"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Just links today:
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Beijing Lines out Rout for Central SOE Reforms-Caijing – Distributions of income among SOEs could be included into a nation-wide reform of income distributions as part of the country’s broader plan to arrest outrageous income gap between the rich and the poor, the professor told Xinhua. It’s worth noting though, a recent plan to reform income distribution across the country, which has been brewing for eight years, was delayed due to resistance from state executives, Caijing learned. China’s SEO bosses are often accorded ministerial level ranking in the party-state hierarchy, and therefore, many are reluctant to change the state quo that the behemoth has enjoyed for so many years.
Urbanization Sets to Drive 40Trl Yuan worth of Investment in a Decade-Caijing – The committed efforts to promote urbanization, which is still at an early stage, will drive some 40 trillion yuan worth of investments in areas including transportation, electricity, housing, education and health care, according to a draft plan proposed by the country’s top economic planner. Pledge by the new leaders, which came to power in November, hastened such polices to promote urbanization not only in the central level and also in local regional places. Among the key tasks listed by the new leaders at an important economic conference on December 15-16, urbanization has acquired the status as a growth engine. “Urbanization will release the full potential of domestic demand,” Xinhua reported in a summary of key messages from the National Economic Conference. The percentage of China’s population living in cities reached 51.3 percent in 2011, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. The figure was only 36.2 percent in 2000.
Anatomy of an Odd, Hands-Off Deal for Ping An – Caixin – Several CDB officials, however, said the bank wasn’t involved in the transaction’s first tranche for about 3 percent of Ping An and worth HK$ 15.2 billion. The payment was made December 7. Still pending is the second phase of the deal, involving a more than 12 percent stake. HSBC and Ping An are waiting for a green light from China’s insurance regulators. CP Group said CDB Hong Kong will provide part of the finance for the second tranche. The first payment to HSBC was wired from a CP bank account. A Caixin investigation has found that one-third of the cash, however, came from former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Supplying the rest was a group of mainland investors led by financier Xiao Jianhua. Caixin learned Xiao raised his part of the cash by tapping three, municipal commercial banks in northern China with whom he enjoys close ties: Harbin Bank in Heilongjiang Province, Weifang Bank in Shandong and the Baoshang Bank in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.
China Stocks Erase Year’s Losses as Yen Drop Drives Japan Shares – Bloomberg –
Poly Real Estate Group’s sales revenue tops 100 bln-Morning Whistle – As of December 21, the sales revenue for the current year of Poly Real Estate Group Co., Ltd (600048.SH), China’s second-largest property developer, has surpassed 100 billion yuan ($16.03 billion), the ChinaScope Financial reported, citing Hu Zaixin, Deputy General Manager of the company. Apart from 15 billion yuan attributed to the sales of commercial products, residential housing sales accounted for the majority of the company’s total sales revenue this year – of which over 90 percent were sales of common residential units under 144 square meters. From having total assets of 16.5 billion yuan and net assets of 3.64 billion yuan in 2006, the property giant achieved a 15-fold growth in the span of six years – with total assets amounting to 246 billion yuan as of November this year, and net assets totaling 50.2 billion yuan.
China plans more affordable housing, reiterates property controls – Xinhua | English.news.cn – BEIJING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) — China will continue to build millions of affordable housing units and stick to control measures on the property sector next year, the minister of housing and urban-rural development said Tuesday. The country plans to start construction on 6 million affordable housing units and complete the construction of 4.6 million units in 2013, Jiang Weixin, the minister, told a national work conference here.
Tianjin record broken for most expensive property – Companies and Industries – MorningWhistle – –Tianjin will be fine now that Zhang Gaoli is in PBSC, regardless of what “should happen” given the debt and buildout// A land parcel sold at a record high price for the year in Tianjin on December 24, just 7 days after the call made by the Ministry of Land and Resources on avoidance of expensive land.
Bronte Capital: Fushi Copperweld: A Christmas present from the China Development Bank and Abax Captial to arb funds – interesting land angle to some of these deals
MERRY CHRISTMAS: Chinese Credit Ratings Agency Dagong Puts The US On Negative Watch – Business Insider – Not that it affects anything at all, but Chinese credit rating agency Dagong used Christmas to put the US on negative watch.
