trade in a narrow band with the dollar. That is offset by the stimulus a low exchange rate gives its roaring exports. The yuan's depreciation against the euro in recent months has made Europe China's largest export market.
China's export sector could face weaker demand from the U.S. and Europe because of subprime-credit woes and market turmoil. But "this pessimistic scenario is far from certain," as the government would be likely to step in, the IEA said.
China also isn't as exposed as some might think: It still depends overwhelmingly on coal for energy, while 10% of its energy consumption comes from domestically produced oil. That means only about 10% of its energy consumption is exposed to world oil-price fluctuations -- though that is still a sizable 3.3 million barrels a day.
Meanwhile, imports from less traditional sources, such as the 50.5 million barrels of oil provided by Sudan between January and August, have offered some protection. Sudan's Dar Blend crude is highly acidic so it trades at a substantial discount to market prices and reduces China's need to tap more expensive sources.
Yet China isn't impervious to oil prices. Demand is expected to have grown a relatively sluggish 3%-5% in September from a year earlier. China also is more exposed to sudden disruptions because its stockpiles are lower than those in major industrialized countries, about 21 days' worth compared with 53.5 days for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Bear Stearns, China's CITIC Securities forge alliance
US investment bank and brokerage Bear Stearns and China's CITIC Securities Co. Ltd announced a strategic alliance Monday in a deal involving investments of at least two billion dollars.
Under its terms, the two securities firms will seek new business opportunities in China's rapidly-growing economy while forging a joint venture company to combine the existing businesses of both groups in Asia.
Bear Stearns will invest one billion dollars in CITIC, and the Chinese company will invest one billion dollars in the storied Wall Street investment firm giving it a six percent shareholding in Bear Stearns.
The firms said CITIC could potentially raise its shareholding in Bear Stearns to 9.9 percent. Bear Stears is seeking Chinese regulatory approval to acquire a similar stake in CITIC for around one billion dollars.
"This groundbreaking alliance will give Bear Stearns a unique footprint in one of the world's fastest-growing economies," Bear Stearns chairman and chief executive James Cayne said in a statement.
Wang Dongming, the chairman of CITIC Securities, praised the deal's prospects, saying the tie-up would enable the Chinese firm to expand its securities, investment banking and asset management operations.
China's government is CITIC's biggest shareholder through the CITIC Group.
As part of the accord, which has won approval from both companies' boards of directors, Bear Stearns and CITIC will form a new Hong Kong-based company which they said would offer "a broad range" of capital markets services on a pan-Asian basis.
Executives plan to market the companies' services to international companies seeking access to Asian capital markets as well as to Chinese companies looking to expand internationally.
The alliance was unveiled days after CITIC sought to squash market rumors Thursday that it had entered talks to buy a stake in Bear Stears.
Bear Stearns, which traces its history to 1923, has had a troubled year.
Earlier this month, it was forced to merge two mortgage subsidiaries and eliminate 310 jobs due to the downturn in the US housing market.
The job cuts came after Bear Stearns in late July disclosed hefty losses endured by two hedge funds it managed for wealthy clients.
It was forced to close down its Enhanced Leverage Fund following losses of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to risky bets in mortgage-backed securities.
A separate fund that Bear Stearns ran, the High-Grade Fund, also floundered because of similar wagers tied to subprime mortgages.
Such mortgage loans, granted to Americans with stretched finances, have been plagued by late payments and a rising tide of home foreclosures.
Bear Stearns overhauled its top management ranks in the wake of the hedge fund losses.
Investment funds controlled by British billionaire Joseph Lewis earlier this year amassed a seven percent stake in Bear Stearns for over 860 million dollars.
The tie-up between Bear Stearns and CITIC is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States and China.
Under its terms, the two securities firms will seek new business opportunities in China's rapidly-growing economy while forging a joint venture company to combine the existing businesses of both groups in Asia.
Bear Stearns will invest one billion dollars in CITIC, and the Chinese company will invest one billion dollars in the storied Wall Street investment firm giving it a six percent shareholding in Bear Stearns.
The firms said CITIC could potentially raise its shareholding in Bear Stearns to 9.9 percent. Bear Stears is seeking Chinese regulatory approval to acquire a similar stake in CITIC for around one billion dollars.
"This groundbreaking alliance will give Bear Stearns a unique footprint in one of the world's fastest-growing economies," Bear Stearns chairman and chief executive James Cayne said in a statement.
Wang Dongming, the chairman of CITIC Securities, praised the deal's prospects, saying the tie-up would enable the Chinese firm to expand its securities, investment banking and asset management operations.
China's government is CITIC's biggest shareholder through the CITIC Group.
As part of the accord, which has won approval from both companies' boards of directors, Bear Stearns and CITIC will form a new Hong Kong-based company which they said would offer "a broad range" of capital markets services on a pan-Asian basis.
Executives plan to market the companies' services to international companies seeking access to Asian capital markets as well as to Chinese companies looking to expand internationally.
The alliance was unveiled days after CITIC sought to squash market rumors Thursday that it had entered talks to buy a stake in Bear Stears.
Bear Stearns, which traces its history to 1923, has had a troubled year.
Earlier this month, it was forced to merge two mortgage subsidiaries and eliminate 310 jobs due to the downturn in the US housing market.
The job cuts came after Bear Stearns in late July disclosed hefty losses endured by two hedge funds it managed for wealthy clients.
It was forced to close down its Enhanced Leverage Fund following losses of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to risky bets in mortgage-backed securities.
A separate fund that Bear Stearns ran, the High-Grade Fund, also floundered because of similar wagers tied to subprime mortgages.
Such mortgage loans, granted to Americans with stretched finances, have been plagued by late payments and a rising tide of home foreclosures.
Bear Stearns overhauled its top management ranks in the wake of the hedge fund losses.
Investment funds controlled by British billionaire Joseph Lewis earlier this year amassed a seven percent stake in Bear Stearns for over 860 million dollars.
The tie-up between Bear Stearns and CITIC is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States and China.
China halts probe on U.S. exports
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) -- China blocked the establishment of an investigation by the World Trade Organization into its restrictions on the sale of American movies, music and books that the United States requested Monday.
Under WTO rules, China has the right to block the investigation once. But it cannot delay the panel's establishment a second time, meaning the investigation will most likely be authorized next month.
The U.S. requested the probe at a meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body, trade officials said.
The case is seen as concerning American filmmakers, online music providers and other U.S. media suppliers who claim to be suffering from what the U.S. calls "less favorable distribution opportunities" in China.
The WTO is already investigating three trade disputes between China and the United States. Washington accuses China of illegally hindering the import of foreign auto parts, providing government subsidies to a number of Chinese industries, and effectively providing a safe haven for product piracy and counterfeiting through excessively high thresholds for criminal prosecution.
China has filed its own complaint over the antidumping duties the United States applies on Chinese paper imports, the first case initiated by Beijing against Washington in five years.
U.S. consultations with China have failed to resolve the differences.
"Those consultations provided some helpful clarifications but unfortunately did not resolve the dispute," said the U.S. delegation to the WTO in its written communication to the chairman of the body.
Washington first brought the case to the WTO in April alongside its complaint over rampant product piracy in China, alleging that Beijing had failed to remove import and distribution restrictions on copyrighted U.S. goods including newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs and video games.
For some products, distribution is limited to Chinese state-owned companies, the U.S. said. For others, foreign companies face censorship rules that do not extend to Chinese competitors.
Under WTO rules, China has the right to block the investigation once. But it cannot delay the panel's establishment a second time, meaning the investigation will most likely be authorized next month.
The U.S. requested the probe at a meeting of the WTO's dispute settlement body, trade officials said.
The case is seen as concerning American filmmakers, online music providers and other U.S. media suppliers who claim to be suffering from what the U.S. calls "less favorable distribution opportunities" in China.
The WTO is already investigating three trade disputes between China and the United States. Washington accuses China of illegally hindering the import of foreign auto parts, providing government subsidies to a number of Chinese industries, and effectively providing a safe haven for product piracy and counterfeiting through excessively high thresholds for criminal prosecution.
China has filed its own complaint over the antidumping duties the United States applies on Chinese paper imports, the first case initiated by Beijing against Washington in five years.
U.S. consultations with China have failed to resolve the differences.
"Those consultations provided some helpful clarifications but unfortunately did not resolve the dispute," said the U.S. delegation to the WTO in its written communication to the chairman of the body.
Washington first brought the case to the WTO in April alongside its complaint over rampant product piracy in China, alleging that Beijing had failed to remove import and distribution restrictions on copyrighted U.S. goods including newspapers, magazines, CDs, DVDs and video games.
For some products, distribution is limited to Chinese state-owned companies, the U.S. said. For others, foreign companies face censorship rules that do not extend to Chinese competitors.
Friday, September 21, 2007
China could be top wind market in three years: Vestas
China could become the world's top wind power market in three to five years but will grow faster if it reforms its subsidy system, executives of major wind turbine maker Vestas said on Friday.
Chief Executive Ditlev Engel, in China to open the second and third in a series of seven plants due to come on line by the first quarter of 2008, said he was convinced Vestas could compete with cheaper local rivals on quality.
But the company, the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, made its $80 million investment with an eye on both Chinese and export markets. Turbines not sold in China could be integrated into Vestas' global supply chain, he added.
"China will keep growing now, as a very important part of the wind power business, not just on the sales side but also on the sourcing," Engel said in a group interview.
Asked when Beijing would become the top market, he said: "Within three to five years, we estimate."
He declined to estimate the speed of demand growth, but pointed out that China, with its 1.3 billion population, had less installed wind power than Denmark, with fewer than 6 million people.
But Engel also stressed that the European Union's push to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and growing support in the United States for greener power, meant China was not guaranteed the top place.
PRICING HURDLES
Currently the world's number two consumer of oil and top producer of coal, Beijing is keen to boost the amount of energy it gets from renewable sources to clean its skies and improve energy security.
But it has chosen to subsidize wind power through a bidding system that analysts and industry figures say pushes prices too low to fuel the rapid development China could enjoy.
The current system asks firms to submit bids stating how much they would charge for wind power from potential sites. Instead many would like to see a feed-in tariff system, which guarantees wind farms a fixed premium above regular prices.
"It is an issue we are also pushing whenever we have the chance of discussing it with authorities," Vestas' China Managing Director Lars Andersen said.
"We think one way to create a very sustainable industry is to have a feed-in tariff system," he said, adding that some provinces were already looking at changing the system.
A lack of roads and aging or inadequate grid networks also hamper development in some areas with good wind power potential.
But the industry is still booming. Most analysts think Beijing's target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2020 is too modest, as China is already nearing its 2010 goal.
Chinese firms have been piling into the sector, with around 30 companies risking a glut of turbines and the potential for price wars before an expected consolidation.
But Vestas says experience gives it a competitive edge.
"The most important issue for our clients over a 20-year period, which is the lifetime of the turbine, is reliability," Engel said.
"There are many firms in China trying to get involved in the business but our experience from around the world is that it is not as easy as it looks," he added.
