Caution Needed When Attempting Overseas Takeovers

正While several decades of rapid economic growth has made China a preeminent participant in global commodities trade,the fast-growing overseas merger and acquisition(MA)activity of companies from China is laying the foundation for the country to become a major source of outbound investment.Figures from the Ministry of Commerce(MOFCOM)show that in the first quarter of this     

Fusing Coal and Power Sources

<正>Reorganization aims at solving problems in the power industry The State Council has approved the merger of China Guodian Corp.and Shenhua Group,according to a statement from the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission(SASAC)of the State Council on August 28.The two companies,which are among the country’s largest     

Euronext Eyes Chinese Companies

With the merger of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Europe's leading cross-border exchange Euronext drawing near to a close, a vast trans-Atlantic stock exchange-NYSE Euronext Inc.-will soon be born.This marriage brings trading plat forms in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon under one group, and includes the London International Financial Futures Exchange.The new stock giant will establish a joint office in China this year, as China approved the NYSE and NASDAQ to set up offices in China after the first strategic economic dialogue between China and the United States last December.Pan Kang, President for the China Region and Vice General Manager of the International Listing Department of Euronext, is currently busy scouting for Chinese companies hoping to raise money on Euronext.In the following interview with Money Journal/Xinhua Finance, Pan dis-cusses Euronext's China plan and shares his views on the trans-ocean merg-er of global stock exchanges.     

MARKET WATCH

Foreign investment banks are increasingly looking to China’s vibrant merger and acquisition deals. To cope with domestic headaches such as power shortages and soaring international iron ore prices, the Chinese Government raised the on-grid coalfired power prices and coke export tariff rates. Recent vehicle tax rate hikes may not be instrumental in depressing the sales of large-capacity cars. China Unicom is gearing up to challenge the dominance of China Mobile by pumping huge investments into developing a 3G network.     

Market Watch

On July 19, the National Bureau of Statistics unveiled the first half macroeconomic situa-tion for China. Strong GDP and investment growth, espe-cially the rising consumer price index (CPI), indicated signs of an overheating economy. But the release of sta-tistics calmed down stock investors and the mainland market declined 0.44 percent on that day. Insurance companies can now double their investments in the stock market, a move believed to help stabilize the mar-ket. The Chinese merger and acquisition (M&A) cases have grown in an effort to optimize industry structure. Meanwhile, as of August 1, taxes on resource products will be much higher. Battles between China and the United States over food issues further deepened as both countries banned certain food imports from the other, though it was noted that officials from both countries will meet in the coming months to discuss food safety.     

Market Watch

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s 10.7 percent! All estimations, guesses and doubts came to a close after the National Bureau of Statistics issued the 2006 GDP growth rate.Backed by the booming domestic market, China Mobile has been fearless, determined even to buy a loss-generating Pakistani telecommunications company. Well, all our blessings.As domestic giants spare no effort to “go out,” foreign tycoons show their keen interest in “coming in.” Swiss company UBS AG has seen its dream come true in that it finally won approval from the government to provide comprehensive brokerage services to Chinese customers. Similarly, New York-based insurance company Marsh & McLennan Companies happily announced that it will become the first wholly foreign-owned insurance company operating in China.Meanwhile, there are a lot of mergers in China, but some messy divorces too. Look at this one. The seemingly happy merger ofChangjiang Securities and BNP Paribas broke up soon after their not-so-sweet honeymoon ended.In the transportation sector, Delta Air Lines Inc. is applying for adirect flight between Shanghai and Atlanta in an effort to tap into the vast potential of air services between the two countries.     

