ECONOMY

ECONOMY

XINHUA

Booming Cargo Throughput

A vessel anchors at the coal wharf of the Qinhuangdao Port in Hebei Province on April 11. In the fi rst quarter of this year, the Hebei Port Group handled 91.85 million tons of cargo, up 22.27 percent year on year.

State Firms Bolster Xiongan

More than 30 central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from power, infrastructure and transportation industries plan to seize business opportunities expected from the planned creation of the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province, according to the website of the country’s top SOE regulator on April 10.

Central SOEs including the China Telecommunications, China Eastern Airlines, China National Machinery Industry and China Energy Engineering have all held top management meetings to discuss plans to develop the new area, according to the website of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

To ensure suff i cient clean energy supplies, the China National Offshore Oil said it will build a branch pipeline of liquef i ed natural gas to the Xiongan New Area, stretching from its supply network connecting its production base in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to consumption markets in northern China.

“The new area will certainly bring in people, capital and consumer goods, which requires the companies to build hospitals, industrial parks, roads, airports, energy and water supply facilities,” said Lu Huapu, a professor at Tsinghua University and a member of the expert committee advising on the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Lu said central SOEs, particularly in infrastructure, telecommunications and transportation, are not only expected to be the fi rst batch to move their headquarters and subsidiaries to the new area, but also to be the fi rst group of project contractors to build the infrastructure of the area.

The new area has also brought growth opportunities to fi nancial institutions.

The China Construction Bank will establish a leading group to coordinate its business in the new area in its headquarters in Beijing, as well as set up a regional branch in the area. The China Merchants Group will also support the Xiongan New Area fi nancially in all aspects, including bank loans, bonds, fi nancing, public-private partnership and public listing business.

Hisense Becomes FIFA Sponsor

Chinese electronics giant Hisense announced on April 6 its status as an off i cial sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, becoming the fi rst-ever Chinese consumer electronics brand to sponsor the tournament.

As an off i cial FIFA World Cup sponsor, Hisense will engage in an array of global marketing and advertising activities for both the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup, reaching more than 200 countries and regions in the process and enhancing the brand’s international exposure.

Hisense will be able to associate its logo with the forthcoming major FIFA events, as well as numerous other rights that include access to advertising boards in stadiums, onscreen credits and other creative marketing opportunities on and off the pitch during the events.

Liu Hongxin, President of Hisense Group, sees the FIFA World Cup as one of the most signif i cant sporting events in the world, rivaled only by the Olympic Games. For Hisense, sponsoring the prestigious tournament not only serves as a massive marketing opportunity for the brand, but also as a crucial, strategic initiative for the entire enterprise.

“Over the years, Hisense has earned a lot of experience and brand growth through sports sponsorships,” said Liu at a joint press conference held with FIFA on April 6.

Additionally, Hisense will offer its technical expertise and products throughout the 2018 FIFA World Cup while also engaging in a joint R&D initiative with FIFA to further push the boundaries of display technology.

New Train Order

An aff i liated company under China’s top train maker CRRC Corp. has acquired a subway train order from Nagpur, India, the company said on April 9.

A total of 69 train coaches will be produced by CRRC Dalian for subway operations in Nagpur, the largest city in central India, according to an agreement signed by the company and a local subway company.

The trains are for two urban rails in the city with a total length of 38 km. The agreement, signed on March 27, also includes a 10-year train maintenance project, accordingto a statement by the CRRC.

CRRC Dalian received its fi rst train order in May 2015, providing 112 train coaches for the Kolkata subway.

With more cities planning to build urban rail systems, India has become an important potential market for Chinese train makers.

The order is expected to be completed this year, the statement said.

XINHUA

New Agriculture

Farmers put vegetable pots on machinery equipment in a modern agricultural park in Ruijin, Jiangxi Province on April 10.

In recent years, the local government has provided policy and fi nancial support to construct modern agricultural facilities to increase farmers’ incomes.

More FTZ Visitors

A China-Kazakhstan free trade zone (FTZ) received about 1 million visits in the fi rst quarter of 2017, according to local border inspection authorities.

The Horgos International Border Cooperation Center on the China-Kazakhstan border, in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has seen an increasing number of tourists since 2012. It attracted a total of 5.43 million tourists in 2016.

Hu Ruifeng with the Horgos city border checkpoint said the center launched 12 self-service customs clearance passages in mid-March, which allow people to pass through in 10 seconds with the help of face and fi ngerprint identif i cation devices.

Covering 5.28 square kilometers, the center opened in April 2012 as a destination for cross-border shopping. It has more than 40 dutyfree shops selling luxury brands such as Omega and Versace.

The facility is the world’s fi rst cross-border FTZ and the biggest duty-free shopping center in west China. It allows entry of citizens from any country with valid passports or with exit and entry permits.

Banking Risk Control

China will enhance risk control throughout the banking sector to eliminate fi nancial risks in major fi elds, the country’s top banking regulator announced on April 10.

Targeted measures will be taken to address fi nancial risks in the banking sector and stick to the bottom line of no systemic fi nancial crisis, according to a guideline released by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

The guideline outlines detailed fi elds for enhanced risk control, including traditional sectors such as credit, liquidity, real estate and local government debt as well as nontraditional areas including bonds, fi nancial products, Internet fi nance and cross-border fi nancial impact.

Chinese lenders saw the ratio of their non-performing loans fall to 1.74 percent at the end of 2016, slightly down from 1.76 percent at the end of September 2016, according to the CBRC.

Top leaders of banking institutions should be in charge of risk control efforts and there will be stricter supervision and punishment for irregularities in the sector, according to the guideline.

In the fi rst quarter of this year, the CBRC imposed administrative penalties in 485 cases of irregularities in the sector with fi nes totaling 190 million yuan ($27.52 million).

Improved Tourism Competitiveness

China has risen two positions to be 15th in the latest global tourism competitiveness ranking released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on April 6.

The WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks 136 countries and regions across 14 dimensions, revealing how well countries could deliver sustainable economic and societal benef i ts through their travel and tourism sector.

While advanced economies such as Spain, France and Germany continue to top the rankings, 12 of the top 15 most improved countries are emerging markets, with some in Asia.

“The rise of Asia’s giants shows that the Asian Tourism Century is becoming a reality,” said Tiffany Misrahi, the WEF’s community lead for the aviation, travel and tourism industries.

As one of Asia’s giants, China received nearly 57 million tourists in 2016, which accounted for over 20 percent of international arrivals in Asia, says the report.

It attributes the improvement of China’s tourism competitiveness ranking mainly to the country’s increased international openness, improved information and communications technology and further investments in its tourist service infrastructure.

China’s increased prioritization of its travel and tourism industry has also supported its rise, says the report.

XINHUA

Intangible Cultural Heritage

An artist shows a kind of brocade produced by the Tujia ethnic group in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of central China’s Hubei Province on April 9.