The Jutland based firm has plants around the world, including in Germany, India, Spain, Australia and China, and 99.9 percent of its revenue originates outside Denmark, Engel said.
It is aiming for full-year sales of about 4.5 billion euros ($6.35 billion), and an operating margin of 7 to 9 percent.
Chief Executive Ditlev Engel, in China to open the second and third in a series of seven plants due to come on line by the first quarter of 2008, said he was convinced Vestas could compete with cheaper local rivals on quality.
But the company, the world's biggest wind turbine manufacturer, made its $80 million investment with an eye on both Chinese and export markets. Turbines not sold in China could be integrated into Vestas' global supply chain, he added.
"China will keep growing now, as a very important part of the wind power business, not just on the sales side but also on the sourcing," Engel said in a group interview.
Asked when Beijing would become the top market, he said: "Within three to five years, we estimate."
He declined to estimate the speed of demand growth, but pointed out that China, with its 1.3 billion population, had less installed wind power than Denmark, with fewer than 6 million people.
But Engel also stressed that the European Union's push to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and growing support in the United States for greener power, meant China was not guaranteed the top place.
PRICING HURDLES
Currently the world's number two consumer of oil and top producer of coal, Beijing is keen to boost the amount of energy it gets from renewable sources to clean its skies and improve energy security.
But it has chosen to subsidize wind power through a bidding system that analysts and industry figures say pushes prices too low to fuel the rapid development China could enjoy.
The current system asks firms to submit bids stating how much they would charge for wind power from potential sites. Instead many would like to see a feed-in tariff system, which guarantees wind farms a fixed premium above regular prices.
"It is an issue we are also pushing whenever we have the chance of discussing it with authorities," Vestas' China Managing Director Lars Andersen said.
"We think one way to create a very sustainable industry is to have a feed-in tariff system," he said, adding that some provinces were already looking at changing the system.
A lack of roads and aging or inadequate grid networks also hamper development in some areas with good wind power potential.
But the industry is still booming. Most analysts think Beijing's target of 30 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2020 is too modest, as China is already nearing its 2010 goal.
Chinese firms have been piling into the sector, with around 30 companies risking a glut of turbines and the potential for price wars before an expected consolidation.
But Vestas says experience gives it a competitive edge.
"The most important issue for our clients over a 20-year period, which is the lifetime of the turbine, is reliability," Engel said.
"There are many firms in China trying to get involved in the business but our experience from around the world is that it is not as easy as it looks," he added.
The Jutland based firm has plants around the world, including in Germany, India, Spain, Australia and China, and 99.9 percent of its revenue originates outside Denmark, Engel said.
It is aiming for full-year sales of about 4.5 billion euros ($6.35 billion), and an operating margin of 7 to 9 percent.
Mattel Apologizes to China Over Recalls
Mattel Apologizes to China Over Worldwide Recalls of Chinese-Made Toys
BEIJING (AP) -- U.S.-based toy giant Mattel Inc. issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.
"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office at which reporters were allowed to be present.
"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.
The carefully worded apology, delivered with company lawyers present, underscores China's central role in Mattel's business. The world's largest toy maker has been in China for 25 years and about 65 percent of its products are made in China.
The fence-mending call came ahead of an expected visit to China by Mattel's chairman and chief executive, Robert A. Eckert. Following the massive recall, Eckert told U.S. lawmakers he wanted to see Mattel's mainland inspections first hand.
Mattel ordered three high-profile recalls this summer involving more than 21 million Chinese-made toys, including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
The recalls have prompted complaints from China that manufacturers were being blamed for design faults introduced by Mattel.
On Friday, Debrowski acknowledged that "vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China's manufacturers."
Lead-tainted toys accounted for only a small percentage of all toys recalled, he said, adding that: "We understand and appreciate deeply the issues that this has caused for the reputation of Chinese manufacturers."
In a statement issued by the company, Mattel said its lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of the U.S. standards.
"The follow-up inspections also confirmed that part of the recalled toys complied with the U.S. standards," the statement said, without giving specific figures.
The co-owner of the company that supplied the lead-tainted toys to Mattel, Lee Der Industrial Co. Ltd., committed suicide in August shortly after the recall was announced.
Li reminded Debrowski that "a large part of your annual profit ... comes from your factories in China.
"This shows that our cooperation is in the interests of Mattel, and both parties should value our cooperation. I really hope that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these incidents," Li said, adding that Mattel should "improve their control measures."
Li, the head of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, also expressed his appreciation for Debrowski's "objective and responsible attitude toward the recent toy recall."
Chinese food, drugs and other products ranging from toothpaste to seafood are under intense scrutiny because they have been found to contain potentially deadly substances.
But China has bristled at what it claims is a campaign to discredit its reputation as an exporter. It accuses foreign media and others of playing up its product safety issues as a form of protectionism.
Beijing insists that the vast majority of its exports are safe but has stepped up inspections of food, drugs and other products in response to the concerns.
Li told reporters after meeting with Debrowski that the government had taken swift action against Lee Der, shutting down its operations and revoking its business license. Four people from the company also face criminal charges, he said, without giving details.
Since this summer's recalls Mattel has announced plans to upgrade its safety system by certifying suppliers and increasing the frequency of random, unannounced inspections. It has fired several manufacturers.
Tests had found that lead levels in paint in recalled toys were as high as 110,000 parts per million, or nearly 200 times higher than the accepted safety ceiling of 600 parts per million.
Mattel's shares fell from the mid-$23 level following the first recall in early August, reaching as low as $20.97 on Sept. 10. They have since rebounded, and rose 63 cents to 2.7 percent to $24.19 in early trading Friday.
China has become a center for the world's toy-making industry, exporting $7.5 billion worth of toys last year.
BEIJING (AP) -- U.S.-based toy giant Mattel Inc. issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.
"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office at which reporters were allowed to be present.
"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.
The carefully worded apology, delivered with company lawyers present, underscores China's central role in Mattel's business. The world's largest toy maker has been in China for 25 years and about 65 percent of its products are made in China.
The fence-mending call came ahead of an expected visit to China by Mattel's chairman and chief executive, Robert A. Eckert. Following the massive recall, Eckert told U.S. lawmakers he wanted to see Mattel's mainland inspections first hand.
Mattel ordered three high-profile recalls this summer involving more than 21 million Chinese-made toys, including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
The recalls have prompted complaints from China that manufacturers were being blamed for design faults introduced by Mattel.
On Friday, Debrowski acknowledged that "vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China's manufacturers."
Lead-tainted toys accounted for only a small percentage of all toys recalled, he said, adding that: "We understand and appreciate deeply the issues that this has caused for the reputation of Chinese manufacturers."
In a statement issued by the company, Mattel said its lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of the U.S. standards.
"The follow-up inspections also confirmed that part of the recalled toys complied with the U.S. standards," the statement said, without giving specific figures.
The co-owner of the company that supplied the lead-tainted toys to Mattel, Lee Der Industrial Co. Ltd., committed suicide in August shortly after the recall was announced.
Li reminded Debrowski that "a large part of your annual profit ... comes from your factories in China.
"This shows that our cooperation is in the interests of Mattel, and both parties should value our cooperation. I really hope that Mattel can learn lessons and gain experience from these incidents," Li said, adding that Mattel should "improve their control measures."
Li, the head of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, also expressed his appreciation for Debrowski's "objective and responsible attitude toward the recent toy recall."
Chinese food, drugs and other products ranging from toothpaste to seafood are under intense scrutiny because they have been found to contain potentially deadly substances.
But China has bristled at what it claims is a campaign to discredit its reputation as an exporter. It accuses foreign media and others of playing up its product safety issues as a form of protectionism.
Beijing insists that the vast majority of its exports are safe but has stepped up inspections of food, drugs and other products in response to the concerns.
Li told reporters after meeting with Debrowski that the government had taken swift action against Lee Der, shutting down its operations and revoking its business license. Four people from the company also face criminal charges, he said, without giving details.
Since this summer's recalls Mattel has announced plans to upgrade its safety system by certifying suppliers and increasing the frequency of random, unannounced inspections. It has fired several manufacturers.
Tests had found that lead levels in paint in recalled toys were as high as 110,000 parts per million, or nearly 200 times higher than the accepted safety ceiling of 600 parts per million.
Mattel's shares fell from the mid-$23 level following the first recall in early August, reaching as low as $20.97 on Sept. 10. They have since rebounded, and rose 63 cents to 2.7 percent to $24.19 in early trading Friday.
China has become a center for the world's toy-making industry, exporting $7.5 billion worth of toys last year.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
China bans lead paint on US toy exports
China signed an agreement Tuesday to prohibit the use of lead paint on toys exported to the United States.
Unveiled at the second joint U.S-China summit on consumer product safety, the pact was negotiated in the wake of the recalls of millions of playthings decorated with paint containing the toxic metal.
China has faced stiff pressure this year after an array of its exports, including toys, pet food ingredients, fish and jewelry, have been recalled over health and safety concerns.
In the pact, Beijing also pledged to step up inspections of its exports and take other steps to ensure that those products meet U.S. standards, said Nancy Nord, acting head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. That will include joint efforts by the two countries to increase understanding of those standards among manufacturers and exporters.
The absence of such an understanding allowed paint suppliers to provide lead paint to companies making toys sold by Mattel Inc. and other companies, said Chuanzhong Wei, vice minister of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Lead paint has been banned on toys made in the U.S. since 1978.
"That's why we decided we should intensify the exchanges between importers and exporters in the field of standards," Wei said, speaking through a translator.
U.S. and Chinese regulators also agreed to hold regular product safety talks, including monthly discussions of recall activity and trends, Nord said. China also will help the CPSC trace products to their source when problems do arise.
The United States and China also agreed to cooperate on improving the overall safety of the latter country's toy exports, as well as fireworks, cigarette lighters and electrical products.
"This is an important signal from the Chinese government that it is serious about working with CPSC to keep dangerous products out of American homes," Nord said.
But Wei stressed that most Chinese exports are safe, echoing a line that Beijing repeatedly has used in defending the quality of its products. While acknowledging more could be done, Wei said that 100 percent safety was impossible and warned against overemphasizing what he characterized as limited problems.
"We should not over-propagandize the problem," Wei said.
Unveiled at the second joint U.S-China summit on consumer product safety, the pact was negotiated in the wake of the recalls of millions of playthings decorated with paint containing the toxic metal.
China has faced stiff pressure this year after an array of its exports, including toys, pet food ingredients, fish and jewelry, have been recalled over health and safety concerns.
In the pact, Beijing also pledged to step up inspections of its exports and take other steps to ensure that those products meet U.S. standards, said Nancy Nord, acting head of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. That will include joint efforts by the two countries to increase understanding of those standards among manufacturers and exporters.
The absence of such an understanding allowed paint suppliers to provide lead paint to companies making toys sold by Mattel Inc. and other companies, said Chuanzhong Wei, vice minister of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Lead paint has been banned on toys made in the U.S. since 1978.
"That's why we decided we should intensify the exchanges between importers and exporters in the field of standards," Wei said, speaking through a translator.
