Beijing enacts new law to cool property market

The new rules ban Beijing families who own two or more apartments and non-Beijing registered families who own one or more apartment from buying more homes. — File Photo

BEIJING: Beijing Municipal Government Wednesday issued new rules limiting the number of homes each family can buy as the government rein in to cool the property market.

The new rules ban Beijing families who own two or more apartments and non-Beijing registered families who own one or more apartment from buying more homes.

Non-Beijing registered families who have no residence permit or documents certifying that members of the family have been paying social security or income tax for five straight years are also banned from buying apartments.

China, India, Brazil become ‘major players’ at IMF

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. –Photo by AFP

WASHINGTON: China and India received long-sought recognition Friday as global economic heavyweights as the International Monetary Fund gave them and other emerging powers a significantly larger role in stabilizing the world economy.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced planned reforms to the fund’s voting power after a meeting of the organization’s board, declaring that no longer would emerging economies feel that they are ‘‘invited to the table, but minor players.’’

Tired of choking on growth, China launches green GDP

Analysts have said that the government must place greater emphasis on people's welfare and the environment in assessing cadres, but such a system is hard to develop. – Reuters Photo

BEIJING: Growing fast but choking on smog is just not good enough for a new “green development” index that China launched on Thursday.

The index, which in part revives an earlier attempt to put a price on pollution, is a small example of how China is gradually changing its course after years of pursuing fast growth with little regard for the environment

It ranks cities and provinces according to their performance in striking a balance between economic expansion and environmental protection.

China, US closer to G20 deal on trade imbalances: report

South Korean special police officers guard near the symbol of G20 at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 25, 2010. – AP Photo

BEIJING: China and the United States have reached the basis for an agreement at next month’s Group of 20 summit on setting targets to rein in global trade imbalances, a report said Wednesday.

The Financial Times quoted Li Daokui, an adviser to China’s central bank, saying G20 finance chiefs had made “good progress” towards a deal at their meeting in South Korea at the weekend.

“I was very encouraged by the G20 meeting,” Li told the newspaper in an interview. “It is now possible for the two governments (the US and China) and other governments to have a good understanding.”In a statement the G20 finance ministers agreed to “refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies” and aim for “more market-determined exchange rate systems”.

Group of 20 vows to avoid currency devaluations

European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, center, speaks as European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, left, and Belgium’s Finance Minister Didier Reynders listen at their press conference following the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting at a hotel in Gyeongju, South Korea, Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010. – AP Photo

GYEONGJU: The world’s leading advanced and emerging countries vowed Saturday to avoid potentially debilitating currency devaluations, aiming to quell trade tensions that could threaten the global recovery.

The Group of 20 also said it will pursue policies to reduce trade and current account imbalances that threaten the economic recovery, and agreed to give developing nations more say at the International Monetary Fund, part of what it described as an ambitious set of proposals to reform IMF governance.

IMF backs stronger Chinese currency as Asia powers ahead

WASHINGTON: A stronger yuan is “essential” for both the Chinese and world economies, the IMF said on Wednesday as it projected breakneck growth for China and a powerful post-crisis bounce across Asia.

The International Monetary Fund said the Chinese yuan was “substantially” undervalued, heaping more pressure on Beijing to allow the currency to strengthen to help rebalance skewed world trade.

China suspends India power projects

NEW DELHI: Restrictions on the import of skills are forcing Chinese companies to suspend the building of badly needed power plants in India to rid the country of its crippling energy deficit, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

A Delhi-based Chinese official said as many as 10 Chinese companies had had to suspend work on power projects ñ viewed as a top priority by the Congress party-led government ñ because of a shortage of skills and difficulties in importing their own technicians from China. “Without Chinese people the projects can’t go through smoothly,” the official said. “They (India) don’t have enough technicians and skilled workers.”

China overtakes Germany as top world exporter

Saturday, January 09, 2010
FRANKFURT: China and its population of 1.3 billion has overtaken Germany, population 82 million, as the world’s top exporter, trade figures from the German national statistics office showed on Friday.

From January to November, Chinese exports were worth 1.07 trillion dollars, while German data showed that exports from Europe’s biggest economy amounted to 734.6 billion euros, or 1.05 trillion dollars.

China pulls out of $40 billion Australia gas deal

SYDNEY: Chinese energy giant PetroChina Co. Ltd. has pulled out of a $40 billion deal to buy natural gas from a project off Australia, leaving Woodside Petroleum Ltd. looking for new customers.

China to be world’s third windpower producer

Friday, January 01, 2010
BEIJING: China is set to become the world’s third largest wind power producer in 2009, state media reported, as the Asian giant seeks various ways to expand energy supply to power its economic boom.

The country’s installed wind power capacity will reach 20 gigawatts this year, said Shi Lishan, vice director of the National Energy Administration’s New Energy Department, the Xinhua news agency said Wednesday. That will lift China to surpass Spain and become the world’s third biggest wind power producer after the United States and Germany, the report said.

China revises up 2008 economic growth

Saturday, December 26, 2009
BEIJING: China announced on Friday that the country’s economy grew by 9.6 per cent in 2008, up from a previously announced figure of nine per cent.

The latest national economic census found the economy was worth 31.4 trillion yuan in 2008, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Ma Jiantang said at a briefing, or around 4.6 billion dollars based on the current exchange rate.

China will target 8pc growth in 2010’

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
‘BEIJING: China will target eight per cent economic growth next year as the government maintain’s pro-growth policies aimed at fighting the global turn-down, a top minister said on Monday.

“Based on the central government’s target for around eight percent economic growth, we’re aiming for around 11 per cent growth in industrial output,” Li Yizhong, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said in a webcast.

China to hold moots for investment in Pakistan

Thursday, December 17, 2009
By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday urged China to participate in its privatisation programme. In response, Beijing offered to organise sector-specific conferences in China aimed at attracting investors, especially in banking, finance and power sectors in which Chinese investors are interested.

Federal Privatisation Minister Waqar Ahmed Khan, in a meeting, urged Chinese companies to participate in the privatisation programme, which would bring the two countries more closer.

PR inks loan deals to buy locomotives, coaches

BEIJING: Pakistan Railways has signed loan agreements with a Chinese bank to purchase coaches and locomotives, informed sources said.

The two loan pacts were signed with China’s EXIM Bank.

The Pakistani delegation was led by Member Finance Pakistan Railways Jehangir Aziz and included senior officers from the Finance Ministry and Ministry of Railways.

China exceeds 2009 goal of 9m new jobs

Sunday, December 13, 2009
BEIJING: Some 9.4 million jobs were created in China’s cities during the first ten months of the year, exceeding the goal of nine million for the entire year state media said Saturday.

According to government figures, the active population at the end of 2008 numbered just over 792 million, most of whom were in work.

China ready to invest $50bn for Nigeria oil

Wednesday, December 09, 2009
NEW DELHI: China is ready to invest $50 billion to acquire 6 billion barrels of Nigerian oil reserves in a proposal made in June, a sum which could help the OPEC member fund its joint ventures with oil majors, a top adviser said.

Several state-run Chinese oil firms, including CNOOC, are in talks with Nigeria about Beijing’s search for proven oil reserves, which include incursions into some oil blocks held by Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron.