News Briefs

China encourages private investment in publishing business

China will encourage private enterprises to play a bigger role in the publishing business, according to guidelines to be released by the industry watchdog.

Private enterprises will be allowed to publish books on science and technology, finance and economy, supplementary materials to textbooks, music and arts, and children’s books, says a document to be issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP).

They can be involved in the publication of these books by supplying content, with project cooperation or being a unit of state-run publishers, the document says.

The guidelines also support the private players in exploring the overseas publishing market.

Previous guidelines issued early April last year asked the market-oriented news organizations and publishers to turn into full-fledged commercial players in one to two years.

They also pledged policy support to media giants which publish newspapers and magazines overseas, and acknowledged the status of private publishers for the first time.

The object of nurturing six or seven press and publishing giants with annual revenues of more than 10 billion yuan (USD 1.46 billion) in three to five years is reiterated in the to-be-released document.

As of 2009, the country has 958 publishers of books and electronic products and boasts 9,549 magazines and 1,943 newspapers. The output of the press and publishing industry is expected to hit 1 trillion yuan (USD 143.5 billion) in 2009, the document said.

 

East China’s Fujian builds new nuclear generator

Ningde nuclear plant, the first nuclear power station in east China’s Fujian Province, started building its third generator on January 8.

With an investment of 50 billion yuan (USD 6.8 billion), the Ningde plant would be equipped with four one-million-kW generators in first phase construction. Its first generator would be installed in 2012, said Li Yinong, general manager of Ningde Nuclear Power Company Ltd.

When the first phase project is completed, the station could generate up to 30 billion kWh of power every year to ease the power shortage in Fujian. It would also help reduce coal consumption by 12 million tons, thus cutting greenhouse gas emission by 27 million tons, he said.

China will have an installed nuclear power capacity of 40 million kW by 2020, accounting for 4 percent of the country’s total power generation.

 

Inner Mongolia becomes China’s largest coal producer

North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has replaced neighboring Shanxi Province as the country’s largest producer of coal, local authorities said on January 15.

In 2009, Inner Mongolia reported coal output of 637 million tons, 22 million tons more than Shanxi, China’s top coal producing region for 30 years, said a statement from the regional administration of coal mine safety.

Last year, Inner Mongolia’s coal production increased 37 percent year on year, and it was expected to hit 730 million tons in 2010, the statement said.

Shanxi saw a decline of 4.7 percent of its coal output year on year in 2009, it said.

Since 2004, Inner Mongolia had cut the number of its collieries from 2009 to 501, while expanding their annual capacity from 140,000 tons to 1 million tons, it said.

It also contained the country’s largest verified coal reserves of 700 billion tons, which more than doubled the number of Shanxi, said a spokesman with the regional department of Land and Resources.

 

Waste paper imports grow, so as concern

Waste paper imports through south China’s Guangdong ports topped 10.33 million tonnes last year, up 13.3 percent over the 2008 level, local customs said on July 17.

However, some life garbage was found among the paper now and then, the customs said, cautioning against environmental problems.

In December alone, waste paper imports through Guangdong went up 17.1 percent year-on-year to 859,000 tons but down from the 1.02-million-ton annual peak last June.

The customs attributed the import growth to strong paper demand upon an economic recovery and a decline in paper pulp production in China.

More waste paper imports have exerted further pressure on China’s environmental protection, Guangdong customs said, suggesting beefed-up monitoring and the establishment of a domestic waste paper recovery system to reduce reliance on imports.

 

7.5t yuan of credit supply targeted in 2010

Authorities have set the target for the credit supply in China in 2010 at roughly 7.5 trillion yuan (USD 1.1 trillion), said Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Speaking at the Asian Financial Forum here on on January 20, Liu said regulatory authorities would continue to control the pace and amount of credit supply this year.

“Though the first few days of January this year witnessed a relatively strong and quick lending momentum, that is because of the lagging effect of last year’s credit buildup,” he said.

“Such trend will definitely be eased as the effective demand is satisfied,” he added.

Credit supply in China totaled about 9.5 trillion yuan (USD  1.4 trillion) in 2009, with monthly bank lending averaging 1.52 trillion yuan (USD 222.5 billion) in the first quarter but falling back gradually to normal levels in the following quarters.

Credit played a primary role in supporting the massive infrastructural investment. Rapid credit buildup also stabilized the market confidence, eased liquidity stress and boosted the economy, Liu said.

Liu said prudential measures were taken at the credit hike in the first quarter of last year, adding that regulatory authorities had asked banks to heighten their vigilance against any possible embedded credit risks.

Liu said he expected challenges for the Chinese banking industry in 2010.

“The year 2009 might be the most difficult year of the Chinese economy. 2010 could be the most complicated year with uncertainties,” he said.

Nevertheless, Liu said he did not expect the exit strategy to be a huge challenge for China because no money had been spent to rescue the financial industry.

“The real challenge facing China and other Asian economies is how to readjust their structure,” he said.