U.S. and Chinese regulators also agreed to hold regular product safety talks, including monthly discussions of recall activity and trends, Nord said. China also will help the CPSC trace products to their source when problems do arise.
The United States and China also agreed to cooperate on improving the overall safety of the latter country's toy exports, as well as fireworks, cigarette lighters and electrical products.
"This is an important signal from the Chinese government that it is serious about working with CPSC to keep dangerous products out of American homes," Nord said.
But Wei stressed that most Chinese exports are safe, echoing a line that Beijing repeatedly has used in defending the quality of its products. While acknowledging more could be done, Wei said that 100 percent safety was impossible and warned against overemphasizing what he characterized as limited problems.
"We should not over-propagandize the problem," Wei said.
China had "unique role" in Darfur peace bid: envoy
China's Darfur envoy said on Tuesday Beijing had played a "unique role" in efforts to bring peace to the Sudanese region and defended its policy of economic ties with Sudan without political strings.
Although China has been criticized for watering down U.N. resolutions on Darfur, Liu Guijin said it backed the world body's approach that will culminate in the dispatch of a "hybrid" 26,000-strong U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force.
"The Chinese side has made a huge effort," Liu told a news conference. "Particularly on the hybrid peacekeeping operation the Chinese side has utilized all kinds of channels and talked to the Sudanese government and persuaded them as an equal partner to accept the ... plan."
"On the resolution of the Darfur issue, we have played a very constructive and even unique role," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
"We say that ... if you only utilize the exertion of pressure, sanctions, and even military power, that is not conducive to the settlement of the issue."
China is to send more than 300 engineering troops to Darfur next month to help prepare for the peacekeeping force.
China, however, has been seen as the main opponent on the U.N. Security Council of the argument by Western countries that sanctions should be held in the background to force Khartoum to comply with peace moves.
Liu was speaking after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in Khartoum last week that Sudan's government and rebel groups from Darfur would start peace talks on October 27.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and over 2 million have been driven from their homes during 4-1/2 years of fighting in Darfur. Sudan puts the death toll from the conflict at just 9,000.
In New York, the Chinese envoy has met top U.N. political and peacekeeping officials. Last week he met U.S. lawmakers and pressure groups in Washington over threats that China's Sudan policy could affect next year's Beijing Olympic Games.
Asked about Beijing's provision of assistance without political conditions, Liu said this was its standard policy towards what it considers fellow developing nations.
Energy-hungry China is a major investor in Sudan's oil industry at a time when Western majors are holding back because of Darfur, but Liu described oil ties between the two countries as "transparent, mutually beneficial and non-exclusive."
To say that China's oil exploration in Sudan was tantamount "to supporting the Sudanese government to kill people in Darfur is not justified," he said.
Although China has been criticized for watering down U.N. resolutions on Darfur, Liu Guijin said it backed the world body's approach that will culminate in the dispatch of a "hybrid" 26,000-strong U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force.
"The Chinese side has made a huge effort," Liu told a news conference. "Particularly on the hybrid peacekeeping operation the Chinese side has utilized all kinds of channels and talked to the Sudanese government and persuaded them as an equal partner to accept the ... plan."
"On the resolution of the Darfur issue, we have played a very constructive and even unique role," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
"We say that ... if you only utilize the exertion of pressure, sanctions, and even military power, that is not conducive to the settlement of the issue."
China is to send more than 300 engineering troops to Darfur next month to help prepare for the peacekeeping force.
China, however, has been seen as the main opponent on the U.N. Security Council of the argument by Western countries that sanctions should be held in the background to force Khartoum to comply with peace moves.
Liu was speaking after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in Khartoum last week that Sudan's government and rebel groups from Darfur would start peace talks on October 27.
International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and over 2 million have been driven from their homes during 4-1/2 years of fighting in Darfur. Sudan puts the death toll from the conflict at just 9,000.
In New York, the Chinese envoy has met top U.N. political and peacekeeping officials. Last week he met U.S. lawmakers and pressure groups in Washington over threats that China's Sudan policy could affect next year's Beijing Olympic Games.
Asked about Beijing's provision of assistance without political conditions, Liu said this was its standard policy towards what it considers fellow developing nations.
Energy-hungry China is a major investor in Sudan's oil industry at a time when Western majors are holding back because of Darfur, but Liu described oil ties between the two countries as "transparent, mutually beneficial and non-exclusive."
To say that China's oil exploration in Sudan was tantamount "to supporting the Sudanese government to kill people in Darfur is not justified," he said.
China fund to invest abroad
China Southern Fund Management will this month become the first Chinese fund house to invest its clients' money in overseas stocks, as the liberalisation of China's domestic funds continues.
The company, one of the three biggest fund managers in China by assets, is the first to take advantage of a June decision by Chinese regulators to expand the scope of the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme, which allows capital outflows through banks, brokerages and fund houses.
Fund managers with QDII quotas were previously only allowed to invest in bonds and fixed-income products, which made it difficult to generate high returns given China's policy of steadily appreciating the yuan. Some commercial banks were earlier given QDII quotas that allow them to launch products that invest up to 50 per cent of proceeds into stocks.
This expansion of the QDII scheme will encourage a further $10bn-$15bn outflow of capital in its initial stages, said Citi Investment Research China strategist Xue Lan. Four other fund firms, including JPMorgan's China asset management venture, are setting up similar funds.
China Southern Management's fund will invest in 10 overseas equity markets, including the US, Japan, India and Hong Kong. "By investing in 10 countries we can spread risk and reduce losses related to the appreciation of the Rmb," said chief executive Gao Liangyu.
"The government has given us complete freedom when it comes to the size of this fund, as they want as much money to leave the country as possible," he added. "The level of interest will decide how big this fund is." The fund will be launched on September 12 and subscription closes on September 28.
Beijing has been stepping up measures to encourage greater outflows and give more investment alternatives for domestic investors as liquidity continued to pour into the Shanghai stock market. It last month announced a pilot scheme giving retail investors direct access to Hong Kong's stock market, which has been inaccessible because of China's currency controls.
Ms Xue said domestic investors would likely use QDII stock funds like China Southern's to diversify their investments. "One doesn't always invest just for returns. This fund offers different angles and exposure to investors," she said.
The company, one of the three biggest fund managers in China by assets, is the first to take advantage of a June decision by Chinese regulators to expand the scope of the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme, which allows capital outflows through banks, brokerages and fund houses.
Fund managers with QDII quotas were previously only allowed to invest in bonds and fixed-income products, which made it difficult to generate high returns given China's policy of steadily appreciating the yuan. Some commercial banks were earlier given QDII quotas that allow them to launch products that invest up to 50 per cent of proceeds into stocks.
This expansion of the QDII scheme will encourage a further $10bn-$15bn outflow of capital in its initial stages, said Citi Investment Research China strategist Xue Lan. Four other fund firms, including JPMorgan's China asset management venture, are setting up similar funds.
China Southern Management's fund will invest in 10 overseas equity markets, including the US, Japan, India and Hong Kong. "By investing in 10 countries we can spread risk and reduce losses related to the appreciation of the Rmb," said chief executive Gao Liangyu.
"The government has given us complete freedom when it comes to the size of this fund, as they want as much money to leave the country as possible," he added. "The level of interest will decide how big this fund is." The fund will be launched on September 12 and subscription closes on September 28.
Beijing has been stepping up measures to encourage greater outflows and give more investment alternatives for domestic investors as liquidity continued to pour into the Shanghai stock market. It last month announced a pilot scheme giving retail investors direct access to Hong Kong's stock market, which has been inaccessible because of China's currency controls.
Ms Xue said domestic investors would likely use QDII stock funds like China Southern's to diversify their investments. "One doesn't always invest just for returns. This fund offers different angles and exposure to investors," she said.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Gas Deals Signal Shifts for China
BEIJING -- China's decision to sign two deals to import natural gas from Australia signals its willingness to pay more for cleaner energy and deepens economic ties with Australia as China shifts away from the Middle East for natural-gas supplies.
Last week, China's biggest oil-and-gas company, PetroChina Co., signed deals to import natural gas from Australian company Woodside Energy Ltd., which owns nearly half the Browse natural-gas field, and from Royal Dutch Shell PLC, owner of a stake in Australia's giant Gorgon gas field, which is half-owned by Chevron Corp.
Valued at about $37 billion over 15 to 20 years, PetroChina's deal with Woodside Energy to import liquefied natural gas, or LNG -- gas that is supercooled for transport on ships -- was hailed in banner headlines in Australia as the country's biggest single export ever. Woodside Energy is a unit of Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
"It's an affirmation for demand for cleaner fuels and a confirmation that Chinese companies believe that providing these fuels can be a profitable business in China," said George Gilboy, chief representative for Woodside in China and one of the negotiators of the deal.
Underscoring the importance of the agreement for the two nations, the deals were signed on the sidelines of the gathering in Sydney of 21 leaders from the Pacific rim for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao.
Australia and China have been stepping up economic cooperation, especially in resources. Australia has agreed to supply uranium to China and already sells iron ore, nickel and other ingredients for steel essential for China's rapid urbanization and racing economic growth.
The China deals also help secure the future of two of Australia's biggest natural-gas projects. Development and environmental concerns had dogged the Gorgon project, in which Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. each own 25% stakes.
In part, the Woodside and Shell deals reflect a shift in China's domestic energy market. Though natural gas typically competes with coal to supply power plants, China's relatively low, state-set electricity rates and low prices of cheap -- but dirty -- domestic coal have made gas-fired power plants uneconomical. As a result, China's coal-fired power plants pollute the country's skies and make China the world's second-biggest producer of greenhouse gases after the U.S.
However, a major market for natural gas has emerged among China's growing urban middle class. Cities have switched to newly built natural-gas networks as a cleaner alternative to cheaper fuel such as coal-derived gas for cooking and heating. In an unregulated market, consumers in China's richest areas such as Shanghai or Shenzhen are willing to pay more for a cleaner fuel as incomes and aspirations rise.
China is also looking to import more pipeline gas from its neighbors, including Russia, and is trying to develop domestic fields. But until now, LNG had stalled because China was unwilling to pay more after international prices rose.
Because of that, analysts have expected China would turn to the Middle East, especially Iran, which has some of the world's biggest fossil-fuel reserves. But talks on a multibillion-dollar deal have dragged on for years. It is also unclear if Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions for allegedly sponsoring terror, could develop the fields.
China sees Australia as a safer option. "Security of supply is paramount," said John Harris, a Beijing-based LNG analyst at energy consultancy Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Meanwhile, Woodside, in getting China to sign up at an early stage of the field's development, is helping protect its investment. "What's innovative for Woodside is to secure a foundation customer at an early stage, so Woodside and its partners can push forward development as quickly as possible," Woodside's Mr. Gilboy said.
Nonetheless, the deals with PetroChina, the Hong Kong-listed arm of China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., aren't final, and it will be years before any gas is delivered. PetroChina's American depositary receipts are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Last week, China's biggest oil-and-gas company, PetroChina Co., signed deals to import natural gas from Australian company Woodside Energy Ltd., which owns nearly half the Browse natural-gas field, and from Royal Dutch Shell PLC, owner of a stake in Australia's giant Gorgon gas field, which is half-owned by Chevron Corp.
Valued at about $37 billion over 15 to 20 years, PetroChina's deal with Woodside Energy to import liquefied natural gas, or LNG -- gas that is supercooled for transport on ships -- was hailed in banner headlines in Australia as the country's biggest single export ever. Woodside Energy is a unit of Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
"It's an affirmation for demand for cleaner fuels and a confirmation that Chinese companies believe that providing these fuels can be a profitable business in China," said George Gilboy, chief representative for Woodside in China and one of the negotiators of the deal.
Underscoring the importance of the agreement for the two nations, the deals were signed on the sidelines of the gathering in Sydney of 21 leaders from the Pacific rim for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese Premier Hu Jintao.
Australia and China have been stepping up economic cooperation, especially in resources. Australia has agreed to supply uranium to China and already sells iron ore, nickel and other ingredients for steel essential for China's rapid urbanization and racing economic growth.
The China deals also help secure the future of two of Australia's biggest natural-gas projects. Development and environmental concerns had dogged the Gorgon project, in which Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil Corp. each own 25% stakes.
In part, the Woodside and Shell deals reflect a shift in China's domestic energy market. Though natural gas typically competes with coal to supply power plants, China's relatively low, state-set electricity rates and low prices of cheap -- but dirty -- domestic coal have made gas-fired power plants uneconomical. As a result, China's coal-fired power plants pollute the country's skies and make China the world's second-biggest producer of greenhouse gases after the U.S.
However, a major market for natural gas has emerged among China's growing urban middle class. Cities have switched to newly built natural-gas networks as a cleaner alternative to cheaper fuel such as coal-derived gas for cooking and heating. In an unregulated market, consumers in China's richest areas such as Shanghai or Shenzhen are willing to pay more for a cleaner fuel as incomes and aspirations rise.
China is also looking to import more pipeline gas from its neighbors, including Russia, and is trying to develop domestic fields. But until now, LNG had stalled because China was unwilling to pay more after international prices rose.
Because of that, analysts have expected China would turn to the Middle East, especially Iran, which has some of the world's biggest fossil-fuel reserves. But talks on a multibillion-dollar deal have dragged on for years. It is also unclear if Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions for allegedly sponsoring terror, could develop the fields.
China sees Australia as a safer option. "Security of supply is paramount," said John Harris, a Beijing-based LNG analyst at energy consultancy Cambridge Energy Research Associates.
Meanwhile, Woodside, in getting China to sign up at an early stage of the field's development, is helping protect its investment. "What's innovative for Woodside is to secure a foundation customer at an early stage, so Woodside and its partners can push forward development as quickly as possible," Woodside's Mr. Gilboy said.
Nonetheless, the deals with PetroChina, the Hong Kong-listed arm of China's state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., aren't final, and it will be years before any gas is delivered. PetroChina's American depositary receipts are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Monday, September 3, 2007
More Mideast-China investment 'hampered by culture'
Greater investment between the Middle East and China is being hampered by a lack of understanding between the two cultures, a conference in the United Arab Emirates heard on Monday.
The warning came despite trade between the two doubling since the year 2000 and projections of massive investment by some Middle Eastern states in Asia over the next five years -- with most of that money going to China.
"There is a cultural gap that acts as a barrier" to trade, the chairman of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre told delegates at the China-Middle East Investment Forum in Dubai.
Abdulaziz Sager said he feared the lack of a common language as well as a limited knowledge of business culture between both regions could prevent economic ties from developing further.
His concerns were echoed by China's Huang Xiaoxiang, the vice governor of China's Sichuan province, who called for greater interaction.
Huang told delegates that China had to do more to tap liquidity in the Middle East, particularly in the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council states.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"There is a lack of effective communication between both sides. We need to tighten understanding of cultural backgrounds and deepen our research on Middle East investment funds," Huang said.
Sager said the oil-rich GCC members in particular will have to increase their cultural understanding of China as the energy- and commodity-hungry colossus looks set to continue its phenomenal annual double-digit growth.
Annual trade between the Middle East and China has doubled to 240 billion dollars since 2000, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said in a statement.
It added that banks were predicting that GCC states would invest as much as 250 billion dollars in Asia over the next five years, mainly in China.
In March, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil firm Aramco announced it was undertaking two joint ventures in China worth about five billion dollars, alongside fellow oil giants Exxon Mobil and Sinopec.
And in April two Chinese companies signed a framework agreement to build two aluminium processing plants and related facilities worth nearly five billion dollars in Saudi Arabia.
Nasser Saidi, chief economist at the DIFC, said that he also believes that more needs to be done to bridge the cultural gap between the Middle East and China.
"These are very early days and there is a discovery process on both sides," Saidi told delegates. He urged governments to sponsor more cultural exchanges and encourage business figures to attend more joint trade fairs and conferences.
Sager said the Middle East should rely less on the West in economic and cultural terms and look more to China, which is home to millions of Muslims and has no recent history of interference in the region's political affairs.
The warning came despite trade between the two doubling since the year 2000 and projections of massive investment by some Middle Eastern states in Asia over the next five years -- with most of that money going to China.
"There is a cultural gap that acts as a barrier" to trade, the chairman of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre told delegates at the China-Middle East Investment Forum in Dubai.
Abdulaziz Sager said he feared the lack of a common language as well as a limited knowledge of business culture between both regions could prevent economic ties from developing further.
His concerns were echoed by China's Huang Xiaoxiang, the vice governor of China's Sichuan province, who called for greater interaction.
Huang told delegates that China had to do more to tap liquidity in the Middle East, particularly in the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council states.
The GCC groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
"There is a lack of effective communication between both sides. We need to tighten understanding of cultural backgrounds and deepen our research on Middle East investment funds," Huang said.
Sager said the oil-rich GCC members in particular will have to increase their cultural understanding of China as the energy- and commodity-hungry colossus looks set to continue its phenomenal annual double-digit growth.
Annual trade between the Middle East and China has doubled to 240 billion dollars since 2000, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said in a statement.
It added that banks were predicting that GCC states would invest as much as 250 billion dollars in Asia over the next five years, mainly in China.
In March, Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil firm Aramco announced it was undertaking two joint ventures in China worth about five billion dollars, alongside fellow oil giants Exxon Mobil and Sinopec.
And in April two Chinese companies signed a framework agreement to build two aluminium processing plants and related facilities worth nearly five billion dollars in Saudi Arabia.
Nasser Saidi, chief economist at the DIFC, said that he also believes that more needs to be done to bridge the cultural gap between the Middle East and China.
"These are very early days and there is a discovery process on both sides," Saidi told delegates. He urged governments to sponsor more cultural exchanges and encourage business figures to attend more joint trade fairs and conferences.
Sager said the Middle East should rely less on the West in economic and cultural terms and look more to China, which is home to millions of Muslims and has no recent history of interference in the region's political affairs.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Europe's largest clothing retailer looks to expand in China
Spain's Inditex, Europe's largest clothing retailer by sales, is looking to expand in China, attracted by the rising spending power of consumers in the fast-growing Asian country.
The firm, whose chains include Zara and Bershka, will focus its growth in Beijing, Hong Kong and the coastal city of Shanghai, Inditex chief executive officer Pablo Isla told an annual shareholders' meeting last month.
The announcement of the firm's Chinese expansion plans follows the opening in April of Swedish clothing retailer H & M's first store on the mainland and it underscores the growing appeal of China to international fashion retailers.
The Spanish fashion house has not set a specific goal as to the number of new stores it intends to set up in China, where it currently has nine Zara outlets, a spokesman told AFP.
But later this month Inditex will open its first Massimo Dutti store, which stocks smart casual items, in China in Macau, a former Portuguese enclave, with another outlet set to open in Hong Kong next year, he said.
"I think that China is the next frontier," said Marian Salzman, chief marketing officer with US-based advertising agency JWT which has studied the Chinese market.
"With everyday analysts becoming savvy about the sheer demographic reality of China, there is no retailer of scope without a plan for expansion," he told AFP.
There will be 220 million upper middle class households in China's cities, defined as those making between 5,000 and 12,500 US dollars (3,704 and 9,260 euros) a year, by 2025 compared to 23 million in 2005, international consulting firm McKinsey estimates.
Inditex already faces competition in China for a share of this growing market from Spain's Mango, Germany's C & A as well as a raft of local brands such as Hong Kong-based Esprit in addition to H & M.
The firm faces a cost disadvantage in China since competitors like H & M and Mango source a greater proportion of their merchandise from the region, said Matthew Stych, the global director for retailing research at London-based market research firm Euromonitor.
"Inditex may have to consider ramping up local production in order to maintain its ability to deliver fast fashion at prices that are competitive with its peers," he told AFP.
H & M, Europe's second-largest retailer, sources more than 60 percent of its products in Asia, more than half of that from China, compared to 34 percent for Inditex, which has said it has no plans to increase production in the region.
Inditex opened its first outlet in China in Hong Kong in 2004 and set up shop in mainland China two years later, selecting store locations in luxurious shopping areas.
To succeed in China, where the nation's rising middle class tries to emulate the West's fashion style, Inditex needs to continue positioning itself as a source of affordable but still pricey fashion, analysts said.
"Young Chinese consumers are very aspirational when it comes to fashion, so the more Inditex differentiates its brands from local cheap clothing the better," said Stych.
Amancio Ortega, Inditex's 71-year-old owner and chairman as well as Spain's richest man, is aware of the challenges that China presents.
"The Chinese market requires constant innovation," daily business newspaper Cinco Dias quoted him as saying in June.
Inditex, which was listed in 2001, has more than 3,200 outlets in 65 countries around the world. It aims to have 4,000 stores by 2009.
The firm's 59 stores in Asia -- including the nine Zara outlets in China -- accounted for nine percent of its total turnover of 8.2 billion euros (11.1 billion US dollars) last year.
Spain accounted for just under 37 percent of the company's sales while the rest of Europe was responsible for about 40 percent.
The company posted a net profit of just over one billion euros last year, up from 803 million euros in 2005.
The firm, whose chains include Zara and Bershka, will focus its growth in Beijing, Hong Kong and the coastal city of Shanghai, Inditex chief executive officer Pablo Isla told an annual shareholders' meeting last month.
The announcement of the firm's Chinese expansion plans follows the opening in April of Swedish clothing retailer H & M's first store on the mainland and it underscores the growing appeal of China to international fashion retailers.
The Spanish fashion house has not set a specific goal as to the number of new stores it intends to set up in China, where it currently has nine Zara outlets, a spokesman told AFP.
But later this month Inditex will open its first Massimo Dutti store, which stocks smart casual items, in China in Macau, a former Portuguese enclave, with another outlet set to open in Hong Kong next year, he said.
"I think that China is the next frontier," said Marian Salzman, chief marketing officer with US-based advertising agency JWT which has studied the Chinese market.
