SHANGHAI: In a fresh sign of China¡¯s financial strength, a leap in the shares of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Monday made it the world¡¯s biggest bank by market capitalisation, overtaking US giant Citigroup. ICBC¡¯s Shanghai-listed A shares surged 2.68% to 5.75 yuan, giving it a market capitalisation of 4bn, according to Reuters calculations. That exceeded the 1bn capitalisation of Citigroup, previously the world¡¯s biggest bank, when its shares closed at .73 in New York on Friday. HSBC Holdings was in third place with 5bn. Shares in ICBC, which listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong last October, have gained 15% this month on the back of a rally in China¡¯s booming stock market as well as strong growth in the bank¡¯s own earnings. Weakness in Citigroup¡¯s share price, and appreciation of the yuan against the dollar have also shifted market values in favour of ICBC. But some analysts believe ICBC¡¯s ballooning capitalisation may also be a sign of a dangerously overheated Shanghai stock market as speculating Chinese investors pour money into shares. ICBC, a state-controlled behemoth which is trying to modernise a creaky branch network operating almost entirely inside China, reported income of bn last year. Citigroup, one of the world¡¯s most sophisticated financial institutions with operations around the globe, reported income almost four times as large, at bn. ICBC¡¯s share price yesterday valued it at 28 times analysts¡¯ forecasts for its earnings per share in 2007, far above 11 times for Citigroup and an average of 16 times for major global banks, according to Reuters Estimates. ¨C Reuters
KUNMING -- Fourteen people were killed and six others were injured after a bus veered off a road and plunged into a ravine in southwest China's Yunnan Province, a local government official confirmed on Thursday.The bus with 20 passengers on board veered off a highway in Maguan County of Wenshan Autonomous Prefecture of Zhuang and Miao Nationalities at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Liu Qingfu, deputy head of the publicity department of Wenshan prefecture.Fourteen people died at the scene. The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital and are reportedly out of danger.The cause of the accident is still being investigated.
China's work safety agency denied claims that current coal shortage was due to the closure of small, illegal pits."China is not short of coal as the country turned out 2.53 billion tons last year, a rise of 8.2 percent year on year. Output could jump by 3.3. percent this year", said Huang Yi, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).The campaign against the illegal collieries is aimed at those without production permits working under risky conditions. The shut-down of 11,155 small coal mines in the past two years means the elimination of that number of potential pit tragedies, said Huang in an online interview with www.ce.cn on Friday.Among the suspended collieries, 7,000 to 8,000 have merged with larger mines. The output of small coal mines still account for one thirds of the national total, or near 900 million tons, the same share before the reshuffle, said the spokesman.The current coal supply strain is temporary and regional, according to Huang.The heavy snow that has fallen since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in much of China, has paralyzed transportation, frozen the power grid and caused serious economic losses. Up to 17 provinces experienced blackouts in the snow-hit areas.Coal mines nationwide are urged to beef up production to ensure power coal supply in the disaster-hit regions.The government has also ordered the railway system giving top priority to power coal transport.Power supply and coal reserves continued to resume in China. Reserves of coal for power generation increased 800,000 tonnes to 25.2 million tonnes on Thursday, equaling 13 days' supply for the country's power plants, said the Disaster Relief and Emergency Command Center under the State Council on Friday night.
Six Uygurs have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment for secessionist activities in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.They were convicted of engaging in "separatist activities", "training at a terrorist camp" and "illegally making explosives" by the intermediate people's court of Kashgar last Thursday.The six people were believed to be members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which the UN listed as a terrorist organization.Two were sentenced to death, two received death sentences with two years' reprieve and the other two were jailed for life.The court heard that the six had engaged in a series of secessionist activities from August 2005 until this January, when they were arrested.Together, they planned, led and organized a terrorist camp and led two missions aimed at securing explosives.They made 67 grenades and two bombs that could be used for suicide attacks with the 16 kg of explosives they had acquired, Xinhua reported.
BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika here on Wednesday, and called for setting up formal mechanism to guide and coordinate bilateral trade cooperation. Wen told Mutharika that to enhance China-Malawi friendly cooperative ties was in the fundamental interests of both sides, adding China was ready to expand substantial cooperation with Malawi. The premier called on both countries to confer on setting up a guidance and coordination mechanism for trade cooperation. China would encourage its enterprises to increase imports from Malawi in a bid to stimulate bilateral trade and promote its balanced development. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) meets with Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika in Beijing, capital of China, March 26, 2008. Mutharika started a weeklong state visit to China on March 24 Mutharika said the establishment of diplomatic ties had unveiled a new chapter for bilateral relations. Malawi would stick to the one-China policy and support China's reunification. Mutharika said his country would maintain high-level exchanges with China, step up mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, technology, culture, medical treatment and social development, and Malawi would participate in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Wen said China welcomed Malawi to join the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, and was ready to join with Malawi to inject new vigor to China-Africa friendly cooperation. Mutharika echoed that Malawi was willing to contribute to cementing Africa-China cooperation. Mutharika arrived on Monday afternoon for a weeklong state visit to China as Hu's guest. He will also visit Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and the cities of Shenzhen and Shanghai
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday called for "good and intensive relations" with China.German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a news conference in Berlin January 15, 2008. [Agencies] "The German side is perfectly ready" to continue the sound relations with China on both economic and political levels, Merkel told a news conference in Berlin, in response to a question raised by Xinhua.The two countries have to rely on each other when it comes to international cooperation, said Merkel, who plans to visit Beijing in October for the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM).The Chancellor said China played a "constructive role" at the climate conference held on the Indonesian island of Bali in December which laid a groundwork for a successor to the Kyoto agreement on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.She also wished China every success in hosting the Beijing Olympic Games.
