Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda said in Vienna yesterday that the pace of the adjustment of Chinese yuan should be decided by the Chinese authorities themselves. "A flexible yuan would be in the interests of the Chinese economy," Kuroda told reporters at the end of a two-day meeting of the European and Asian finance ministers. (Shenzhen Daily)

China is not deliberately pursuing expansion of its foreign exchange reserves or any particular level of reserves, the People's Bank of China said last week. Wu Xiaoling, vice-governor of the central bank, said that an excessive trade surplus, the source of much of China's reserves, was not desirable and needed to be addressed through policies. (China Daily)

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, overall acquisition deal activity in 2006 is unlikely to match 2005 in terms of value. Sectors where significant activity is expected include IT and electronics, general manufacturing, retail and consumer products, and transportation and distribution. (Shenzhen Daily)

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