"With everyday analysts becoming savvy about the sheer demographic reality of China, there is no retailer of scope without a plan for expansion," he told AFP.
There will be 220 million upper middle class households in China's cities, defined as those making between 5,000 and 12,500 US dollars (3,704 and 9,260 euros) a year, by 2025 compared to 23 million in 2005, international consulting firm McKinsey estimates.
Inditex already faces competition in China for a share of this growing market from Spain's Mango, Germany's C & A as well as a raft of local brands such as Hong Kong-based Esprit in addition to H & M.
The firm faces a cost disadvantage in China since competitors like H & M and Mango source a greater proportion of their merchandise from the region, said Matthew Stych, the global director for retailing research at London-based market research firm Euromonitor.
"Inditex may have to consider ramping up local production in order to maintain its ability to deliver fast fashion at prices that are competitive with its peers," he told AFP.
H & M, Europe's second-largest retailer, sources more than 60 percent of its products in Asia, more than half of that from China, compared to 34 percent for Inditex, which has said it has no plans to increase production in the region.
Inditex opened its first outlet in China in Hong Kong in 2004 and set up shop in mainland China two years later, selecting store locations in luxurious shopping areas.
To succeed in China, where the nation's rising middle class tries to emulate the West's fashion style, Inditex needs to continue positioning itself as a source of affordable but still pricey fashion, analysts said.
"Young Chinese consumers are very aspirational when it comes to fashion, so the more Inditex differentiates its brands from local cheap clothing the better," said Stych.
Amancio Ortega, Inditex's 71-year-old owner and chairman as well as Spain's richest man, is aware of the challenges that China presents.
"The Chinese market requires constant innovation," daily business newspaper Cinco Dias quoted him as saying in June.
Inditex, which was listed in 2001, has more than 3,200 outlets in 65 countries around the world. It aims to have 4,000 stores by 2009.
The firm's 59 stores in Asia -- including the nine Zara outlets in China -- accounted for nine percent of its total turnover of 8.2 billion euros (11.1 billion US dollars) last year.
Spain accounted for just under 37 percent of the company's sales while the rest of Europe was responsible for about 40 percent.
The company posted a net profit of just over one billion euros last year, up from 803 million euros in 2005.
China eyes investing in private equity, hedge funds
SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - The steep paper losses that China has suffered on its $3 billion investment in Blackstone Group will not deter its embryonic sovereign wealth fund from making further investments in private equity and hedge funds, according to a senior official.
Shares in Blackstone closed on Friday at $24.08, down 22.3 percent from its $31 debut price in June.
The poor performance has sparked criticism of the investment within China, which bought its non-voting share at a 4.5 percent discount and agreed to hold onto it for at least four years.
"The company (Blackstone) is currently excellent in terms of both quality and earnings performance," Jesse Wang, vice chairman of Central Huijin, the central bank's investment arm, said at the weekend.
"If you are going to invest in a private equity firm, there probably is no better company," he told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Blackstone, which is also active in hedge fund investing, asset management and corporate advisory, last Monday reported that net income in the second quarter more than tripled from a year earlier to $774.4 million.
Wang, one of the officials who signed the Blackstone deal, said China would make more such investments worldwide once its state investment agency was up and running.
"If you want to increase yields and still maintain low risk, then you should put aside part of the money to make alternative investments, such as private equity firms, hedge funds and real estate investment trusts," Wang said.
He said he was expressing his personal view.
Wang said there was no timetable for the launch of the state investment company, although media have said it will be in September.
Wang declined to reveal the name of the fund, but said it would not be called State Investment Corp. He would not say either what benchmark China had set for the fund's investment returns.
FOREIGN HELP
The agency will take over $200 billion of China's $1.3 trillion stockpile of foreign exchange assets from the People's Bank of China with a mandate to diversify the country's investment portfolio and seek higher returns.
Bankers believe some two-thirds of the reserves are now invested in dollar assets, principally bonds.
The Ministry of Finance will issue 600 billion yuan in special treasury bonds this week, the first tranche of a total of 1.55 trillion yuan, to the central bank in exchange for the assets, bankers say.
Wang said the new agency would hire foreign asset management firms to invest on its behalf, at least in the early days, as it lacked experience in the international markets.
"That's of course a learning opportunity for us -- to look at how they invest or ask them to help train our staff," he said.
China would also hire overseas management and investment professionals to help run the fund.
The agency's top management will include Gao Xiqing, vice chairman of the National Social Security Fund; Zhang Hongli, a vice finance minister; and Xie Ping, chief executive of Central Huijin, which will be folded into the new agency, according to media reports.
Central Huijin has pumped $60 billion into three state-owned commercial banks and analysts say it could be the vehicle to inject at least as much into two other banks -- Agricultural Bank of China and China Development Bank.
If so, the fledgling sovereign wealth fund would initially have much less than $200 billion at its disposal to put to work in global markets.
Shares in Blackstone closed on Friday at $24.08, down 22.3 percent from its $31 debut price in June.
The poor performance has sparked criticism of the investment within China, which bought its non-voting share at a 4.5 percent discount and agreed to hold onto it for at least four years.
"The company (Blackstone) is currently excellent in terms of both quality and earnings performance," Jesse Wang, vice chairman of Central Huijin, the central bank's investment arm, said at the weekend.
"If you are going to invest in a private equity firm, there probably is no better company," he told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in the southern city of Shenzhen.
Blackstone, which is also active in hedge fund investing, asset management and corporate advisory, last Monday reported that net income in the second quarter more than tripled from a year earlier to $774.4 million.
Wang, one of the officials who signed the Blackstone deal, said China would make more such investments worldwide once its state investment agency was up and running.
"If you want to increase yields and still maintain low risk, then you should put aside part of the money to make alternative investments, such as private equity firms, hedge funds and real estate investment trusts," Wang said.
He said he was expressing his personal view.
Wang said there was no timetable for the launch of the state investment company, although media have said it will be in September.
Wang declined to reveal the name of the fund, but said it would not be called State Investment Corp. He would not say either what benchmark China had set for the fund's investment returns.
FOREIGN HELP
The agency will take over $200 billion of China's $1.3 trillion stockpile of foreign exchange assets from the People's Bank of China with a mandate to diversify the country's investment portfolio and seek higher returns.
Bankers believe some two-thirds of the reserves are now invested in dollar assets, principally bonds.
