China protects environment against illegal mining -- China's top court on July 27 issued a judicial interpretation requiring local courts to accept public interest lawsuits against mining practices that have caused environmental damage. Mining without a license or with unsustainable methods has caused great damage to the environment and its seriousness has been underestimated, said Zheng Xuelin, presiding judge of the tribunal for environmental resource cases at the Supreme People's Court.
Official says HK should further enhance tax exemption regime to boost private equity fund sector -- There is room for further enhancement of the tax exemption regime in Hong Kong, in order to boost the private equity fund business, an official from Hong Kong's Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) said here on July 31. Florence Yip, the Convenor of FSDC New Business Committee, told a press meeting that Hong Kong has taken positive steps over the last few years to provide a business-friendly tax regime for the private equity and venture capital funds industry.
China to prioritize patent examination in certain fields -- China will prioritize the examination of patents in certain fields to improve patent licensing efficiency, the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) said on July 31. According to a set of regulations scheduled to go into effect August 1, the applications and reexamination of patents on energy saving, environmental protection, new-generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, intelligent manufacturing and some other industries enjoy such treatment. Patents that involve the Internet, big data, cloud computing and in sectors with fast evolution in product or technology will also have such priorities.
China lowers rail freight fees -- More rail freight charges will be canceled or lowered from Aug. 1, as China moves to cut logistics costs, according to China Railway. Eight charging items, including dust-cleaning fees, will be canceled, with a further three items be combined. The estimated savings will reach over 2 billion yuan (about 290 million U.S. dollars) each year, according to the plan.
China insurance regulator vows stricter supervision -- The Chinese insurance regulator has vowed to strengthen supervision to fend off financial risk and propel reform in the sector. "The whole sector will put risk control in a more important position," Chen Wenhui, vice chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), said when addressing a two-day internal meeting ending on July 29.
China streamlines environmental regulation on construction projects -- China has revised a regulation on environmental protection of construction projects, streamlining administrative procedures, according to a State Council decree. The revision removed qualification requirements on the undertakers of environmental impact evaluation. The revision will take effect from Oct. 1 this year.
New regulation enacted to make China's statistics more trustworthy -- A new regulation on the implementation of the revised Law of Statistics took effect, aimed at improving the authenticity and reliability of China's official data. The new regulation, released in June under a decree signed by Premier Li Keqiang, calls for standardization of statistical surveys from the source, and lists specifications on how to organize and carry out surveys.
Guidelines issued for local govts to issue special bonds -- The Ministry of Finance on August 2 issued guidelines allowing local governments to issue special bonds. The total amount of bond value cannot exceed the ceiling imposed by the State Council set at the beginning of the year, according to the guideline issued by the ministry. The guideline makes it clear that governments at the provincial level will be responsible for regulating the issuance of special bonds issued by municipal governments under their jurisdiction. （Source: China Daily）
China unveils 13th Five-Year Plan for LED industry -- The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and 12 other authorities of China had jointly released the 13th Five-Year Development Plan for the LED Industry on July 30, Xinhua-run Shanghai Securities News reported. According to the plan, China will achieve breakthroughs in key LED technologies, increasing total output value to over one trillion yuan and cultivating one more LED companies with revenues of more than 10 billion yuan along with one to two international famous brands.
A single purchase
