Chinese financial institutions see net FDI inflows in Q1 -- China's financial institutions, including banks, insurers and securities firms, saw net investment inflows from overseas investors in the first quarter, data from the nation's foreign exchange regulator showed on May 9. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China's financial institutions came in at 3.5 billion U.S. dollars in the first three months, while 2.7 billion U.S. dollars of investment flowed out, resulting in an 800 million U.S. dollar net inflow, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). The country's financial institutions made a net overseas investment of 2 billion U.S. dollars during the period.
China's total outbound investment jumps in Q1 -- China's outbound direct investment (ODI) including financial and non-financial sectors registered rapid growth in the first quarter, according to official data. All-industry ODI totaled 28.2 billion U.S. dollars, up 16.2 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Domestic investors made 25.5 billion dollars of non-financial ODI in 2,023 overseas enterprises in 140 countries and regions for January-March, up 24.1 percent from the same period last year.
China's foreign trade up 8.9 pct in first four months -- China's goods trade rose 8.9 percent year-on-year to 9.11 trillion yuan (about 1.43 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first four months of this year, customs data showed on May 8. China's goods exports rose 6.4 percent year-on-year to 4.81 trillion yuan in the January-April period, while imports grew 11.7 percent to 4.3 trillion yuan, resulting in a trade surplus of 506.24 billion yuan, which narrowed by 24.1 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC). In April, goods trade surplus shrank by 27 percent to 182.8 billion yuan, as exports rose 3.7 percent year-on-year to 1.27 trillion yuan, while imports grew 11.6 percent to 1.09 trillion yuan, according to the GAC.
China's forex reserves drop in April -- China's foreign exchange reserves stood at 3.1249 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of April, down from a month earlier, according to central bank data released on May 7. This was lower than 3.1428 trillion dollars registered at the end of March, according to the People's Bank of China (PBOC). The State Administration of Foreign Exchange attributed the drop to the weakening of non-dollar denominated currencies against the greenback and lower asset prices. The cross-border capital flows and transactions had remained stable, it said.
China’s foreign trade with B&R countries sees rapid growth in 2017 -- In 2017, the total import and export volume of China and the Belt and Road countries reversed the two consecutive years of negative growth to reach 1,440.32 billion U.S. dollars, up 13.4 percent year on year, which was 5.9 percentage points higher than China's overall foreign trade growth rate, and accounting for 36.2 percent of the country's total import and export trade volume. In a breakdown, last year, China’s exports to the Belt and Road countries stood at 774.26 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 8.5 percent year on year, accounting for 34.1 percent of China’s total exports. Its imports from those countries amounted to 666.05 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 19.8 percent year on year, accounting for 39.0 percent of its total imports.
SMEs raise over 26 bln yuan in China's New Third Board this year -- Some 633 small and medium-sized enterprise have issued shares on China's National Equities Exchange and Quotation (NEEQ), also known as the "new third board," and raised 26.22 billion yuan (about 4.12 billion U.S. dollars) so far this year. The NEEQ is a share transfer system designed for small and medium-sized companies to increase financing. It now has 11,367 listed firms. Market turnover on the NEEQ has reached 29.46 billion yuan since Jan. 15 this year when a new trading system and other new policies were introduced, according to NEEQ data.
Shanghai banking sector assets hit 14.8 trln yuan -- Total assets in Shanghai's banking sector saw steady growth in the first quarter of 2018, according to the local banking regulatory body. By the end of March, assets of Shanghai's banking industry reached 14.8 trillion yuan (about 2.32 trillion U.S. dollars), up 3.8 percent year on year, according to the Shanghai office of China Banking Regulatory Commission. The loan balances hit 7 trillion yuan by March, up 11.2 percent year on year, while the balance of deposits grew by 4.3 percent year on year to 9.4 trillion yuan. The non-performing loan ratio was 0.53 percent by March, down 0.03 percentage point from the beginning of this year, a record low within four years.
Tibet's tourism revenue up 47 pct in Q1 -- Tibet has seen dramatic growth in tourism revenue in the first quarter this year. From January to March, Tibet welcomed 1.06 million tourists, up 49.5 percent from a year ago. Total tourism revenue also rose 47 percent to 1.26 billion yuan (198 million U.S. dollars), according to the regional Tourism Development Commission on May 6. Tourism had been slack in winter in Tibet due to frigid weather on the highland. In January this year, the regional government published a series of preferential policies including hotel and ticket discounts, and charter flight and train services to lure domestic and overseas tourists.
Beijing home to 260,000 qualified registered trademarks in 2017 -- Beijing had over 260,000 qualified registered trademarks in 2017, according to a report released by the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce on May 8. Beijing's trademark applications exceeded 320,900 last year, with qualified registered trademarks hitting 264,853, according to the report. At the end of 2017, Beijing had more than 2.1 million market entities, with every 10,000 market entities holding 5,554 registered trademarks, more than any other city in China.
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