Today's Big Stories for October 13, 2012

I'm back, and that means a Chinese Nobel Prize winner, ranking China's richest, California's investment gateway, and warnings against shadow banking. 

1. Mo Yan says Nobel prize means more eyes on Chinese literature

"In my childhood, there were only a few books available in my village. I had to resort to every means to find a book to read. I traded books with others and even churned the mill and reaped wheat for others in exchange for books," he said.

"When I finished reading all the books available in villages around, I thought I was the most knowledgeable man in the world."

"With no more books at hand, I even started reading a Chinese dictionary. I read it so many times that I even found mistakes in it."

2. China's 100 Richest

Slower economic growth took a toll on many of China’s 100 biggest fortunes, with 45 of them slipping from last year’s FORBES ASIA count and the overall roster’s total dipping 7% to $220 billion. But that still beats the 20% drop in the Shanghai Stock Exchange index since our 2011 list. Beverage producer Zong Qinghou, who topped our list in 2010, returns to the No. 1 spot as his net worth hit $10 billion.

3. California: China's gateway state to American investment?

California has attracted more Chinese investors than any U.S. state. And in the coming decade, thanks largely to California's robust tech industry, the Golden State is poised to be America's gateway for Chinese investment, according to a new report by the Asia Society.

This could be viewed as good news for California, which in recent years has dealt with strained budgets and joblessness worse than most other parts of the country.

4. Bank of Chine executive warns of shadow banking risks

A senior Chinese banking executive has warned against the proliferation of off-book wealth management products, comparing some to a Ponzi scheme in a rare official acknowledgement of the risks they pose to the Chinese banking system. China must "tackle" shadow banking, particularly the short term investment vehicles known as wealth management products, Xiao Gang, the chairman of the board of Bank of China , one of the top four state-owned banks, wrote in an op-ed in the English-language China Daily on Friday.

Today's Big Stories for September 24, 2012

Island controversy, China as a jobs' bogeyman, coal mines, lower forecasts, automotive dealer plight, and iPads for students.

1. Japan PM says dispute with China could hurt economy

Noda, who is scheduled to make a speech to the United Nations General Assembly this week, addressed reports that Japanese companies are facing economic harassment in China, telling the Journal that "recent delays in customs and visa issuance are of concern." He said damaging economic ties between the two nations could hurt the global economy.

2. New Romney Ad: Obama afraid to 'stand up to China'

For the second time in as many weeks, Mitt Romney's campaign released a new television ad blasting President Barack Obama as weak against China on trade. "Fewer Americans are working today than when President Obama took office," the ad's narrator says. "It doesn't have to be this way. If Obama would stand up to China."

As I post previously today, China isn't the problem when it comes to American jobs. I guess China's still the jobs' bogeyman (for both candidates). Oh well. 

3. 22 trapped in three col mine accidents in China

Three separate coal mine accidents over the weekend left 22 miners trapped in northeast and east China, according to local government sources. Eleven people were trapped after a fire broke out Saturday morning in a coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The accident that occurred at the Longshan coal mine in Youyi County of Shuangyashan City was previously reported to have happened on Sunday as a result of the mine owner's attempt to cover up, the rescue headquarters said.

4. Asia mostly lower as commodity firms weigh

China’s GDP growth outlook was cut to 7.5% from 8%, while Japan’s forecast was lowered to 2%, South Korea’s cut to 2.5%, and Singapore’s trimmed to 2.1%, the credit-rating firm said in a statement. “Our lower forecast for China recognizes that the central government had elected not to inject an economic stimulus of a size and speed necessary for an 8% growth rate,” S&P credit analyst Andrew Palmer said in the statement.

5. Car dealers see market shift to lower gear

Car dealers nationwide have begun to experience life in the slow lane after government policies to spur sales ended last year. Also putting the brakes on sales were ownership restriction rules starting in late 2010 that were intended to ease traffic congestion in cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou. In addition, the economy has slowed this year, exacerbating the plight of dealers. "For some car brands, we have inventories on hand of up to four months worth of sales," Pang Qinghua, chairman of Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Ltd. said. "The normal stockpile lasts for one and a half months."

6. Chinese high school gives free iPads to senior students

And the schools are making sure the students are focused on homework, too, by locking out popular social networking apps and other time wasters.

Today's Big Stories for September 13, 2012

Where is he, what will the central bank do, and is a rise in defaults around the corner? 

1. China silence on Xi speculation contrasts with past denials

Speculation about [Vice President] Xi began after he canceled meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week. The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi may have injured his back swimming. The Hong Kong-based Apple Daily newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported today that Xi suffered a heart attack.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that the cancellations were a “normal adjustment” and when asked yesterday, said he had “no information” about Xi.

