TODAY'S BRIEFS 29 July, 2008

TODAY'S BRIEFS

GDP growth, CPI to ease slightly in 3Q: experts

China's GDP will grow 10% and the CPI will rise 6.1% during the third quarter of this year, down 0.1 percentage points and 1.7 percentage points, respectively, from the second quarter, according to a consensus estimate by 17 Chinese and foreign institutes, state media reported. "The government's tight monetary policy is beginning to work to bring down inflation with the quickened pace of renminbi appreciation and a slowdown in money supply and GDP growth,'' forecaster and professor at Peking University, Lu Feng, said. China's central bank signaled that monetary policy will focus more on maintaining economic growth than on curbing inflation as the global slowdown hurts domestic business. The central bank's second-quarter monetary policy report omitted reference to the tight policy stance it adopted in December, saying instead it will work to "create a good monetary environment for steady and rapid economic growth.


CCB: Export growth could stay above 20%

China's export growth may remain above 20% in the second half of this year if the government adjusts policies to bolster the sector, said a research report by China Construction Bank, state media reported. However, the real pace of export growth was actually slowing down sharply once price increases and the rising Chinese currency were taken into consideration, the report said. China's exports gained 21.9% year-on-year in the first half of 2008, down 5.7 percentage points from the growth rate a year ago. China needs to create 24 million new jobs each year and foreign trade, where private companies concentrate, creates a large number of those vacancies. According to industrial statistics, more than 80 million people work in foreign trade


China Telecom to pay $8.6bn for CDMA

China Telecom will pay as much as US$8.6 billion to use its parent's newly acquired wireless network for the next three years, as the country's top fixed-line carrier enters the more lucrative mobile market hoping to more than double its total subscriber numbers by 2010, Reuters reported. At the same time, China Telecom's parent plans to invest US$11.7 billion over three years expanding and upgrading its new Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, top executives said. China Telecom and its state-run parent agreed in June to split the cost of taking over Unicom's underperforming CDMA operation. China Telecom aims to launch its own CDMA mobile business by the end of February, Chairman and CEO Wang Xiaochu said, debuting in a market dominated by China Mobile and smaller rival China Unicom and targeting high-end urban users.

Beijing says it is free to set high tariffs

China said it has a right to set high tariffs on rice, sugar and cotton at multilateral trade talks in Geneva monday, the Wall Street Journal reported. China's objection to a compromise proposal on farm tariffs and subsidies, presented late last week in talks at the WTO in Geneva, appeared to set back hopes of closing a deal in the so-called Doha Round, still struggling after seven years of negotiations. It also brought a sharp rebuke from the US. China, according to deputy US permanent representative to the WTO David Shark, was throwing the Doha Round into the "greatest jeopardy of its seven-year lif," adding that China should understand the importance of its markets to the US and the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Zhang Xiangchen, an official at the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, called the US argument "absurd," according to Xinhua.

Fund managers told not to hurt market stability

China's securities authority has warned fund managers not to say anything publicly that could harm the stability of the market, the Financial Times reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, which issued the notice, did not make overt reference to the Olympics, but local fund managers believe it is part of an effort to avoid market turmoil in the pre-Olympic period.


China's ASEAN trade soars
China recorded US$95.55 billion in trade with ASEAN members during the first five months of this year, up 26.9% over the same period last year, state media reported, citing the General Administration of Customs. The total included US$50.27 billion in import value, up 22.3%, and US$45.28 billion in export value, up 32.6%. China's trade deficit with ASEAN countries dropped by US$1.96 billion, or 28.2%, over the five-month period to US$4.99 billion.

Shoe exports decline in first five months
China sold fewer shoes abroad in the first five months of 2008, due partly to reduced export-tax rebates, continuous renminbi appreciation, weaker demand from the United States and trade barriers such as anti-dumping lawsuits, state media quoted the General Administration of Customs as saying. Between January and May, China exported 3.39 billion pairs of shoes, a decline of 3.6% from the same period last year. But the export value rose 11.5%, to US$10.22 billion, as the average price per pair went up 15.8%