靖江右边的蛋蛋里面隐隐的疼
BEIJING -- The dumpling poisoning incident in Japan has been proved to be an individual contrived case, not caused by pesticide residue, said China's quality watchdog on Thursday.The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said at a press conference that it made the conclusion after finding no harmful chemicals in relative products and samples and no abnormal operations by the Chinese producer.Japanese media reported on January 10 that people fell ill in December and January after consuming frozen meat dumplings produced by Tianyang Food Plant based in north china's Hebei Province.
BEIJING - More than 50 people in the Chinese capital have been fined for spitting during the week-long May Day holidays, according to officials in charge of the city's image. Beijing's management department and civilization promotion office have jointly sent five inspection teams to patrol the downtown Wangfujing pedestrian street, Tian'anmen Square, commercial centers and railway stations to stop people from spitting, littering, random posting of advertisements and scrawling. By Sunday, 56 people were fined for spitting and refusing to correct the bad habit, according to the teams. The officials also handed out more than 10,000 bags to tourists, reminding them not to litter. The government is now anxious to correct the embarrassing habits of Chinese travelers ahead of next year's Olympics Games. And there is no better opportunity of doing it than the May Day travel spree, when an estimated 150 million Chinese will be on the road. The China National Tourism Administration has issued a circular, making travel agencies and tour guides responsible for correcting tourists' bad behavior during the holidays. Jumping the line, spitting, littering and clearing one's throat loudly in public are some of the frequently observed practices among Chinese travelers, according to a guideline prepared and released last year by the Spiritual Civilization Steering Committee (SCSC) of the Chinese Communist Party, the official etiquette watchdog. "We are supposed to remind people constantly throughout the tour, and also lead an etiquette discussion at the end of the tour," said Huang Xiaohui, a travel guide with a Beijing-based travel agency. "The Olympics are coming, and we don't want to get disgraced," Huang said, summing up the purpose succinctly.
BRASILIA - China Wednesday called on the international community to observe the principles and framework set by the Kyoto Protocol and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.The appeal was made by Cao Bochun, vice director of the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress, at the G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue forum held in this Brazilian capital."As a precondition of ensuring healthy human development, tackling climate change is today's and tomorrow's basic principle with which we should persist in confronting the problem," said Cao."Common but differentiated responsibilities" stated in the Kyoto Protocol and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should be the basis and precondition for a rational move in handling climate change, he said.The Chinese legislator said at the forum that "China, as a responsible country, has a resolute and consistent policy in dealing with climate change."China will do its "best to boost its capability" to fight climate change based on China's reality, said Cao.The capability of the mini-thermal power plants closed by the Chinese government in 2007 as an environment-protection measure reached some 14.3 million kilowatts, he said, adding that the drive will continue.He also rebutted criticism of China's increasing greenhouse gas emissions, saying most of the critics have ignored a fact that transfer emissions account for some 30 percent of China's total greenhouse gas emissions, which means China has shifted some emission pressures from a lot of countries.The forum, initiated by then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, was established in 2005 for legislators from the Group of Eight industrialized nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - and their counterparts from five emerging economies - China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa - to address the global climate issue and anti-poverty efforts.
SHANGHAI, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A traditional commodity fair in east China, conventionally regarded as a barometer of the nation's foreign trade, reported less demands from American businessmen than expected, indicating a possible slowdown of Sino-U.S. trade. The 18th East China Commodity Fair, an event held at the beginning of every year, reported around 1,600 American businessmen, far less than expected. "The number of the American businessmen to the fair was only two thirds of those from the European Union, showing the deficient domestic demands of the United States," said Wang Qingjiang, an official with the fair. "The subprime crisis in the United States has shown its influence on China's exports," he added. The 5-day fair registered total business deals worth 583 million U.S. dollars between Chinese companies and the U.S. businessmen, a 1.5 percent dip from last year. Deals worth more than 3.67 billion U.S. dollars were signed at the fair, a 3.52 percent growth from 2007. Deals between Chinese companies and the European Union businessmen added up to 879 million U.S. dollars, a 9.5 percent growth compared with the last fair. Chinese companies and the Japanese businessmen made deals worth906 million U.S. dollars, almost the same amount compared with last year. The fair attracted more than 19,000 businessmen from 145 countries and regions around the world, with more than 60 percent from Asia. According to experts, the fair could indicate the trend in China's foreign trade in 2008.