2. Will Fed easing spur China's central bank into quick action? 

"The key dilemma for policymakers is that inflation looks like it will pick up earlier than expected, while a growth recovery coming later than expected," said Yiping Huang, chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong.

"I think the central bank will probably do a little bit more (on easing), depending on how the economy is doing. Realistically, the economy is going to rebound but certainly not going to rebound significantly."

3. Shadow bankers vanishing leave China victims seeing scams

China’s slowest economic growth in three years and a slumping property market, where many so-called shadow-banking investments are parked, are squeezing millions of Chinese who have invested the money of friends and acquaintances chasing higher yields to honor those payments. The slowdown also is putting pressure on the government to rein in private lending to avoid a spate of defaults that could increase the number of victims and lead to social unrest.

Private jet industry growth is outpacing available pilots, mechanics, airports, and licenses

In May I linked to an article calling private jets "the new business card of the elite." Unlike business cards though, you need enough qualified pilots and mechanics to get the jets off the ground. That's turning out to be a big problem. 

Bombardier Inc, the world's No. 3 aircraft maker, thinks Chinese executive jet buyers will take delivery of 2,400 new planes in the next 20 years. All China needs now is pilots to fly them, mechanics to fix them, and airports to land them.

Even if you can get the pilots, mechanics, and licenses to fly the thing, it turns out there isn't much airspace left to fly it.

China had just 180 airports as of the end of 2011, and the powerful military controls 70 percent of its air space, leaving limited room to navigate and land planes.

Only 30% of Chinese airspace is available to the public. I would love to see some sort of map/graphic of just how narrow these public flight navigation paths are. 

Today's Big Stories for September 10, 2012

Continuing rescue efforts, Chinese e-commerce, falling copper demand, and a widening trade surplus. 

2. China quake survivors await shelter, expect rain

The region was expected to be hit by medium to heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday, bringing the threat of rain-triggered landslides that could cause more casualties and complicate search efforts, Xinhua cited rescuers as saying.

Footage from China Central Television showed rescuers and sniffer dogs running past steep slopes because of the risk of fist-sized stones tumbling down. It also showed an ambulance stuck in stones and debris.

I didn't feel a thing here when this earthquake happened as opposed to the Sichuan earthquake a few years ago which was farther away but stronger. Let's hope the rain holds off so rescue efforts can continue. I was really hoping to visit the Yunnan/Guizhou area sometime in 2013.  

2. Open sesame for China's e-commerce brand Alibaba. Baidu, Tencent next?

The next wave for China’s Internet companies is to go international. It’s perhaps inevitable for trail-blazing Chinese startups such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu that entered the information superhighway some 10 years ago and rapidly progressed to full-fledged rivals to Amazon, eBay and Google in China. Taking this next step is not so far-fetched considering that Tencent is already buying startups in the U.S., Baidu has entered Japan, and Alibaba forged into the U.S. during the dotcom boom and now sports sales and marketing staff in Silicon Valley.

3. China copper imports fall in August as demand slows

Traders had hoped demand for copper wires and cables would get a boost from the government by the end of August as it expands infrastructure spending, but the amount of orders placed by the state has so far fallen below expectations.

4. China trade surplus widens and imports contract

Monthly exports rose 2.7% from a year earlier, indicating relatively weak overseas demand, with the gain missing a 3% projection from a Reuters poll of economists.

But imports surprised by dropping 2.6% from August 2011, failing expectations for a 3.4% increase from the Dow Jones Newswires survey and a 3.5% forecast gain in the Reuters survey.

The Eagle Dad of Qingdao

Why?

"The big eagle pushes the young eagle off the cliff. As it falls, the little eagle has no choice but to spread its wings, and learns how to fly," He explained, quoting a Chinese proverb.

Today's Big Stories for August 30, 2012

Mining accident, European debt, BYD in trouble, and China in Egypt

1. Death toll rises in China coal mine blast

The death toll from a gas blast at a coal mine in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan rose to 19, with 28 miners still trapped underground, according to the local city government. A total of 154 miners were working underground when the accident occurred Wednesday at around 6 p.m. at Xiaojiawan Coal Mine, according to Panzhihua city's official account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

2. China's Wen calls for action on Europe debt

Expressing alarm at Europe's debt problems, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and get their finances in order after meeting Thursday with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

1. BYD predicts dismal Q3 results

But the carmaker that used to own the country's best selling model F3 sedan has been outstripped by its peers in the Chinese market, despite only a total 9.6

million vehicles being sold in China in the first half, representing a 14-year low of 2.9 percent year-on-year expansion, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Great Wall Motor Co on Friday said its first-half net profit rose 29.9 percent to 2.4 billion yuan from 1.8 billion yuan a year earlier after selling an aggregated 262,018 vehicles during the period. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, another Hong Kong-listed carmaker, reported last week that its first-half net profit rose 8.7 percent this year, following sales of a total of 222,390 units both at home and abroad, up about 4 percent from a year earlier.