地方政府债风险预警机制正在制定 将严控新增债务-财经网 – 广州首次亮出地方债账本。据悉，截至今年6月末，全市地方政府性债务余额为2414.03亿元，其中政府负有偿还责任的债务余额为1786.15亿元
明年金融监管将重防系统间风险传递 新华社——经济参考网 – “今年上市银行净利润增速从2011年的平均29%降至17%左右，不仅如此，资产质量和内控管理中所暗藏的问题也逐渐浮出水面。在估值方面，银行板块整体市盈率为6.05倍，处于市场最低端，这一系列现象让外界调侃银行业已迈进‘夕阳行业’。”一位国有大行研究部人士对《经济参考报》记者说。业内专家普遍认为，金融危机所带来的“余震”并未过去，国内银行业仍面临短期风险暴露和中长期战略转型的双重压力。另外，以委托和信托贷款、银行承兑汇票、企业债券融资、民间借贷等构成的“影子银行”体系日渐壮大，这意味着2013年的监管复杂性和压力不小。
铁道部负债近3万亿元靠卖票来还利息_网易新闻中心 – 核心提示：截至2012年三季度，铁道部负债26607亿元，资产负债率达到了61.81%。今年三季度铁道部还息即高达250亿元。另外，寄生于高铁产业链的企业灰色操作抬高了运营成本。而票务是铁道部主要收入来源。
Judge Takes Aim at Another S.E.C. Settlement – NYTimes.com– good. IBM getting off way too lightly. people should be going to jail// Following a path started by Jed S. Rakoff, a Federal District Court judge in Manhattan, Judge Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., has held up the settlement for nearly two years because of his demands for greater disclosure to ensure the public’s interest is protected. The case involves violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by International Business Machines from 1999 to 2008 for payments made to foreign government officials. The amounts involved were not significant, about $207,000 paid in Korea and a slush fund of undisclosed size to pay for overseas trips by Chinese officials.
刘纪鹏炮轰六部委10号文 称制度长期逼良为娼-财经网 – “我早在2009年2月就首次提出了‘股市堰塞湖’的概念，现在已经积累到了不是简单经济问题的阶段，制度正在逼迫越来越多的企业家变更国籍，说难听点就是在逼良为娼。”刘纪鹏
POLITICS AND LAW
Official fired after videos show his second family — Shanghai Daily – THE deputy secretary-general of Zhanjiang City in Guangdong Province has been removed from his post after local Party discipline watchdog confirmed online allegations about his having a mistress and a second child in violation of China’s one-child policy.
郭声琨任公安部党委书记|郭声琨|公安部党委书记_新浪新闻 –
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
China’s new guided missile destroyer ready for action: report｜WantChinaTimes.com – A political commentator Zhang Bin told HBTV that the launch of the destroyer will be a milestone in China’s naval development, as it will send a veiled warning to other countries, especially Japan, which is embroiled in a territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea that are also claimed by Taiwan. Noting that Shinzo Abe, the president of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, said after his party won the Dec. 16 parliament election that Japan’s sovereignty over the islands is beyond dispute, Zhang said the launch of China’s second 052D destroyer will obviously force Abe to lower his voice when making similar claims in the future.
Abe’s right-wing agenda rings alarm bells – Globaltimes.cn – Meng Xiangqing, deputy director of the Strategic Research Institute at the National Defense University of the PLA, told the Global Times that the second journey by a Chinese marine surveillance plane near the islands indicates the integration of air and marine surveillance has become routine. “The situation has permanently changed since September 10. Once we step in, we will not step back,” he said. “The tension over the islands is much more intense than that over the Yasukuni Shrine. Neither country will back off this time, and a military confrontation is likely to occur at any time,” Ni Feng, an expert on American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Pope Prays for Freedom in China and Peace in Syria – NYTimes.com – He also addressed China, where in recent weeks the Vatican has been increasingly at odds with the government over the ordination of bishops, who cannot hold office without approval from the authorities, to the dismay of the Vatican.
能源革命重塑美国霸权基础_财经频道_一财网 – first financial–energy revolution may rebuild foundation for american hegemony// 2012年能源领域最热门的词莫过于“美国能源独立”和“页岩气革命”。页岩气的成功，不仅使美国相信“能源独立”并非只是一个梦想，还正推动世界能源格局深刻转型。
TECH AND MEDIA
Sina dismisses rumors of Alibaba purchase |Companies |chinadaily.com.cn – amazing how this stock was manipulated by the repeated rumors of a deal, in US there would be an SEC investigation// Sina’s stock price rose 7.81 percent on Nov 19 to $48.59 on the back of the rumor. The riseindicates investors’ concerns over whether the popular micro-blogging service, Sina Weibo, canbe a strong revenue generator amid slower user growth and fiercer competition. Sina told China Daily the rumor is false. Alibaba declined to comment.
