Business in Brief

Top 500 Foreign-funded Companies in China Mobile phone giant Motorola's three-year reign as top foreign-funded company in China has been set to "power off," as Volkswagen Shanghai Company raced into pole position on the country's 2004's list of Top 500 Foreign-funded Companies. Volkswagen Shanghai chalked up annual sales of 56.7 billion yuan that year - an increase of 12 billion yuan over 2003. The list shows that eastern China remains a magnet for foreign investment 444 members on the prestigious list are based in this area. Beijing hosts 47 of the companies, ranking fourth after Guangdong, Shanghai and Jiangsu. Most of the top 500 foreign-funded companies are involved in the IT, communications equipment, electrical appliances, electronics and auto sectors.     

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Updated petroleum prospecting technology used in the DaqingOil Field in recent years has allayed fears stemming from gloomypredictions in the 1990s that its reserves would dwindle and its futurewas uncertain.In the past 3 years,184.52 million tons of petroleumand 8.381 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been prospectedin Daqing.According to the president of PetroChina CompanyLimited,with rational exploration Daqing Oil Field reserves will lastanother 100 years.     

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More Efficient FuelThe Chinese government plans to adopt new regulations prescribing higher standards for gasoline usage in order to control consumption and upgrade auto technology. According to China Auto Technology Research Center, now drafting the standards, the new regulations are expected to take effect in July 2005 and the second-phase in 2008. This means that automakers from around the world     

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Foreign Firms in Beijing Enjoy "Full-on Nanny Service"All the headaches experienced by foreign firms in Beijing have been borne in mind in the "Full-on Nanny service" which includes opening a green channel, practicing Internet examination and approval, reducing the burdens of foreign-funded enterprises, and establishing a complaints center. Beijing has now set up service networks throughout the city. Even in out-of-the-way Yanqing and Miyun counties, foreign firms can receive "one-station" service. The "Full-on Nanny Service" also includes issuing invitations on behalf of foreign investors, finding schools for their children, and providing housekeeping, insurance and medical care.     

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Seven Sectors HoistIndustrial Growth In 2002 China’s industrialsectors reported a fast growthrate and the best overall perfor-mance in recent years.According to the latest report bythe State Statistical Bureau,seven fields constitute the majorengine of industrial growth.     

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SAFE Sets up Anti-money-laundering OfficeThe State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) says that it has basically set up an anti-money laundering mechanism that monitors the flow of transnational foreign exchange, and can therefore track down transnational     

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China to Revise Tax Law to Help CharitiesThe recently promulgated Guidelines on the Development of China's Charities (2006- 2010) call for revision of the country's tax laws to aid the development of charity. Wang Zhenyao, director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs' Department of Disaster and Social Relief indicates that further tax reductions and exemptions for private and corporate charity do- nators are likely in the future. China is currently faced with three charity-related challeng…     

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The new Chinese leadership plans to review 61 draft laws in theThird Plenary Session of the Sixteenth CPC central committee inOctober 2003. Included will be 30 business and economic laws, includ-ing the State Assets, Bankruptcy, Anti-Monopoly, People's Bank, andCompany and Securities Laws. Discussions will also be held on consti-     

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Global DIY Giants Compete in Chinese MarketFollowing the opening of Britain's B&Q, Germany's OBI and Sweden's IKEA retail outlets in China, giant US home improvement chain Home Depot is also setting up a business development unit in China. Its aim is to realize new overseas growth. According to Home Depot Asia president Bill E. Patterson, "About 70 percent of home improve-     

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World media giant Viacom and the shanhai Media Group have co-founded china's first joint venture TV Production company specializing in children'sprograms     

Business in Brief

China Raises Interest Rates on Private Mortgages China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, released a policy on March 17 aimed at adjusting commercial banks' private mortgage rates. It stated that rates on consumer housing loans would be lifted to "generally the same" as those on other loans, and would be no lower than 90 percent of its benchmark rates. Meanwhile, the minimum down payment in cities experiencing rapid increases in housing prices was raised from 20 to 30 percent. Regional commercial banks, however, can maintain some flexibility in setting mortgage rates, according to government policy and local real estate conditions. The People's Bank of China has made it clear that mortgage rates will continue to be raised, until they reach market standards.     

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Renewable Energy Fund Set up China's Ministry of Finance has issued its Temporary Measures on the Administration of a Renewable Energy Development Fund. They comprise detailed rules regarding the application, approval, accounting management, assessment and supervision of key projects supported by the fund. The fund will provide either free finance or cheap loans for     

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As Dead as a CRT? As plasma TV prices continue to plummet, the old CRT (cathode ray tube) sets are losing their last remain- ing competitive advantage. Twelve international and Chinese TV giants, including LG, Philips, Samsung, Hita- chi, Sharp, Panasonic, Hisense, Haier, Skyworth, TCL, Changhong and Xo- ceco, recently announced they would discontinue the supply of CRTs to ma- jor Chinese stores by October 1, 2007.China: the World’s Mobile Phone Factory Statistics from the Chin…     

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China to Tax Textile Exports in 2005The Ministry of Commerce has announced eight measures to ensure healthy development of China's textile exports once the global textiles market is liberalized in 2005. They are: (1) Levying an export tax on certain textile products to encourage high added-value product exports; (2) Reinforced government support of enterprises through timely distri-     

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China Becomes World's Third Largest Exporter Recent WTO statistics show that Chinese exports leapfrogged Japan's in 2004, making the country the world's third largest exporter after the US and Germany. Surging demand for Chinese-manufactured electronic products has boosted the country's overseas sales by 35 percent.     

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Children's Commodity Market to Expand by 12.4 Percent Annually A research report on China's children's commodity market was released during the 2006 China Retail Business Summit The report estimates that the market will see average annual growth of 12.4 percent between 2006 and 2010, and be worth more than RMB 100 billion by the end of that period.     

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CMB China's Top Commercial Bank China Merchants Bank (CMB) has come out on top of a recent evaluation of China's 13 national commercial banks. Gauged by six criteria, namely, development strategy, information science and technology, organization and business process reengineering, human resources, corporate governance, and products and services, CMB kept ahead of its rivals, with the Bank of Communications and Minsheng Bank coming in second and     

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Hundred-Million-Ton Thickened Oil Deposit Discovered in Shengli Oil FieldA large-scale 100-million-ton oil deposit was recently discovered in the Shengli Oil Field, China's second largest. Prospectors have explored and now control over 84.35 million tons of oil within a 40-sq.-km area in northern Dongying City, Shandong Province. The     

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Ministry of Commerce Cites Top 30 Chain Enterprises The Ministry of Commerce has issued a list of the 2003 top 30 chain enterprises, ordered on the basis of sales volume. Shanghai Bailian (Group) Co., Ltd., with a sales volume of 48.52 billion yuan and 4,357 chain stores, ranked first.     

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Foreign Financiers Look to China Overseas financial firms are keeping a close eye on China's credit card market, which by 2010 is expected to generate an annual income of at least US $3 billion. If restrictions on foreign financial firms were to be lifted, domestic financial organizations to update their outlook and data on consumer credit to become more available, this figure could exceed US $5 billion — the same level as Taiwan. China's affluent social stratum is expanding, and by 2010 the number of households with an annual income in