4. Chinese firms brave uncertainty in Egypt to gain a foothold in the Middle East

The Chinese are attracted to Egypt’s massive market for cheap consumer goods and an expansive and relatively cheap labor force. Egypt’s large number of preferential trade agreements with Europe, Africa and the Middle East, along with the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important waterways, also make it a prime location, said Chen Lin, the commercial counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt.

5. Analysis: China's aircraft carrier: In name only

Retired Major General Luo Yuan suggested naming China's new aircraft carrier Diaoyu, after the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. It would demonstrate China's sovereignty over the islands known as the Senkakus in Japanese, he said. For a notable hardliner, it was one of the least bellicose reactions he has advocated throughout a series of territorial rows that have soured China's ties with its neighbors in recent months.

Today's Big Stories for August 20, 2012

More island disputes, a new Miss World, and rising home prices. 

1. Landings, protests stoke Japan-China islands dispute

Anti-Japanese protests rocked Chinese cities on Sunday after nationalists from Japan landed on an East China Sea island at the heart of a territorial dispute between the two nations, the largest flare-up of Chinese public anger over Japan in years.

In several Chinese cities, thousands took to the streets, including in Shenzhen where small groups overturned Japanese cars and shouted slogans denouncing Japan's claim over the islands, in footage carried by Hong Kong's Cable Television.

I was in Shenzhen but didn't see any of this in person. I wonder where it happened. 

2. Eastern Beauty: Miss China becomes Miss World

Beauty queens from around the world have gathered in China to compete for the coveted Miss World title. Miss China, Yu Wen Xia, 23, defeated 115 other hopefuls at Saturday’s ceremony in the Chinese city of Ordos...

This is the second time a Miss China has received the coveted title. In 2007, China’s Zhang Zilin was also crowned Miss World.

3. Chinese Home Prices Rise on Month in July, Down on Year

China's home prices rose 0.1 percent in July from June, a second month of modest uptick that raises the risk Beijing may seek to bolster a two-year campaign to curb housing inflation but which also weighs on the wider economy.

Baijiu companies' stocks fall on fears of public spending bans

Unlike many foreigners, I am a fan of baijiu (the very strong Chinese liqueur). It's certainly not the easiest alcohol to ingest, but drinking it with new acquaintances can lead to life long friendships. It's the alcohol you drink both with friends and at formal business dinners and it almost always leads to Karaoke. Above it seems even Nixon toasted with it. As Reuters puts it, Baijiu producing companies such as Maotao and Wuliangye have thus far be immune to downturns in the Chinese economy. But possible bans on using public funds to purchase luxury goods (which include Baijiu) is causing their stocks to fall. From Reuter's article: 

Moutai posted a 43 percent increase in first half net profit late on Thursday, yet its shares fell almost 4 percent on Friday as the growth fell short of what some analysts had predicted. Wuliangye is expected to announce its interim results after markets close on August 19.

Premier Wen Jiabao pledged in March to ban the use of public funds for luxury items including baijiu, which retails for about $300 per standard bottle and well into the thousands for rare, aged varieties...

At the five-star Okura Garden Hotel in Shanghai, a top banquet venue, the beverage manager, surnamed Liao, said baijiu sales had dropped more than 20 percent since March.

In Tianjin, a bustling port city near the capital Beijing, Moutai sales were down by as much as 50 percent over the past half year, the official China Daily reported in late July.

Some localities have introduced their own rules, like prohibitions on drinking at lunch, to improve the image of government officials. In Jiangsu province's Siyang county, public expenditures on receptions had been cut by two-thirds, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported.

Which do you think will come first... the complete abolishment of public funds for baijiu purchasing or the abolishment of shark fin soup at official functions? I think the latter. 

Which is it?

Essentially the same article but with vastly different headlines:

1. China service sector maintains healthy growth in July - Reuters

2. China's service sector cools; more stimulus possible - Bloomberg Businessweek

Today's Big Stories for July 29, 2012 - Olympics Edition

China's off to a fast start, with their first ever golds in swimming in addition to golds in shooting and weightlifting. The men's gymnastic team is not looking too good though (and the Chinese women just lost to South Korea in archery). They must have been eating too many vegetables, just like the Chinese woman's volleyball team. 