Policymakers Float Tighter Internet Regulations – Caixin – The measures would officially allow the government monitor Internet activity and require Internet-related companies to cooperate when necessary. The proposal also mandates upgrades to monitoring systems used by Internet-related companies which delete information prohibited by law or regulation. Currently under debate among policymakers is whether oversight would go to the Ministry of Public Security or the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The draft also stipulates that any organization or individual should not send commercial electronic messages to the receiver without their consent.
网络法制建设_资讯频道_凤凰网 –ifeng special section on impending Internet legislation
Chinese Operators Release Latest 3G Metrics: still Unprofitable – By November 2012, Chinese 3G adopters reached 220 million, 20% of the total of 1.1 billion mobile phone users, as disclosed by MIIT, Chinese Ministry of Industry and Technology Information. China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom take 37%, 33% and 30%, respectively, of the total 3G subscribers. Each of the three telecom operators adds more than three million new 3G subscribers in last month.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Principal detained over accident[1]|chinadaily.com.cn– Head of kindergarten said she overloaded van because she was running late Guixi authorities in Jiangxi province have closed the unlicensed Chunlei Kindergarten in Binjiang township, and police have detained the school’s principal, the city government said. At least 11 young children died after the kindergarten’s principal allegedly drove an overloaded and speeding van into a pond.
11 Children Die in Van Crash in China – WSJ.com– SHANGHAI—The deaths of 11 children in a van accident prompted China’s Ministry of Education on Tuesday to call for closer protection of the nation’s schoolchildren, just two weeks after a knife assault at another Chinese school galvanized the public. In a circular issued on Tuesday, the ministry described such events as “heartbreaking” and singled out the Monday crash involving a school van from a privately owned kindergarten in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province.
Is migrant system China’s apartheid? – CNN.com –
Robbing the closet – Globaltimes.cn – Prosecutors say they have arrested seven men from a gang who lured gay men into compromising situations then robbed them, taking advantage of the victims’ fear of exposure. One alleged gang member is still at large. The gang trolled the internet for gay men seeing sexual liaisons, the Chaoyang district procuratorate announced Monday.
Inconceivable punishments – Globaltimes.cn – And last week posted an article about a similar policy in Heze. Shandong//The community in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, is attempting to prevent Zhang and his wife from gaining a crucial hukou, or household registration permit, for their 8-month-old son, unless the wife agrees to an intrauterine device implant (IUD) to ensure she doesn’t have a second child. In fact, Zhuhai has a forced IUD policy despite the fact that legal experts have raised serious doubts over its legality.
Ethical doubts for charity again – Globaltimes.cn – A media commentator is suggesting the China Charities Aid Foundation for Children (CCAFC) in 2011 transferred 18 million yuan ($2.89 million) in donations to a charity established by film star Jackie Chan just so it can collect a 10-percent administrative fee. The whistle-blower, Zhou Xiaoyun, claimed on his Sina Weibo Monday that the CCAFC had earmarked 31 million yuan to a project aimed at finding lost and kidnapped children but transferred 18 million yuan so it could collect a “management fee.”
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
China Air Daily announcement -We are looking for a new Beijing-based photographer or correspondent for this air quality journal project. This doesn’t have to be a pro, and we will be perfectly happy with a photo-hobbyist or an iPhone instagramer of sorts. But this work does take some discipline, as we hope to snap a picture of Beijing every day (although when he/she is away some friend cold be summoned to duty). And we also hope to find the best view and location possible, somewhere not too close to downtown Beijing but preferably with an open view of the skyscape.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
Major lines for high-speed rail ‘on track'[1]|chinadaily.com.cn– A network of high-speed lines, linking secondary routes to major ones, is on track to be completed by 2015, an official said a day before the first train departs on the world’s longest high-speed line on Wednesday. The 2,298-km line will connect Beijing and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. Trains will hurtle along the track at 300 km per hour. The country’s high-speed railway network will reach 50,000 km by 2020, with four north-south and four east-west main lines as the major routes.
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
Politics and the Chinese Language | ChinaFile Beta – The awarding of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature to the Chinese novelist Mo Yan has given rise to energetic debate, both within China’s borders and beyond. Earlier this month, ChinaFile ran an essay by Chinese literature scholar Charles Laughlin called “What Mo Yan’s Detractors Get Wrong.” That essay was, in large part, a critical response to an earlier piece in The New York Review of Books by Perry Link. We invited Link to respond.
Spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends, follow me on Twitter @Niubi or Sina Weibo @Billbishop, support Sinocism.