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Govt And Policies

Bank to strengthen ability to adjust rate

China's central bank said on Thursday that it would strengthen its ability to adjust interest rates and improve the efficiency of its medium-term lending facility, standing lending facility and reverse repo operations in 2017. In a report on financial market development in 2016, the People's Bank of China said it would increase the yuan's flexibility against the dollar, actively guide and stabilize market expectations and balance cross-border capital flows. It would also study and steadily push forward financial regulatory reform and improve the stability of financial institutions, as well as appropriately deal with some high-risk institutions this year.

Forestry trade volumes grow

China's forestry trade volumes reached $70.97 billion in the first half of this year, up 10.8 percent year-on-year, official data showed. The total value of the forestry sector's output reached 2.77 trillion yuan ($0.4 trillion), up 7.4 percent year-on-year, according to the State Forestry Administration. China's forest parks saw about 700 million visits in the first six months of this year, up 16.7 percent year-on-year and creating output value worth 550 billion yuan. The SFA will allow some demonstration areas to develop forestry tourism and other areas, as well as accelerating the establishment of industrial investment funds and private equity projects supporting emerging and strategic forestry sub-sectors. China's forestry aims to see its total industrial output value reach 8.7 trillion yuan by 2020, according to the development plan for the period of 2016 to 2020.

Railway delivers German products

Railway freight is bringing more and more German products to China, according to Chinese customs authorities. A shipment of baby formula and beverages from Germany arrived at a transborder e-commerce zone in Hangzhou last week. This is the 58th shipment received by Dolphin Cross-Border Technology Co Ltd, an e-commerce company. "German goods are thought to be durable. Dinnerware, children's car seats, water purifiers and baby formula are very popular with Chinese consumers," said Hu Xiaoxiao, manager of the company. Hangzhou customs said German goods are some of the most diverse imported goods they see. Since May last year, over 64 million yuan ($9.4 million) worth of German products have been imported via the China-Europe rail link, about 37 percent of the total amount of imported products via the route, according to Hangzhou's customs.

Freight train service prepares

Lanzhou, capital of northwestern Gansu province, is preparing to launch a second freight train service to South Asia. The new line will start from Lanzhou, traveling through Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to the Gwadar Port of Pakistan, Xu Chunhua, director of Lanzhou International Trade and Logistic Park, said at the China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair. In May last year, a rail and road cargo service opened between Lanzhou and Kathmandu, Nepal. Xu said the cargo service has been welcomed by southern Asian countries. In 2016, bilateral trade between China and Nepal was over 3 billion yuan ($440 million), and the volume is forecast to hit 10 billion yuan in the current year.  

Companies And Markets

Yuan weakens against dollar

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 31 basis points to 6.7953 against the US dollar on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Ford posts bumper sales

Ford Motor Co sales in China rose at their strongest pace this year in June, with the US automaker's top regional executive predicting strong single-digit growth for the auto sector overall in the third quarter. Ford China sales increased 15 percent year-on-year in June to more than 100,000 vehicles. Peter Fleet, Ford's Asia-Pacific chief, said in an interview he was "positive" and "optimistic" about the company's sales in China in the second half.

Jia Yueting resigns all Leshi roles

Jia Yueting, founder of Chinese internet company LeEco, resigned all his positions at the listed video-streaming arm Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp. The move came as LeEco continues to struggle with a cash crunch and unpaid debt, which has prompted a local court to freeze almost all of Jia's shares in Leshi, the Shenzhen-listed unit. Leshi said in a filing on Thursday that Jia stepped down as the chairman and exited the board of directors. He will focus on LeEco's automobile unit, which is not listed. Sun Hongbin, chairman of the real state developer Sunac China Holdings, joined the board of Leshi. Sunac and other investors poured 16.8 billion yuan into LeEco at the beginning of this year.

Petrobras, CNPC sign agreement

Brazil's state-run oil giant Petrobras signed a memorandum of understanding with the China National Petroleum Corp to exploit energy resources in Brazil and abroad. In the statement, Petrobras said the deal will allow the two state oil companies to benefit from each other's capacity and experience in oil and gas production. The agreement was signed by Petrobras President Pedro Parente and the vice-president of CNPC and president of PetroChina, Wang Dongjin. PetroChina is a listed arm of CNPC. Since 2013, Petrobras and CNPC have partnered to explore the Libra offshore oilfield in southeastern Brazil, which is considered potentially the most valuable oilfield in Brazil by its government. The agreement is key to establishing an arrangement in which both companies are expected to share risks and jointly contribute to investment.

Tesla delivers 22,000 vehicles

Tesla delivered 22,000 electric cars globally in the second quarter, up 53 percent from the same period last year, Tesla Motors China said in a statement. Of the cars delivered, 12,000 were Model S electric sedans and 10,000 were Model X utility vehicles, it said. The electric carmaker delivered more than 25,000 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter. It said the major factor affecting its Q2 deliveries was a severe production shortfall of 100 kilowatt-hour battery packs, which are made on new production lines using advanced technologies. Tesla produced 25,708 vehicles in Q2, bringing production for the first half of the year to 51,126, it said. For the second half of the year, Tesla said deliveries are likely to exceed those in the first half of the year.

Around The World

S. Korean loans under spotlight

South Korean banks are expected to tighten loan standards in the third quarter, amid the government's efforts to reduce household debts and stabilize the real estate market, a central bank survey showed on Thursday. The lending attitude index of commercial banks stood at minus 14 in the July-September quarter, down three points from the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea. The index below zero indicated more banks will tighten loan standards in the quarter than banks easing the standard. It was based on a survey of a total of 199 financial institutions, including banks, savings banks, credit card issuers and life insurers, conducted from May 29 to June 15.

Thai consumer confidence dips

Thailand's Consumer Confidence Index has dropped to the lowest level during the last five months, a report said Thursday. According to the Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the nation's CCI fell to 74.9 last month, the lowest level in five months. The UTCC center report said the fall was mainly due to a decline in the purchasing powers of the consumers, especially in the provinces. Consumers were largely concerned about the increased cost of living and rising prices of varied consumer goods. The center added that there was a sustained tight-money situation.