1. China rules in the pool with Sun and Ye

Sun Yang propped himself up on the lane rope, posed for the cameras and let out a big roar as he pounded his fists into the water. It was the start of a big night for a Chinese swimming team that is developing into a major power.

2. New Pecking Order in Pool as China Wins Two Golds

It was a rough opening night in the pool for defending Olympic champions, above all a certain Michael Phelps, but it was a historic night for the Chinese.

3. U.S. Men's Gymnasts Are First in Team Qualifying

China and Japan slipped up again and again in qualifying, finding themselves tumbling from the high bar, falling off the pommel horse and stumbling on the floor exercise. At the end of the night, both teams slipped on the leader board, too. Japan plummeted to fifth out of eight advancing teams; China was sixth.

“One of our competitors was a substitute, so he lacked experience,” said China’s Chen Yibing, as he tried to explain his team’s shaky performance.

4. Olympics-Table Tennis - Everyone asks: Who can beat Chinese?

Chinese fireworks lit up the London 2012 opening ceremony and China's young table tennis stars are expected to rise to the task of taking every gold, although rivals hope the pressure could lead to an upset...

"It's very, very difficult to beat the Chinese. They don't just prepare for the Olympics for one or two years, they prepare for the four years with their training system," said Australian Miao Miao after winning her first round match on Saturday.

5. "Veggie" diet blamed for poor performance of China's women volleyball team

“They have showed significant decline in their strength and fitness” coach Yu Juemin said of his squad after Sunday's defeat to the US. “We are wary of meat tainted by lean-meat powder, and we didn't eat any during the game period,” Yu told the Shanghai Daily newspaper...

All Chinese athletes have been warned by the country's Sports Ministry to avoid meat contaminated with the powder, also known as clenbuterol, because it's banned by the International Olympic Committee as a performance-enhancing substance.

China bans the use of clenbuterol in livestock because of the chemical's noxious long-term effects on human health, but many pork farmers still administer it because it produces leaner meat. The World Anti-Doping Agency issued a warning last year about clenbuterol-tainted meat in China as well as Mexico, where it is also rampant.

As a result, the Chinese volleyball team only eats meat at its training camp, where the food can be tested for contamination. When players go elsewhere in the country, they have to forego pork, beef and lamb — as they did in the lead-up to the volleyball World Grand Prix finals tournament.

Today's Big Stories for July 20, 2012

Syria veto and iPad debut.

1. Russia, China veto U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria

Russia and China vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on Thursday that threatened Syrian authorities with sanctions if they did not halt violence against an uprising, again thwarting Western hopes for tough action as the crisis in Syria escalates.

2. iPad makes quiet debut in China

"I'm very surprised that there is no line," Sun Xufei, who an IT worker who was the first in line of about 20 people waiting outside the Shanghai Lujiazui Apple store, told Reuters. "I thought there was going be a long line so I came over a bit earlier to pick it up."

Burger King plans to open 1000 new locations in China in the next few years

Let the rise in Chinese obesity continue...

First Chinese woman in space will be Liu Yang

(Update: The launch has been a success)

Photo courtesy of China Daily

And so it has been decided that Liu 'little flying kite' Yang will be the first Chinese woman in space. I still can't figure out if the rocket has already launched or not. It was scheduled for Saturday evening. The China Daily Live Reports page's last update was at 4:25 pm and right now it's 6:08 pm. 

Update: Some great photos of the launch preparation can be found on The Wall Street Journal. 

Update 2: The rocket has successfully launched and China now has a woman in space. 

Apple opening an official store in Shenzhen

Shanghai has three. Beijing has two. It's about time Shenzhen, the electronics capital of the world, gets one. From Reuters...

Apple submitted documents on Monday to the Shenzhen government to open a store in Holiday Plaza, an upscale mall in the Nanshan district, according to an official with the Market Supervision Administration who would only give his last name as Ni.

"Apple is in the final stage and only needs to submit an environmental permit in order to gain approval," he said.

It should be a pretty easy store to stock, considering Apple's products would only need to be driven 30 minutes from factory to store. Holiday Plaza is a very expensive shopping center across the street from the Window of the World theme park and happens to be situated above a major metro station. I'm sure I'll find plenty of excuses to visit. 

Opening a store in Shenzhen isn't without risks for Apple...

But the possibility of selling iPads in Shenzhen could lead to more legal action after Roger Xie, a lawyer for Proview Technology (Shenzhen), told Reuters that if Apple tried to sell the popular tablets there, Proview would seek an injunction to stop them.

Apple and Proview are battling it out in the Higher People's Court in Guangzhou over the right to use the iPad trademark, which Proview contends it owns. Xie said both sides are currently undergoing court-mediated negotiations.

So the question is... should I submit my resume?