 

Big banks urged to offer more rural loans

China’s central bank on January 24 called on the country’s largest banks to offer more loans to the rural sector, where farmers and businesses still have difficulty accessing formal financial services.

Liu Shiyu, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, called for microloans to be issued to farmers in order to develop rural industry, increase the scale of farming and build village infrastructure. He gave a speech on rural financing and services in Henan Province reported by the Xinhua news agency.

“Encourage big State banks and commercial banks to use many approaches to increase rural financial services and participate in the rural financial market,” Liu said.

“Speed up the establishment of village and township banks, microcredit companies and new types of financial organisations like rural mutual cooperatives, and implement policy support and risk management measures.”

Poor access to financial services, including loans, was identified a few years ago as one of the factors keeping the Chinese countryside much poorer than the coast or the cities.

Despite years of exhortations, banks have proven reluctant to lend to farmers who often lack collateral.

Rural loans rose 29 percent on year in the first three quarters of 2009, to 8.8 trillion yuan (USD 1.289 trillion), Xinhua said. That lagged a 34.2 percent growth in total yuan loans in the same period.

 

ARJ21 conducts cold weather testing

China’s first indigenously-made regional jetliner ARJ21-700 has successfully conducted cold weather testing, a crucial step in getting the type certificate, China News Service’s Website reported on January 25.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the ARJ21’s manufacturer, told media on January 25 the ARJ21-700 plane with serial number 103 successfully flew from Hailar district, Hulun Buir city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to Yanliang district of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, finishing the cold weather ground and flight testing.

COMAC said two ARJ21 jets with serial number 102 and 103 underwent the cold soak testing on the ground and during the flight in January, according to China News Service’s Website.

The report said the ARJ21 will conduct other extreme weather tests in the near future.

ARJ21 project began in 2002 and the jetliner is China’s first home-grown passenger jet. ARJ21-700 is the baseline model which will have a capability of 78-90 passengers.

ARJ21 is expected to get its type certificate and be delivered to its first user – Chengdu Airlines by the end of this year at the earliest.

COMAC also has a plan to receive the United States FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) certification for ARJ21 in 2012, earlier media reports said.

COMAC is a Chinese aerospace manufacturer established in 2008 in Shanghai. The state-owned corporation is also building China’s first large passenger aircraft – C919, which is a 168-190 seat narrow-body jetliner and is expected to be delivered in 2016.

 

China Internet games to age suitability ratings

China’s on-line gamers may soon find their favorite games come with an age rating to show whether they are suitable for children or for adults only.

In Beijing, more than 30 on-line game operators led by the Beijing Animation and Game Industry Alliance have agreed to make age recommendations for players.

Alliance secretary-general Liu Chungang said the system was voluntary and was designed to protect young players.

Liu Chungang said alliance members would be required to add age tags such as “For adults” or “Suitable for all ages” by March.

In Shanghai, about 30 online game operators, including Shanda, the second-largest online game operator, have joined the campaign. Tencent, the largest online game operator, so far has not responded to the initiative.

But Liu Shihui, an officer with Tencent’s public relations department, told Xinhua the company had been studying a rating system and believed the core value of any rating hinged on whether operators would give real attention to protecting the healthy development of minors.

Liu Shihui said the company hoped the authorities would release guidelines at an early date in this regard to ensure a faster and healthier development of on-line gaming industry.

Liu Qiang, an officer in charge of the Internet culture with the Ministry of Culture (MOC), said the moves were enlightening and the ministry was considering extending it across the country. But Liu did not give specific date on a decision to promote it.

“We will assess the practice and draw from their experience,” Liu Qiang said.

The number of online game players in China surged 33 percent to 66 million over the past year, said a report released at the annual conference of Chinese gaming industry on January 20.

According to a separate report by the MOC released two days before the conference, almost one in six of these players was a minor.

 

China’s largest clean diesel motor plant in production

China’s largest clean diesel motor plant has gone into production in Inner Mongolia. It marks a giant step forward, for China’s auto parts industry.

The new plant is a subsidiary of Haw Tai Automobile. It will manufacture diesel motors, complying with euro five emission standards. It’s China’s first clean diesel engine for autos. And could reduce energy consumption by a quarter, compared with gasoline engines of the same size.

Xu Hengwu, Director of Haw Tai Motor Plant, said, “Considering the national energy strategy and the urge to cut carbon dioxide emissions, diesel motor markets will experience rapid growth in the near future.”

Diesel motors are relatively environmentally-friendly.

Cars powered by diesel engines make up over 50-percent of market share in Europe and the figure is increasing in North America, Japan and South Korea. However, China has lagged behind with a market share close to zero.

This new plant, with a production capacity of 300-thousand for the first phase, is making a breakthrough.

Zhao Jingguang, Dep. Party Secretary of Foton Motor Co., said, “It is a trend that traditional engines will develop into low-emission and environmentally-friendly motors. At present, new energy vehicles only account for a small percentage in China.”

Many auto makers are eyeing clean diesel motor markets. Bus maker Foton Motor, will install its first euro five engine this year.