China to support equity incentives for foreign employees -- China has rolled out new rules to support equity incentives for foreign employees at domestic listed firms in its latest efforts to further open up the capital market. Procedures will be streamlined as the money involved will be managed in a registration-based manner, according to a statement released on February 12 by the country's central bank and forex regulator. Related operations such as cross-border payment and remittance can be conducted after registration without having to apply for approval. The new rules also allow foreign workers to choose the resource of the money involved in equity incentives. It can come from their legal domestic income or be remitted from overseas, the statement said. China allowed foreign employees to enjoy equity incentives from domestic listed firms in 2016 and extended the beneficiaries from those working in the mainland to all working for the company in 2018.
China releases revised industry catalogue encouraging foreign investment -- China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on February 1 jointly released industry catalogue that encourages foreign investment for soliciting public opinions to further boost foreign investment and optimize foreign investment structure, according to a report by the Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News. The draft includes such two parts as an industry catalogue for encouraging foreign investment nationwide as well as a foreign investment advantageous industry catalogue for central and western China regions which are both revised base upon existing catalogues. China is expected to further relax market access for deepening opening up in sectors such as service, agriculture, mining and manufacturing, while speed up opening up in telecom, education, health care and culture sectors, said Meng Wei, spokesperson with the NDRC in a recent press conference, noting that sole proprietorship by foreign investment would be allowed in more areas.
State Council releases vocational education reform implementation plan -- China has vowed to cultivate more quality laborers and skilled workers by reforming its vocational education systems, according to a plan for implementing the reform issued by the State Council, or China's cabinet. Vocational education and training systems will be reformed to match with science and technology development trends and market demands and to promote economic modernization and higher quality employment, the official documents note. All sectors of society, especially enterprises, are encouraged to support the country's vocational education, it says, adding that major companies are welcome to run vocational schools and offer high-quality programs.
China sees improving medical condition in poor regions -- China has witnessed major improvement in the medical condition of impoverished counties, with more than 400 hospitals in these areas being upgraded to higher levels, said a senior official with the National Health Commission (NHC) on February 13. Over 30 hospitals in these counties can now provide medical services comparable to that of top hospitals in the country, said Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the Medical Administration Bureau under the NHC, at a press conference.
China pilots Internet plus nursing program -- China is piloting an Internet plus nursing program from February to December, according to a notice by the National Health Commission to local health authorities. Under the program, approved medical institutions can send their nurses to communities or homes to serve patients who are too old or restricted by their diseases to move. The names of these medical institutions will be made public by health authorities. Six provincial-level regions across the country -- Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong --have been chosen for the pilot program. Other provincial-level regions may also select a few cities or prefectures to take part in the program. The program requires nurses to have at least five years of clinical nursing experience.
Tianjin Binhai New Area to quicken construction of international shipping hub -- Tianjin Binhai New Area, a national-level comprehensive reform and innovation zone in the eastern coastal area of north China's Tianjin, intends to accelerate the pace of building itself into an international shipping center in northern China in 2019, reported the Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News on February 12 quoting Tianjin Daily. According to Tianjin Daily, specific measures will include smart port construction, clearance time and compliance cost reduction, function improvement, sea-rail combined transport system optimization and aggregation of high-end shipping elements such as shipping financing and insurance, etc. It is reported that Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd., the largest port operator of Tianjin Port, will develop its container service vigorously and expand import business in 2019, aiming at achieving a transit capacity of 1.3 million standard containers around the Bohai rim and a sea-rail combined transport volume of 550,000 standard containers.
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