Team Up to Fly

<正>Three Chinese airline cargo carriers expect to become one After China’s high-speed train maker CNR Corp.Ltd.’s merger with its long-lost rival CSR Corp.Ltd.in March,a new wave of reform for China’s state-owned enterprises(SOEs)seems imminent and imperative.Against this background,after Zhou Laizhen,Vice Minister of Civil Aviation Administration,disclosed the budding thought concerning air freight reorganization at the China Civil Aviation Development Forum on June 24,rumors over a consolidation of the country’s three largest airline cargo carriers began to gain ground.Though a concrete plan of the con-     

Sleepless in Beijing

Beijing by night reveals a different side of the smog-ridden, traffic-jammed, mad rush of a capital we see by day. As the sun goes down and millions of people head home for the evening meal and sleep, seize the opportunity and take the city by storm.Unlike the Beijing of the early 90s, the city now has a huge assortment of bars, clubs and discos for denizens of the dark side. With epicenters in Sanlitun and Haidian, a galaxy of the interesting and banal awaits your patronage. Also awaiting your arrival is a cast of characters-both local and foreign-from all walks of life around Beijing and the world.Back in the days before Third Ring Road made a continuous (in stop-and-go) loop around Beijing, there were few ven-     

Gender Bending——Social Trends You Can Wear

PASSING for a member of the opposite sex is a tirelessly amusing trick celebrated in several art forms over many centuries and in many cultures. In 1998,Walt Disney Pictures made the animated film named Mulan based on a story from the Sui Dynasty(581-618) about a Chinese legendary heroine Hua Mulan.Mulan impersonated a man and took the place of her ill father in the ranks of the army fighting invaders from the north.For her bravery in assuming a male role,and the sacrifice she made for her father,Mulan has been honored in history.There are many such female heroines in Chinese history,fictitious and real,such as Fan Lihua of the Tang Dynasty(618-907) and Qin Liangyu of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) whose legends celebrate female ferocity and their awakening to inner strength and power.     

Upgrading Western Development

正China unveils new guideline on western development to enhance opening up,innovation in the region Chinese policymakers on May 17 issued a guideline on advancing the new pattern of western development in the new era,which calls for winning the"three tough battles'against major risks,poverty and environmental pollution,improving innovation capability and building a modern industrial system in the country's western region.The development of the western region remains unbalanced and inadequate and lags far behind the eastern region,making it arduous to further reduce poverty.The western region is still a weak link in completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and achieving socialist modernization,the guideline says.The guideline requires a notable improvement in ecological,business and innovation environment as well as opening up of the western region by 2020 and the completion of the building of a moderately prosperous society in     

Scientific Approach to Development and Human Rights

The Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 2003 put forward a scientific approach of people-centered, all-round, coordinated and sustainable development and made it a strategy for governing the country, putting it in command of all economic and social development. Since reform and opening up in 1978, China has persisted in the central task of economic development and put development in the first place. The evolution of the concept "development is the     

ASONG OF TEACHING

Dr. Mark H. Levine is a sociologist from the United States who left the academic world in the mid-1970s and spent the next three decades in the practice of public sociology, a full-time volunteer for organizations of low-income workers, working and living in poor and minority communities across the US. In fall 2005, the author came to China to aid in the national campaign for English education, and taught at a teachers＇ college in the east coast province of Jiangsu.     

A University in Paradise： Zhejiang University

Founded in 1897 and one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in China, Zhejiang University has the reputation as "Cambridge of the East." It has always been one of the top universities in China, in terms of its comprehensive academic strength in teaching, research and facilities. In September of 1998, a new Zhejiang University was established on the basis of amalgamation of the four former individual universities, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou University, Zhejiang Agricultural University and Zhejiang Medical University, all located in the garden city of Hangzhou. Endowed with a pleasant climate, picturesque surroundings and a favorable academic atmosphere, Zhejiang University is an ideal place for teaching, research and learning.     

ECONOMY

ALong-Awaited Platform An inauguration ceremony for the National Equities Exchange and Quotations is held in Beijing on January 16. The National Equities Exchange and Quotations is a securities trade center that will offer services relating to equity sales, financing issues and merger and acquisitions for de-listed stock companies.Private Investment China is planning to allow privately owned companies to enter the mobile     

China and CELAC: A New Model of South-South Cooperation

The first ministerial meeting of the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States(CELAC)concluded in Beijing on January 9,2015.The meeting passed such major documents as the Beijing Declaration,a five-year cooperation plan,and the regulations on the China-CELAC Forum.It was a historic,high-profile and large-scale meeting.The foreign ministers and representatives of CELAC member states gathered in Beijing,creating a new record in the history     

Sights by Night

It's midnight but walki ng through Guijie Street, a popular night destination in downtown Beijing, you would think it's a car nival evening. Lines of people pop in and out of the row of restaurants, and the mouth-watering smell of spicy crawfish wafting out stops passersby in their tracks and makes them head toward the source of the smell. At Huda Restaurant, a crawfish joint, people are still waiting in queue and connoisseurs say the dish there is worth several hours of waiting.     

SUCCESS OUTSIDE THE CITY

Coming as a much-needed boon for the countryside,this year's No.1 Document,jointly released by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council,pledges a series of concrete measures to propel improvements in the rural economy and the livelihood of farmers.Nevertheless,rural prosperity in line with the success of urban areas will prove to be a challenge.The foundation of the agriculture sector remains fluid,and farmers lack a stable source of income and a reliable social safety net.     

Austria—Sounds of Music Concert in Celebration of 40 Years of China-Austria Diplomatic Relations

The year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Austria.On the evening of May 6,the CPAFFC and the Austrian Embassy jointly held a reception and a concert in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing in celebration.     

The Mysterious Forest in Xishuangbanna

Shen Xueren was born in Weifang City,Shandong Province in June 1941.He graduated from the Central Academy of Arts in 1966,and re- ceived a doctor's degree at the United Nations International University. Now,he is a member of the China Artists Association and the Chinese Calligrapher Association,a consultant for the China International Association of Celebrity,the arts and cultural exchange ambassador of the World Peace Foundation,an honorable member of the British Royal Joint Academy of Sciences,a researcher at the Research Center of the World Cultural Arts and an honored painter of the Cultural Market Development Center of the Ministry of Culture. In 1978,Shen created the Flower Painting Association.In the same year,he participated in the setting up of Beijing Painting Shop.In 1980,he created the Research Association of Flower and Bird Paintings together with his friends.In 1999,he set up Shen Xueren Art Gallery and Shen Xueren Art Museum.From 1982 to 2000,he had many art exhibitions in many countries including the U.S.A.,Japan,France,Canada and Singapore.Wu Zuoren,Chairman of China Artists Association,attended the opening ceremony of his exhibition in Beijing.The chairman of the Artists Association hosted his exhibition in France.The Chinese Ambassador in Canada,Yu Chen,hosted his exhibi- tion in Canada. The local TV and newspapers report on his exhibitions,and his artwork is collected by embassies and museums.He was invited to draw pictures for the National Museum of China,the Great Hall of the People, Xinhua News Agency,the People's Daily and CCTV,and was also invited to the University of Toronto to give lectures on Chinese painting. Shen has won many awards in many countries.These include an award of excellence for international ink paintings held in Japan in 1986, an award of excellence for new in- ternational art exhibitions in 1988 in Japan,the gold medal of the second Chinese Art Competition in 1999,a sil- ver medal in the 2000 World Chinese Art Exhibition,and a special award from the 2001 Beijing International Art Exhibition.In 2007 his artwork was collected by the UN World Peace Foundation and was awarded the World Peace Art Achievement Award. He was given the title World Art Master.     

Quake-stricken Qiang Community Back to Normal

Tmade my first visit to Luobozhal, a village of the Qiang ethnic minority near Wenchuan, the epicenter of the 2008 earthquake, in a mid March snowstorm in 2009. Cloaked in glaring white and thick in deadly silence, the region with the romantic nickname ＂village above clouds＂ （for its altitude of 1,950 meters above sea level） remained in a complete shambles from the disaster a year before. In makeshift shanties, its people coped with the inconveniences of a make-do daily life while grap-pling at every moment with a persistent and instinctive mourning for the loss of their loved ones and ancestral homes.