Investment slews

Growth in fixed asset investment slowed down last month as government measures to rein in the economy began to bite.

Urban fixed asset investment from January to July rose 30.5 per cent year-on-year to 4.48 trillion yuan (US$560 billion), compared to the annualized growth of 31.3 per cent in the first half of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said last week.

Rapid investment growth and concerns of potential overheating in the economy have forced the central government to adopt a series of measures to cool down investment and lending since the end of April.

Measures included a lending-rate hike and higher reserve requirements for commercial banks twice within two months, in addition to other credit curbs and land control measures. The authorities also set a higher threshold for new construction projects.

Internet rules

New regulations are in the pipeline to regulate video content on the Internet in the wake of a surge in short satirical films online, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

Video spoofs have become so popular that netizens have even coined a slang term, "egao," to describe the act of using real film clips to create mocking send-ups.

From late August or September, only authorized websites such as sina.com, sohu.com and netease.com, will be allowed to show short films under the regulations, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing an announcement by the administration.

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