The Ministry of Finance will issue 600 billion yuan in special treasury bonds this week, the first tranche of a total of 1.55 trillion yuan, to the central bank in exchange for the assets, bankers say.
Wang said the new agency would hire foreign asset management firms to invest on its behalf, at least in the early days, as it lacked experience in the international markets.
"That's of course a learning opportunity for us -- to look at how they invest or ask them to help train our staff," he said.
China would also hire overseas management and investment professionals to help run the fund.
The agency's top management will include Gao Xiqing, vice chairman of the National Social Security Fund; Zhang Hongli, a vice finance minister; and Xie Ping, chief executive of Central Huijin, which will be folded into the new agency, according to media reports.
Central Huijin has pumped $60 billion into three state-owned commercial banks and analysts say it could be the vehicle to inject at least as much into two other banks -- Agricultural Bank of China and China Development Bank.
If so, the fledgling sovereign wealth fund would initially have much less than $200 billion at its disposal to put to work in global markets.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
美刊总结巴菲特式投资的六要素：不要频频换手
《美国新闻与世界报道》周刊在其最新一期文章中刊文介绍了巴菲特式投资的六要素，称巴菲特的神秘之处恰在于他简单有效的投资方式。
文章说，有“股神”之称的沃伦·巴菲特看起来是个慈祥长者，他似乎更喜欢家乡奥马哈的农场，而不是曼哈顿市中心的董事会会议室。这种朴素作风也体现在他的投资方式上。用他自己的话说，就是管好自己的事，做自己“力所能及”的事。
在２０世纪９０年代末，巴菲特成功地躲过了网络科技泡沫的破裂，只因为他觉得“我不懂这些”。同时，他却敢于大手笔投资可口可乐公司。
巴菲特的投资方式究竟有什么要素？文章列举了６点供投资者参考：
1、赚钱而不要赔钱
这是巴菲特经常被引用的一句话：“投资的第一条准则是不要赔钱；第二条准则是永远不要忘记第一条。”因为如果投资一美元，赔了５０美分，手上只剩一半的钱，除非有百分之百的收益，才能回到起点。
巴菲特最大的成就莫过于在１９６５年到２００６年间，历经３个熊市，而他的伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司只有一年（２００１年）出现亏损。
2、别被收益蒙骗
巴菲特更喜欢用股本收益率来衡量企业的盈利状况。股本收益率是用公司净收入除以股东的股本，它衡量的是公司利润占股东资本的百分比，能够更有效地反映公司的盈利增长状况。
根据他的价值投资原则，公司的股本收益率应该不低于１５％。在巴菲特持有的上市公司股票中，可口可乐的股本收益率超过３０％，美国运通公司达到３７％。
3、要看未来
人们把巴菲特称为“奥马哈的先知”，因为他总是有意识地去辨别公司是否有好的发展前途，能不能在今后２５年里继续保持成功。巴菲特常说，要透过窗户向前看，不能看后视镜。
预测公司未来发展的一个办法，是计算公司未来的预期现金收入在今天值多少钱。这是巴菲特评估公司内在价值的办法。然后他会寻找那些严重偏离这一价值、低价出售的公司。
4、坚持投资能对竞争者构成巨大“屏障”的公司
预测未来必定会有风险，因此巴菲特偏爱那些能对竞争者构成巨大“经济屏障”的公司。这不一定意味着他所投资的公司一定独占某种产品或某个市场。例如，可口可乐公司从来就不缺竞争对手。但巴菲特总是寻找那些具有长期竞争优势、使他对公司价值的预测更安全的公司。
２０世纪９０年代末，巴菲特不愿投资科技股的一个原因就是：他看不出哪个公司具有足够的长期竞争优势。
5、要赌就赌大的
绝大多数价值投资者天性保守。但巴菲特不是。他投资股市的６２０亿美元集中在４５只股票上。他的投资战略甚至比这个数字更激进。在他的投资组合中，前１０只股票占了投资总量的９０％。晨星公司的高级股票分析师贾斯廷·富勒说：“这符合巴菲特的投资理念。不要犹豫不定，为什么不把钱投资到你最看好的投资对象上呢？”
6、要有耐心等待
如果你在股市里换手，那么可能错失良机。巴菲特的原则是：不要频频换手，直到有好的投资对象才出手。
巴菲特常引用传奇棒球击球手特德·威廉斯的话：“要做一个好的击球手，你必须有好球可打。”如果没有好的投资对象，那么他宁可持有现金。据晨星公司统计，现金在伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的投资配比中占１８％以上，而大多数基金公司只有４％的现金。
文章说，有“股神”之称的沃伦·巴菲特看起来是个慈祥长者，他似乎更喜欢家乡奥马哈的农场，而不是曼哈顿市中心的董事会会议室。这种朴素作风也体现在他的投资方式上。用他自己的话说，就是管好自己的事，做自己“力所能及”的事。
在２０世纪９０年代末，巴菲特成功地躲过了网络科技泡沫的破裂，只因为他觉得“我不懂这些”。同时，他却敢于大手笔投资可口可乐公司。
巴菲特的投资方式究竟有什么要素？文章列举了６点供投资者参考：
1、赚钱而不要赔钱
这是巴菲特经常被引用的一句话：“投资的第一条准则是不要赔钱；第二条准则是永远不要忘记第一条。”因为如果投资一美元，赔了５０美分，手上只剩一半的钱，除非有百分之百的收益，才能回到起点。
巴菲特最大的成就莫过于在１９６５年到２００６年间，历经３个熊市，而他的伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司只有一年（２００１年）出现亏损。
2、别被收益蒙骗
巴菲特更喜欢用股本收益率来衡量企业的盈利状况。股本收益率是用公司净收入除以股东的股本，它衡量的是公司利润占股东资本的百分比，能够更有效地反映公司的盈利增长状况。
根据他的价值投资原则，公司的股本收益率应该不低于１５％。在巴菲特持有的上市公司股票中，可口可乐的股本收益率超过３０％，美国运通公司达到３７％。
3、要看未来
人们把巴菲特称为“奥马哈的先知”，因为他总是有意识地去辨别公司是否有好的发展前途，能不能在今后２５年里继续保持成功。巴菲特常说，要透过窗户向前看，不能看后视镜。
预测公司未来发展的一个办法，是计算公司未来的预期现金收入在今天值多少钱。这是巴菲特评估公司内在价值的办法。然后他会寻找那些严重偏离这一价值、低价出售的公司。
4、坚持投资能对竞争者构成巨大“屏障”的公司
预测未来必定会有风险，因此巴菲特偏爱那些能对竞争者构成巨大“经济屏障”的公司。这不一定意味着他所投资的公司一定独占某种产品或某个市场。例如，可口可乐公司从来就不缺竞争对手。但巴菲特总是寻找那些具有长期竞争优势、使他对公司价值的预测更安全的公司。
２０世纪９０年代末，巴菲特不愿投资科技股的一个原因就是：他看不出哪个公司具有足够的长期竞争优势。
5、要赌就赌大的
绝大多数价值投资者天性保守。但巴菲特不是。他投资股市的６２０亿美元集中在４５只股票上。他的投资战略甚至比这个数字更激进。在他的投资组合中，前１０只股票占了投资总量的９０％。晨星公司的高级股票分析师贾斯廷·富勒说：“这符合巴菲特的投资理念。不要犹豫不定，为什么不把钱投资到你最看好的投资对象上呢？”
6、要有耐心等待
如果你在股市里换手，那么可能错失良机。巴菲特的原则是：不要频频换手，直到有好的投资对象才出手。
巴菲特常引用传奇棒球击球手特德·威廉斯的话：“要做一个好的击球手，你必须有好球可打。”如果没有好的投资对象，那么他宁可持有现金。据晨星公司统计，现金在伯克希尔·哈撒韦公司的投资配比中占１８％以上，而大多数基金公司只有４％的现金。
Friday, August 10, 2007
全世界见证：惊人发展复兴 中国模式挑战西方模式
全世界见证：惊人发展复兴 中国模式挑战西方模式 政治杂志
俄罗斯《政治杂志》周刊最新一期载文《和谐重于财神》，摘要如下：
全世界都见证了中国通过完善国家政治体制和进行面向市场的改革而惊人地快速发展和复兴。中国国家政治和经济建设的重点仍然是以提高效率和创新能力为目标的经济结构改革、农业现代化、增力社会保障，从而最终建成社会主义和谐社会。
据诺贝尔经济学奖得主斯彭斯教授的预测，中国经济发展的高速度具有长期性，至少还可以保持25年。就此应该指出，中国2006年的国内生产总值增长了 10.7％，达到2.68万亿美元。中国在这项指标上居世界第四位，仅次于美国、日本和德国。在国内生产总值这个指标上，中国在2004年超过了法国，在 2005年超过了英国。有理由认为，德国是下一个被超越的国家。
中国领导人目前在继续深入研究和宣传中国发展模式的政治思想理论和文化文明理论。这一理论赋予中国共产党各种职能，其中包括领导全国人民、协调社会各阶层的利益、维护国内的社会和政治稳定等。这符合中国领导层奉行的如下坚定方针：捍卫中国共产党不可动摇的领导地位，提高党在目前条件下管理社会和抵制西方政治制度模式冲击的能力。
在苏联解体之后，中国的发展模式无疑成为对发展中国家最具吸引力的模式。中国发展模式的独特性何在？中国领导人是如何成功地修正和更换一种政治观念，同时又不破坏政权结构的？应该如何理解中国众所周知的连续性？
中国在政策上的连续性得到高度评价。这种连续性证明了中国领导层的高度一致和政府在国内外市场行情不佳情况下的应对能力。引人注目的是，自中华人民共和国成立以来，中国领导人政主要目标始终是把国家变成在世界上有威望和影响的繁荣富强的国家。例如，国家的主要任务在2006年10月召开的中共中央全会上依然没有变化，中国人打算建设一个“富强、民主、文明、和谐、现代化的社会主义国家”。
与此同时，中国共产党再次肩负起维护社会公正与和谐的责任，这无疑是一大新要素。1949年以来中国共产党的所有工作都被定位为“为在中国建立和谐社会而付出的努力”。该路线一旦取得成功，中国共产党执政的合法性将得到进一步加强，而在改革时期，其政权基础主要是国家经济的飞速发展。
中国领导层将国家的政治和经济精英团结在更新后的国家发展学说的周围。这首先是构建社会主义和谐社会以及科学发展观，后者的含义是国家逐步转向高效的经济增长模式，通过提高经济增长的质量指标、缓解社会问题的尖锐度，来突破资源和生态方面的瓶颈。
不得不提的是，中国正在逐步提高自己在国际事务方面的影响力，积极发展与发达工业国家的全方位合作，与此同时，它仍以第三世界国家为政治支柱。为提升国际形象，中国领导层付出了不懈的努力，其措施包括加强对中国构建和谐社会理念、北京为缩小南北差距所作贡献的宣传。对于全球许多政治家、学者和研究者而言，中国是一个相对复杂的客体。人们时常会说，这个国家的未来走势难以预料，其发展模式终将崩溃。然而，近几十年来的实践表明，中国正在成为一个全球强国，中国的崛起?非神话，而是现实。
俄罗斯《政治杂志》周刊最新一期载文《和谐重于财神》，摘要如下：
全世界都见证了中国通过完善国家政治体制和进行面向市场的改革而惊人地快速发展和复兴。中国国家政治和经济建设的重点仍然是以提高效率和创新能力为目标的经济结构改革、农业现代化、增力社会保障，从而最终建成社会主义和谐社会。
据诺贝尔经济学奖得主斯彭斯教授的预测，中国经济发展的高速度具有长期性，至少还可以保持25年。就此应该指出，中国2006年的国内生产总值增长了 10.7％，达到2.68万亿美元。中国在这项指标上居世界第四位，仅次于美国、日本和德国。在国内生产总值这个指标上，中国在2004年超过了法国，在 2005年超过了英国。有理由认为，德国是下一个被超越的国家。
中国领导人目前在继续深入研究和宣传中国发展模式的政治思想理论和文化文明理论。这一理论赋予中国共产党各种职能，其中包括领导全国人民、协调社会各阶层的利益、维护国内的社会和政治稳定等。这符合中国领导层奉行的如下坚定方针：捍卫中国共产党不可动摇的领导地位，提高党在目前条件下管理社会和抵制西方政治制度模式冲击的能力。
在苏联解体之后，中国的发展模式无疑成为对发展中国家最具吸引力的模式。中国发展模式的独特性何在？中国领导人是如何成功地修正和更换一种政治观念，同时又不破坏政权结构的？应该如何理解中国众所周知的连续性？
中国在政策上的连续性得到高度评价。这种连续性证明了中国领导层的高度一致和政府在国内外市场行情不佳情况下的应对能力。引人注目的是，自中华人民共和国成立以来，中国领导人政主要目标始终是把国家变成在世界上有威望和影响的繁荣富强的国家。例如，国家的主要任务在2006年10月召开的中共中央全会上依然没有变化，中国人打算建设一个“富强、民主、文明、和谐、现代化的社会主义国家”。
与此同时，中国共产党再次肩负起维护社会公正与和谐的责任，这无疑是一大新要素。1949年以来中国共产党的所有工作都被定位为“为在中国建立和谐社会而付出的努力”。该路线一旦取得成功，中国共产党执政的合法性将得到进一步加强，而在改革时期，其政权基础主要是国家经济的飞速发展。
中国领导层将国家的政治和经济精英团结在更新后的国家发展学说的周围。这首先是构建社会主义和谐社会以及科学发展观，后者的含义是国家逐步转向高效的经济增长模式，通过提高经济增长的质量指标、缓解社会问题的尖锐度，来突破资源和生态方面的瓶颈。
不得不提的是，中国正在逐步提高自己在国际事务方面的影响力，积极发展与发达工业国家的全方位合作，与此同时，它仍以第三世界国家为政治支柱。为提升国际形象，中国领导层付出了不懈的努力，其措施包括加强对中国构建和谐社会理念、北京为缩小南北差距所作贡献的宣传。对于全球许多政治家、学者和研究者而言，中国是一个相对复杂的客体。人们时常会说，这个国家的未来走势难以预料，其发展模式终将崩溃。然而，近几十年来的实践表明，中国正在成为一个全球强国，中国的崛起?非神话，而是现实。
Monday, August 6, 2007
Lenovo to Sell $198 PC in China
Lenovo Group Ltd. is targeting lower-income consumers in China by offering a new PC with a suggested retail price of 1,499 renminbi (US$198).
The computer maker is also offering PCs for 1,999 renminbi, 2,499 renminbi, and 2,999, respectively, it announced Friday. All four are designed to make computer ownership available to 3 million new, rural users. The least expensive model includes a keyboard but is designed to be used with a television as its monitor.
Lenovo did not provide further details about the systems, such as the operating system or type of processor they would use.
The move came on the same day that Microsoft Corp. made its own thrust towards reaching more consumers in China by cutting the price of the simplified Chinese version of its Windows Vista operating system. Originally launched at 1,521 renminbi for the home version, Microsoft reduced the retail price to 499 renminbi. It also reduced the Home Premium version of Vista from 1,802 renminbi to 899 renminbi.
Based in China, Lenovo is the country's dominant PC maker. Last week it reported revenue of US$3.9 billion for its first fiscal quarter and a net profit of $67.8 million, more than 10 times the profit for the same period last year.
It did not say whether it planned to try to boost sales in other markets with the low-cost PCs.
The computer maker is also offering PCs for 1,999 renminbi, 2,499 renminbi, and 2,999, respectively, it announced Friday. All four are designed to make computer ownership available to 3 million new, rural users. The least expensive model includes a keyboard but is designed to be used with a television as its monitor.
