China
China's Ministry of Commerce to accelerate retail sales growth
China's retail sales may grow 15 percent annually through 2015 and top CNY32 trillion (USD5 trillion) in 2015, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.
The ministry said in its guideline for the country's 12th Five-Year Plan that it will accelerate the construction of infrastructure for commerce, and promote the use of e-commerce, franchising, online business and online shopping as well as modern logistics to boost the revenue of goods trading substantially.
China creates USD2.4b fund to help small firms
China on Wednesday announced new measures, including a CNY15 billion (USD2.4b) fund, to aid cash-strapped private small businesses as economic growth moderates.
The government will also extend preferential income tax policies for small enterprises until 2015 and encourage banks to issue special bonds to raise funds to lend to these companies, according to a statement released after a State Council meeting presided by Premier Wen Jiabao on Wednesday.
China outlines plans to turn Shanghai into global money hub
Shanghai is set to become a global yuan trade centre by 2015, with its financial market transactions almost tripling to CNY1,000 trillion (USD158 trillion), city authorities said on Monday as a detailed plan for the future international financial centre was revealed.
The plan, published by the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, and the Shanghai government, shows the scale of the country's ambition in creating its own version of New York or London.
China says retail sales hit USD74b during holiday
China said retail sales surged 16.2 percent year on year to CNY470 billion (USD74b) during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, as consumers splashed out on food, wine and clothes.
The commerce ministry said sales of clothes, jewellery and food rose 18.7 percent, 16.4 percent and 16.2 percent respectively, according to a statement posted on its website on Saturday, the last day of the holiday.
8.5pc growth predicted for China in 2012
China will probably engineer a soft landing, with economic growth slowing to about 8.5 percent this year from 9.2 percent in 2011, Li Daokui, an adviser to the country's central bank, said on Thursday.
Inflation, which has troubled China for much of the past year, is also likely to ease to about 3 percent from 4.5 percent in 2011, said Li, who sits on a board that advises the People's Bank of China.
FDI into China drops in response to US, EU woes
China's economy is showing signs of slowing, with foreign investment falling for the second straight month in December and home prices dropping in most cities, the government said on 18 January.
China's retail sales gain 18pc to 11-month high in Dec
China's retail sales rose 18.1 percent annually to an 11-month high in December, bolstered by robust demand in the run-up to the new year and the Spring Festival.
Retail sales climbed from a year earlier to CNY1.77 trillion (USD281 billion) last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
For last year retail sales grew 17.1 percent. In November they rose 17.3 percent annually.
China says growth slows to 9.2pc in 2011
China said on Tuesday its economy expanded an annual 9.2 percent last year, slowing from 2010, as efforts to tame high inflation and global turbulence put the brakes on growth.
Gross domestic product rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said, slower than in the third quarter, but still exceeding analyst expectations.
The annual figure was down from 10.4 percent in 2010, but analysts said the economy appeared to be holding up well.
China's inflation eases to 15-month low in Dec
China's inflation continued to weaken in December, giving more room for policy moves to support a slowing economy.
The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, expanded 4.1 percent from a year earlier last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
The pace was slightly down from November's 4.2 percent, and was the lowest since September 2010.
China to put GDP target below 8pc in 2012
China‘s leadership is targeting growth of less than 8 percent in 2012 a senior government researcher wrote on Friday in the People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.
Lin Zhaomu, a researcher affiliated with China's economic planning agency and the author of key economic documents for the Chinese leadership, wrote that the 2012 target fell between 7 and 8 percent and had been adjusted to help Beijing deliver on its plan for average GDP growth of 7 percent in 2011-2015.
