Sino-Japanese talks

Beijing and Tokyo have agreed to hold talks later this month on natural gas exploration in the East China Sea. The two sides will soon set up a meeting between their foreign ministers in an attempt to thaw icy relations.

The agreement was reached last Tuesday, the third and final day of a Sino-Japanese strategic dialogue in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and his Japanese counterpart, Yachi Shotaro, headed the two delegations.

Retail growth

The Ministry of Commerce said last week that the country's retail sales rose by 16 per cent year-on-year over the May Day holiday week, with larger retailers primarily driving growth.

Retail sales of consumer goods hit 278 billion yuan (US$34.7 billion) over the holiday period. The figure accounted for nearly half of the country's average monthly retail sales in the first quarter of this year.

Big chain enterprises used their larger sales networks and brand power to play a leading role in the "Golden Week" market, the ministry said.

Pyramid schemes

Chinese authorities have uncovered more than 1 billion yuan (US$125 million) in illegal pyramid scheme sales over the past 12 months, the Ministry of Public Security said last week.

Figures from the ministry reveal 516 cases involving 1,147 direct sales organizations. A total of 3,408 suspects were arrested.

Gao Feng, deputy director of the ministry's Economic Crime Investigation Bureau, said pyramid schemes had become a serious economic crime in China.

New fund

Bohai Industrial Investment Fund, the first fund launched by mainland enterprises to directly invest in other companies, will begin operations next month, Tianjin Mayor Dai Xianglong said last week.

"The fund's senior management team has been determined, so it's ready to start in June," Dai said.

The creation of the fund could lead to the establishment of similar organizations in China, which is welcome news for companies short on capital, analysts said.

Airport development

The central government said last week that China will spend more on airport development in the next five years than it has in the previous 15, opening up huge investment opportunities for overseas and domestic investors.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the industry regulator, said 140 billion yuan (US$17.5 billion) has been earmarked for airport development from 2006 to 2010. Only 120 billion yuan (US$15 billion) was invested in the country's airports between 1990 and 2005.

Spending will now focus on the development of 42 new airports, in addition to upgrades to existing infrastructure.

Dam completion

Construction of the giant Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is scheduled to finish by May 20, marking the completion of the biggest part of the Three Gorges Hydropower Project.

Cao Guangjing, deputy general manager of China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development Corp, said last week the dam would be completed nine months ahead of schedule.

The dam, which is 2,309 metres long, 185 metres high and 15 metres wide, will be the world's largest. Approximately 16.1 million cubic metres of reinforced concrete has been used on the project.

Port expansion

China's port and shipping facilities will be expanded to include two major new regions, the Ministry of Communications said last week.

Five new "port clusters" will be prioritized as part of a new development plan that will complement existing ports in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin.

Communications Minister Li Shenglin said some of the new port groups would be located on the mainland side of the Taiwan Straits, in East China's Fujian Province, and in South China's Hainan and Guangdong Provinces.

Growth forecast

The World Bank raised its economic growth forecast for China this year to 9.5 per cent from 9.2 per cent last Wednesday, following surprisingly strong growth in the first quarter.

The Chinese economy grew 10.2 per cent in the first quarter, compared with 9.9 per cent over the course of last year.

The World Bank also urged the Chinese Government to continue to rein in the current credit and investment boom.

The forecast was in line with comments made two weeks ago by China's Vice-Minister of Finance Li Yong. Li predicted the country's economy could grow by up to 9.5 per cent this year.

Mobile charges

The Ministry of Information Industry made a surprise move last week by giving telecoms operators the go-ahead to slash mobile phone charges in Beijing.

This will primarily affect the current system of charging users high fees for making and receiving calls.

The move is a milestone in the reform of charging schemes for telecoms voice services. The significant price cuts will be implemented later this month, said Wang Lijian, a ministry spokesman.

Ban lifted

China lifted a one-year ban on share sales last week, giving publicly traded companies more funding options to expand in an economy that grew 10.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Companies must meet 34 criteria to be eligible to sell stock, including three successive years of profit and dividend payments equal to at least 20 per cent of their income, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Initial public offerings are still prohibited, the commission said.

The end of the ban will widen access to capital as interest rates rise, and generate underwriting fees for securities firms.

Agricultural assistance

Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu called on agricultural departments across the country last week to help farmers with this year's summer harvest.

Hui said local agricultural departments should support and implement the State's preferential polices, such as stabilizing prices for grain and fertilizer, and providing subsidies for farmers who grow grain crops and purchase agricultural equipment.

Local governments were also urged to fully prepare for possible floods this summer, in order to minimize the impact on agriculture.

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