Lenovo did not provide further details about the systems, such as the operating system or type of processor they would use.
The move came on the same day that Microsoft Corp. made its own thrust towards reaching more consumers in China by cutting the price of the simplified Chinese version of its Windows Vista operating system. Originally launched at 1,521 renminbi for the home version, Microsoft reduced the retail price to 499 renminbi. It also reduced the Home Premium version of Vista from 1,802 renminbi to 899 renminbi.
Based in China, Lenovo is the country's dominant PC maker. Last week it reported revenue of US$3.9 billion for its first fiscal quarter and a net profit of $67.8 million, more than 10 times the profit for the same period last year.
It did not say whether it planned to try to boost sales in other markets with the low-cost PCs.
China will use GPS to track Olympic food
China said Monday it will use global positioning satellites to ensure food safety at the Beijing Olympics as it steps up efforts to blacklist manufacturers who violate safety regulations.
Wang Wei, an executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic Committee, said the high-tech system will monitor food production, processing factories and food hygiene during the games to make sure healthy food is delivered to the 10,500 athletes residing in the Olympic Village.
Food products will be affixed with an "Olympic food safety logistics code" and transportation vehicles will be tracked using global positioning satellites, Wang said. He did not provide further details of either plan.
"The whole process will be monitored from the start of production through transportation to the end users," Wang said. "We are very confident about ensuring food safety in Beijing."
Wang said extra measures would also be taken to ensure food safety for the general public.
"During the games some special monitoring mechanisms will also be applied to monitor restaurants and public food sellers to let people know how they can buy safe food," he said.
The Beijing Olympics, which begin Aug. 8, 2008, are a huge source of pride for China.
In a separate announcement, Beijing-based Qianxihe Food Group, an Olympic sponsor, said it had begun selling a hormone-free line of pork for the games, a company official said.
The company's pigs have been fed food without hormones and are part of the "Olympics Special Supply Pork" range, which will be consumed by athletes and can be bought in supermarkets by ordinary citizens, said the official, who would give only her surname Tong.
Questions over the safety of Chinese products arose earlier this year when a Chinese-made pet food ingredient was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in North America. Since then, Chinese goods ranging from toothpaste to tires have been banned or recalled in numerous countries.
The U.S. also has blocked imports of five types of farmed seafood from China that were found to contain unapproved drugs.
Wang's comments came after Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng announced that 429 exporters have been blacklisted and punished for producing dangerously substandard products. The companies include two whose products were implicated in the pet deaths in North America.
Chinese authorities, while initially unwilling to address the problem, have in recent weeks released details on their efforts almost daily and announced aggressive campaigns to crack down on makers of shoddy products, both for domestic consumption and for export.
The state-run Beijing News said five brands of dried fish snacks have been pulled off shelves in Beijing because they contained formaldehyde, a preservative and an embalming fluid that has been linked to cancer in humans.
In a recent inspection, the Commerce Ministry said it found that 21 percent of soft drinks produced in 13 provinces and municipalities were unfit for consumption because they were filled with bacteria and high levels of artificial sweeteners and preservatives.
Last month, the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, a product safety watchdog, said it had shut the offices of the two companies and revoked their licenses.
Wang Wei, an executive vice president of the Beijing Olympic Committee, said the high-tech system will monitor food production, processing factories and food hygiene during the games to make sure healthy food is delivered to the 10,500 athletes residing in the Olympic Village.
Food products will be affixed with an "Olympic food safety logistics code" and transportation vehicles will be tracked using global positioning satellites, Wang said. He did not provide further details of either plan.
"The whole process will be monitored from the start of production through transportation to the end users," Wang said. "We are very confident about ensuring food safety in Beijing."
Wang said extra measures would also be taken to ensure food safety for the general public.
"During the games some special monitoring mechanisms will also be applied to monitor restaurants and public food sellers to let people know how they can buy safe food," he said.
The Beijing Olympics, which begin Aug. 8, 2008, are a huge source of pride for China.
In a separate announcement, Beijing-based Qianxihe Food Group, an Olympic sponsor, said it had begun selling a hormone-free line of pork for the games, a company official said.
The company's pigs have been fed food without hormones and are part of the "Olympics Special Supply Pork" range, which will be consumed by athletes and can be bought in supermarkets by ordinary citizens, said the official, who would give only her surname Tong.
Questions over the safety of Chinese products arose earlier this year when a Chinese-made pet food ingredient was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in North America. Since then, Chinese goods ranging from toothpaste to tires have been banned or recalled in numerous countries.
The U.S. also has blocked imports of five types of farmed seafood from China that were found to contain unapproved drugs.
Wang's comments came after Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng announced that 429 exporters have been blacklisted and punished for producing dangerously substandard products. The companies include two whose products were implicated in the pet deaths in North America.
Chinese authorities, while initially unwilling to address the problem, have in recent weeks released details on their efforts almost daily and announced aggressive campaigns to crack down on makers of shoddy products, both for domestic consumption and for export.
The state-run Beijing News said five brands of dried fish snacks have been pulled off shelves in Beijing because they contained formaldehyde, a preservative and an embalming fluid that has been linked to cancer in humans.
In a recent inspection, the Commerce Ministry said it found that 21 percent of soft drinks produced in 13 provinces and municipalities were unfit for consumption because they were filled with bacteria and high levels of artificial sweeteners and preservatives.
Last month, the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, a product safety watchdog, said it had shut the offices of the two companies and revoked their licenses.
Olympics can speed change in China
* Story Highlights
* Olympic chief says Beijing Games will be significant force for good in China
* IOC President Jacques Rogge in Beijing for one-year countdown to Olympics
* Rogge said his main concern was the environment and particularly air pollution
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Olympic chief Jacques Rogge thinks the Beijing Olympics will be a significant force for good in China, but cannot be expected to resolve all the issues facing the country.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said, however, that it was "absolutely legitimate" for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights groups to bring attention to their causes both now and at Games time.
"We believe the Games are going to move ahead the agenda of the social and human rights as far as possible, the Games are going to be a force for good. But the Games are not a panacea," Rogge told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
This week's start of the one-year countdown to the Games has brought with it the release of several reports from pressure groups, many calling on the IOC to demand action on issues such as media freedom and political prisoners.
"One should not forget that we are a sports organization," Rogge said. "We are not a government, we are not the representative of all the NGOs of the world.
"We respect their point of view, we stand for human rights, we stand for strict social values, but we are only a sports organization."
Rogge said he "could not be more happy" about the state of preparations in Beijing, especially in the fundamental aspects of running the Games such as venue construction.
"They are well ahead of schedule, the infrastructure is there, there is still a little bit of work to do on the Olympic Stadium but that will be ready in March," he said.
"Since I've been involved in Games preparations, which is since Sydney, they are the best prepared of all," he added.
As Beijing witnessed another day of heavy smog, Rogge said his main concern was the environment and particularly air pollution in the Chinese capital.
But he was confident that measures undertaken by the Beijing government to rid the city of pollution over the last few years and special measures in August next year would deliver clean air.
"There is a positive trend and I really do hope and believe that this positive trend will continue," he said. "They still have a full year to run. I have confidence that their strategy will yield success. I'm optimistic for Games time."
Indeed, Rogge hopes a change in the way the Chinese approach environmental issues will be one of the "intangible" legacies of the Games.
"The intangible is the acceptance of procedures, norms and standards that were not here before, especially in the field of the environment," he said.
A sporting legacy would come as a result of the Sport for All programme in China, a "mind-blowing" project that was reaching "hundreds of millions" of people, he said.
He also foresaw benefits for the Olympic movement. "We are bringing the Olympics to one-fifth of mankind, we have an education program based on sport and Olympic values in no less than 500,000 schools, we are hoping 400 million children will benefit from this," he said.
One of the possible blights of any sporting event in the modern era is doping, and Rogge said the series of scandals at the Tour de France was a timely reminder for the IOC.
"I expect some positive cases in Beijing, that would be the sign that our testing is accurate, that our testing is efficient and that we are cleaning up the Games and that we are kicking out the cheats," he said. "There are still some loopholes but one has to say that it is extremely difficult to cheat and to get away with it."
The Belgian, who competed in sailing at three Olympic Games, clearly has little time for discussions over whether the U.S. or China will top the medals table next August.
"The spirit of the Olympic Games ... is not about nations, it's not about continents, it's not about supremacy," he said. "It's about the pursuit of excellence by individuals who train very hard for that and do that within the Olympic spirit of fair play, brotherhood."
Asked how he would like the Beijing Games to go down in history, the 65-year-old orthopaedic surgeon said: "I would like the Games to be held in peace, in maximum security, with the least number of doping cases possible. And definitely with great athletic prowess, with great champions emerging because that's the great magic of the Games.
"And if at the same time we can have a situation where the world at large discovers China, and it's values and its assets, then I will be a very happy man."
* Olympic chief says Beijing Games will be significant force for good in China
* IOC President Jacques Rogge in Beijing for one-year countdown to Olympics
* Rogge said his main concern was the environment and particularly air pollution
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Olympic chief Jacques Rogge thinks the Beijing Olympics will be a significant force for good in China, but cannot be expected to resolve all the issues facing the country.
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said, however, that it was "absolutely legitimate" for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights groups to bring attention to their causes both now and at Games time.
"We believe the Games are going to move ahead the agenda of the social and human rights as far as possible, the Games are going to be a force for good. But the Games are not a panacea," Rogge told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
This week's start of the one-year countdown to the Games has brought with it the release of several reports from pressure groups, many calling on the IOC to demand action on issues such as media freedom and political prisoners.
"One should not forget that we are a sports organization," Rogge said. "We are not a government, we are not the representative of all the NGOs of the world.
"We respect their point of view, we stand for human rights, we stand for strict social values, but we are only a sports organization."
Rogge said he "could not be more happy" about the state of preparations in Beijing, especially in the fundamental aspects of running the Games such as venue construction.
"They are well ahead of schedule, the infrastructure is there, there is still a little bit of work to do on the Olympic Stadium but that will be ready in March," he said.
"Since I've been involved in Games preparations, which is since Sydney, they are the best prepared of all," he added.
As Beijing witnessed another day of heavy smog, Rogge said his main concern was the environment and particularly air pollution in the Chinese capital.
But he was confident that measures undertaken by the Beijing government to rid the city of pollution over the last few years and special measures in August next year would deliver clean air.
"There is a positive trend and I really do hope and believe that this positive trend will continue," he said. "They still have a full year to run. I have confidence that their strategy will yield success. I'm optimistic for Games time."
Indeed, Rogge hopes a change in the way the Chinese approach environmental issues will be one of the "intangible" legacies of the Games.
"The intangible is the acceptance of procedures, norms and standards that were not here before, especially in the field of the environment," he said.
A sporting legacy would come as a result of the Sport for All programme in China, a "mind-blowing" project that was reaching "hundreds of millions" of people, he said.
