Economy

　　New Reform Measures

　　Rules on the implementation of the free trade account system that enables full convertibility of the Chinese currency and allows offshore financing in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) will be rolled out before the end of June， an official said on March 25.

　　The account will help Chinese companies， especially those engaged in foreign trade， secure cheaper yuan-denominated funding from offshore， where financing costs have been lower than that on the Chinese mainland.

　　“We hope to have the account in place by the end of the first half of this year，” said Dai Haibo， deputy director of the Shanghai FTZ administrative committee.

　　China’s central bank previously eased restrictions on overseas investment by individuals by allowing those working in the zone to open an account for overseas investment.

　　Nearly six months after it was established last September， the Shanghai FTZ has launched pilot schemes to advance financial reforms. Key programs include easing the cross-border use of the Chinese yuan， liberalizing interest rates on foreign currency loans， and facilitating offshore financing and outbound investment.

　　Offshore RMB Trading

　　The Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) are to sign an agreement on renminbi clearing and settlement in London on March 31. A designated clearing bank will be named “soon，” the UK Treasury said on March 26.

　　The change will allow investors to cut the risk from making overseas payments in the Chinese currency. It also burnishes London’s position as the global center for foreign exchange trading as China’s rise shifts international financial flows.

　　Historically， economic links between China and Europe have been centered on trade， but as China’s wealth grows， and its authorities move to liberalize currency and capital markets， financial centers in Europe are targeting investment. The UK is determined to defend its role as the main offshore renminbi trading center outside Asia.

　　Slower Growth

　　China International Capital Corp. (CICC) expects the nation’s economic growth to slow to 7.3 percent in 2014 due to multiple downward factors.

　　The investment bank attributes the “weakened growth momentum” mainly to the restraining effects of economic restructuring and financial risk control on demand.

　　The figure was lower than the previous 7.6 percent forecast by the investment bank earlier this year.

　　CICC also cut the economic growth forecast for the first quarter from the previous 7.8 percent to 7.3 percent.

　　In the short term， it is difficult for macroeconomic policies to strike a balance between readjusting the economy and maintaining growth， leading to persistent downward pressure on the growth of demand， according to its quarterly report.

　　As GDP growth is no longer its top priority， the government would not adopt full-scale monetary easing policies， said the report. The authorities’ determination to rein in financial risk will also dent investment， with the negative effects already emerging， said the report.

　　More Convenient Access

　　Shanghai Pudong New Area’s approval process for foreign businesses has shortened to two days， following the government’s call to streamline the administrative process and vitalize market forces.

　　Shanghai’s Pudong New Area will halve the approval period to two days for the establishment and adjustment of projects backed by foreign capital， according to a report by Xinhua News Agency on March 26.

　　This will make Pudong， one of the country’s earliest reform testing-grounds， the fastest hub to provide market access to multinational companies.

　　The policy will also beat the record of a minimum four days for a company to receive business licenses in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone， an initiative to open up the economy and attract foreign investment.

　　Overseas Venture

　　China’s leading Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd. announced a plan on March 26 to buy a 28-percent stake in South Korea’s CJ Games Corp. at $500 million， making it the third-largest shareholder of CJ Games， a leading online and mobile games developer and publisher in South Korea.

　　Through the strategic partnership with Tencent， CJ Games is expected to enable its growth in the global mobile games market.

　　As part of the restructuring， CJ Games will acquire and merge Netmarble， a game distribution division of its parent firm CJ E&M， to maximize the synergies among distribution platforms and development via the creation of a consolidated corporation tentatively named CJ Netmarble.

　　Martin Lau， President of Tencent， said in a statement that the partnership combines CJ Games’ unrivalled game development skills and mobile game line-up together with Tencent’s strong game publishing and operation capabilities in China.

　　The move is in line with Tencent’s extensive history in the gaming industry in China. Online games contributed to nearly half of Tencent’s revenue of 16.97 billion yuan ($2.73 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2013， according to the company’s financial report.

　　Rare Earth Dispute

　　The World Trade Organization (WTO) judged that some Chinese raw-material exporters had violated the global trade rules on export tariffs and quotas， according to a report released on March 26.

　　China’s Ministry of Commerce reacted to the WTO ruling by saying that the ministry was evaluating the report and adopting measures in accordance with WTO dispute settlement protocols.

　　Rare earths are in great demand for their use in smartphones and other gadgets， and China is the biggest global supplier， providing over 90 percent of the world’s rare earth production. However， there have been concerns that mining rare earths results in severe environmental damage.

　　The WTO report was a response to accusations made in March 2012 by the United States， European Union and Japan， and the organization formed a dispute settlement panel in July 2012.

　　Alleviating Jams

　　Beijing’s neighboring Hebei Province is planning to step up development of Baoding， a local city， in preparation for the transfer of some functions from Beijing.

　　According to an urbanization document published on March 26， the province will enlarge the size of Baoding to be able to accommodate administrative organs， colleges and universities， research institutions， medical and nursing services transferring from Beijing.

　　With a hi-tech center and modern industrial bases to be built， Baoding will also develop the industries of high-end equipment manufacturing， new energy， energy-saving and environmental protection， and modern logistics as well as its airport economy from 2014 to 2020.

　　Another local city， Langfang， will also boost its service sector so as to serve as an ecological and recreational zone for Beijing， said the document.

关注读览天下微信， 100万篇深度好文， 等你来看……