He also foresaw benefits for the Olympic movement. "We are bringing the Olympics to one-fifth of mankind, we have an education program based on sport and Olympic values in no less than 500,000 schools, we are hoping 400 million children will benefit from this," he said.
One of the possible blights of any sporting event in the modern era is doping, and Rogge said the series of scandals at the Tour de France was a timely reminder for the IOC.
"I expect some positive cases in Beijing, that would be the sign that our testing is accurate, that our testing is efficient and that we are cleaning up the Games and that we are kicking out the cheats," he said. "There are still some loopholes but one has to say that it is extremely difficult to cheat and to get away with it."
The Belgian, who competed in sailing at three Olympic Games, clearly has little time for discussions over whether the U.S. or China will top the medals table next August.
"The spirit of the Olympic Games ... is not about nations, it's not about continents, it's not about supremacy," he said. "It's about the pursuit of excellence by individuals who train very hard for that and do that within the Olympic spirit of fair play, brotherhood."
Asked how he would like the Beijing Games to go down in history, the 65-year-old orthopaedic surgeon said: "I would like the Games to be held in peace, in maximum security, with the least number of doping cases possible. And definitely with great athletic prowess, with great champions emerging because that's the great magic of the Games.
"And if at the same time we can have a situation where the world at large discovers China, and it's values and its assets, then I will be a very happy man."
Bear Stearns held talks to sell stake to China: WSJ
Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. (BSC.N) has looked at selling part of itself to China Citic Group or setting up a joint venture with the state-controlled company, The Wall Street Journal said on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
But after Blackstone Group (BX.N) sold a nearly 10 percent stake to China for $3 billion, other Wall Street firms have been pursuing similar deals, so Chinese investors may have more attractive options than investing in Bear, the newspaper said.
Bear Stearns said on Sunday Warren Spector, co-president and co-chief operating officer, had resigned, as turmoil in the subprime market spurred the collapse of two Bear Stearns-managed funds and forced the investment bank to halt redemptions on a third.
Bear Stearns said on Friday it was weathering the worst storm in financial markets in more than 20 years. Standard & Poor's changed the outlook on the investment bank's debt ratings, signaling a higher chance of a downgrade over the next two years.
Last year, Bear Stearns held talks with China Construction Bank Corp. (0939.HK) about taking a minority stake, to give Bear more capital and a foothold in China, but those talks broke down after CCB's then-president, Chang Zhenming, left the bank, the Journal said.
But after Blackstone Group (BX.N) sold a nearly 10 percent stake to China for $3 billion, other Wall Street firms have been pursuing similar deals, so Chinese investors may have more attractive options than investing in Bear, the newspaper said.
Bear Stearns said on Sunday Warren Spector, co-president and co-chief operating officer, had resigned, as turmoil in the subprime market spurred the collapse of two Bear Stearns-managed funds and forced the investment bank to halt redemptions on a third.
Bear Stearns said on Friday it was weathering the worst storm in financial markets in more than 20 years. Standard & Poor's changed the outlook on the investment bank's debt ratings, signaling a higher chance of a downgrade over the next two years.
Last year, Bear Stearns held talks with China Construction Bank Corp. (0939.HK) about taking a minority stake, to give Bear more capital and a foothold in China, but those talks broke down after CCB's then-president, Chang Zhenming, left the bank, the Journal said.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
China says faces arduous food safety task
China faces a long and difficult task to improve food safety, but global cooperation is the only way to do it, official media said on Sunday after yet another week of global anxiety about the quality of Chinese goods.
A range of Chinese exports, from fish and toys to pet food and toothpaste, have been found to be mislabeled, unsafe or dangerously contaminated, creating an international backlash.
"At present, the food safety situation has improved, yet is still serious," Xinhua news agency quoted the deputy head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Hui Lusheng, as saying.
"Since last year reports of 'red-yolk duck eggs' and so on have often caused wide concern in society about food safety, and warned us that our country is in a period of high risk," Hui said, referring to a contaminated egg scare.
"Dealing with and preventing food safety risks is a long-term, arduous and complicated project, which needs society to work together and comprehensive prevention," she added.
But the government also insists the problems of a few small, rogue companies should not besmirch the whole made-in-China label, insisting it does take effective action to ensure safety.
In fact, China has always worked with other countries to tackle the issue, Xinhua said.
"Food safety and product quality is an international problem, and is also something the whole of mankind pays attention to," it said in a piece carried on the central government's Web site (www.gov.cn).
"It needs cooperation and better communication from governments to seek common solutions together. Strengthened international negotiations and cooperation are the only effective path to solving the safety problem," the report added.
It then listed the talks China had had with Japan, the European Union and the United States on the subject.
"The quality and inspection bureau has proactively attended international meetings, and taken part in setting standards," Xinhua said.
An agreement on food safety cooperation was signed with the United States on Saturday, the quality watchdog said in a statement on its Web site (www.aqsiq.gov.cn). It gave no details.
In the latest scare, Mattel Inc. said it was recalling 1.5 million Fisher-Price toys globally because their paint could contain too much lead.
The United States has stepped up inspections of imports from China since a chemical additive in pet food caused the death of some pets there earlier this year.
Beijing has complained though that it is the victim of biased news reports that have grossly overstated the depth of the quality problem and are being used to stoke protectionist demands.
"In many countries, protectionism has still not been wiped away," quality watchdog spokesman Liu Deping was quoted as telling state television, according to a transcript carried on official government Web site www.china.com.cn.
Some Chinese products were running into trouble overseas simply because of different food standards, it quoted a professor at China Agricultural University as saying.
"These differences in standards are actually to limit other country's trade and exports," Luo Yunbo said.
A range of Chinese exports, from fish and toys to pet food and toothpaste, have been found to be mislabeled, unsafe or dangerously contaminated, creating an international backlash.
"At present, the food safety situation has improved, yet is still serious," Xinhua news agency quoted the deputy head of the State Food and Drug Administration, Hui Lusheng, as saying.
"Since last year reports of 'red-yolk duck eggs' and so on have often caused wide concern in society about food safety, and warned us that our country is in a period of high risk," Hui said, referring to a contaminated egg scare.
"Dealing with and preventing food safety risks is a long-term, arduous and complicated project, which needs society to work together and comprehensive prevention," she added.
But the government also insists the problems of a few small, rogue companies should not besmirch the whole made-in-China label, insisting it does take effective action to ensure safety.
In fact, China has always worked with other countries to tackle the issue, Xinhua said.
"Food safety and product quality is an international problem, and is also something the whole of mankind pays attention to," it said in a piece carried on the central government's Web site (www.gov.cn).
"It needs cooperation and better communication from governments to seek common solutions together. Strengthened international negotiations and cooperation are the only effective path to solving the safety problem," the report added.
It then listed the talks China had had with Japan, the European Union and the United States on the subject.
"The quality and inspection bureau has proactively attended international meetings, and taken part in setting standards," Xinhua said.
An agreement on food safety cooperation was signed with the United States on Saturday, the quality watchdog said in a statement on its Web site (www.aqsiq.gov.cn). It gave no details.
In the latest scare, Mattel Inc. said it was recalling 1.5 million Fisher-Price toys globally because their paint could contain too much lead.
The United States has stepped up inspections of imports from China since a chemical additive in pet food caused the death of some pets there earlier this year.
Beijing has complained though that it is the victim of biased news reports that have grossly overstated the depth of the quality problem and are being used to stoke protectionist demands.
"In many countries, protectionism has still not been wiped away," quality watchdog spokesman Liu Deping was quoted as telling state television, according to a transcript carried on official government Web site www.china.com.cn.
Some Chinese products were running into trouble overseas simply because of different food standards, it quoted a professor at China Agricultural University as saying.
"These differences in standards are actually to limit other country's trade and exports," Luo Yunbo said.
Friday, August 3, 2007
China's shares reach new high
China's shares rose to a new record high Friday the third time in a week, surging back from an Asia-wide slump prompted by worries about U.S. mortgages.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.5 percent to close at 4,560.77 points. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market also reached a new high, rising 2.3 percent to 1,323.40.
China's currency, the yuan, also rose, closing at 7.57 to the U.S. dollar.
The Shanghai stock index also set new record highs Monday and Tuesday, driven by expectations of strong corporate profits. Chinese stocks fell Wednesday as Asian markets reeled from a Wall Street sell-off prompted by concern that troubles over subprime mortgages might spread. But Chinese prices rose again Thursday, recovering some of their losses.
Chinese companies have been forecasting strong profit growth amid a boom that saw China's economy expand by 11.9 percent last quarter, its fastest quarterly growth since 1995.
The Shanghai index is up more than 60 percent this year, after more than doubling last year.
Friday, the biggest gains were among property and financial shares.
Analysts said they expected the market to edge even higher in coming sessions, led by a revival of speculative interest.
"The property sector is already overvalued, but its recent gains have spurred a strong appetite for property shares," said strategist Wang Sheng at Haitong Securities. "Investors seem unlikely to step back until the sector is way too overheated."
Shares in developer China Vanke jumped 7.1 percent. Beijing North Star rose 7.4 percent and Financial Street Holding surged 9.6 percent.
"Some new funds are building positions and many retail investors encouraged by the recent market rise are piling into stocks," said Qi Fupeng at China Jianyin Investment Securities.
China Minsheng Banking rose 8.5 percent, while Citic Securities and China Merchants Bank both rose by their 10 percent daily limit.
"Financial names are by no means cheap now," Wang said. "But compared with property firms and many other extravagantly priced companies, their valuations are acceptable."
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.5 percent to close at 4,560.77 points. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market also reached a new high, rising 2.3 percent to 1,323.40.
China's currency, the yuan, also rose, closing at 7.57 to the U.S. dollar.
The Shanghai stock index also set new record highs Monday and Tuesday, driven by expectations of strong corporate profits. Chinese stocks fell Wednesday as Asian markets reeled from a Wall Street sell-off prompted by concern that troubles over subprime mortgages might spread. But Chinese prices rose again Thursday, recovering some of their losses.
Chinese companies have been forecasting strong profit growth amid a boom that saw China's economy expand by 11.9 percent last quarter, its fastest quarterly growth since 1995.
The Shanghai index is up more than 60 percent this year, after more than doubling last year.
Friday, the biggest gains were among property and financial shares.
Analysts said they expected the market to edge even higher in coming sessions, led by a revival of speculative interest.
"The property sector is already overvalued, but its recent gains have spurred a strong appetite for property shares," said strategist Wang Sheng at Haitong Securities. "Investors seem unlikely to step back until the sector is way too overheated."
Shares in developer China Vanke jumped 7.1 percent. Beijing North Star rose 7.4 percent and Financial Street Holding surged 9.6 percent.
"Some new funds are building positions and many retail investors encouraged by the recent market rise are piling into stocks," said Qi Fupeng at China Jianyin Investment Securities.
China Minsheng Banking rose 8.5 percent, while Citic Securities and China Merchants Bank both rose by their 10 percent daily limit.
"Financial names are by no means cheap now," Wang said. "But compared with property firms and many other extravagantly priced companies, their valuations are acceptable."
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