US Dollar Exchange Rates of 12th
November 2013
China Yuan 6.0924
Report from China
China's PMI Was 51.4 Percent in October
In October, China's manufacturing purchasing managers
index (PMI) was 51.4 percent, up by 0.3 percent monthon-
month. The PMI has risen for four consecutive months
suggesting the manufacturing sector was performing well
in difficult conditions.
In terms of enterprise size, the PMI for large-sized
enterprises was 52.3 percent, up by 0.2 percent month-onmonth;
that for medium-sized enterprises was 50.2
percent, up 0.5 percent month-on-month and above the
negative threshold for the first time in 5 months.
The index for small-sized enterprises was 48.5 percent,
down by 0.3 percent month-on-month and continues to be
below threshold for optimism.
The full press release can be seen at:
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/t20131101_4
02930857.htm
Steady expansion of retail sales in October
China‟s National Bureau of Statistics has issued a press
release showing that October retail sales of consumer
goods reached yuan 2,149.1 billion, up by 13.3 percent
year-on-year. The full press release can be seen at:
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/t20131112_4
02931123.htm
Of the total, retail sales of consumer goods from industrial
enterprises was yuan 1,057.9 billion, up 12.4 percent.
From January to October total retail sales of consumer
goods reached yuan 19,030.8 billion up by 13.0 percent
year-on-year.
Between January to October, retail sales of consumer
goods in urban areas grew by 12.7 percent, year-on-year;
while those in rural areas grew 14.5 percent, year-on-year.
Land purchases by Chinese developers slip for first
time in nine months
The total investment in real estate development in the first
ten months of 2013 was yuan 6,869.3 billion, up by 19.2
percent year-on-year of which, investment in residential
buildings was up 18.9 percent some 0.6 percentage points
lower than that in the first nine months.
See:
http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/t20131112_4
02931122.htm
Investment in residential buildings accounted for 68.7
percent of all real estate development investment.
In the first ten months, real estate investment in eastern
region grew by 17.1 percent year-on-year, but this was
down by 0.9 percent over the first nine months. Growth in
the central region stood at 20.1 percent, up by 0.1 percent
while in the western region growth was up by 23.8
percent, but still slightly weaker than previously.
In the first ten months, the land area purchased by real
estate development enterprises totaled 266.58 million
square metres, a year-on-year decline of 3.6 percent.
The total land transactions were valued at yuan 643.4
billion yuan, but the growth rate has fallen 12.9 percent
over that for the first nine months.
Policy direction outlined but strategies for
implementation yet to emerge
China‟s Communist Party leaders concluded their four day
plenum on 12 November.
The communiqué issued at the end of the meeting outlined
the broad policy directions but contained few particulars.
The communiqué is summarized at:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-
11/12/c_132882172.htm and here
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-
11/12/c_132882325.htm
A communiqué provided an insight to the policy direction
under the leadership of President Xi Jinping was clear on
the need for economic reform but conservative, as
expected, in other areas. The most encouraging statement
picked up by all the major news agencies was the pledged
to give competition a more "decisive role" in the economy.
The emphasis on the economy came as no surprise as the
country struggles to reverse the recent slowing in growth.
Analysts had been looking for specific decisions on the
role of state owned companies but mention of this was
only in the vaguest of terms as China‟s leaders said that
while state ownership would continue to play a key role in
the economy they endorsed more private ownership.
Not yet clear how far land reforms will be implemented
Details on the issue of land reform are yet to be released
however, statements after the meeting suggested that
farmers should have more property rights. The issue of
land ownership in China is said to be holding back
development in the rural areas.
All land in China is owned by the state and as such all
farmers are tenants so cannot raise investment using land
as collateral.
Analysts have long urged a change saying giving farmers
ownership, or at least more control, would unlock
immense wealth in the rural areas. One major obstacle to
such a reform is that it would affect local governments
which rely for revenue on land sales.
No anti-dumping charges on plywood from china
The United States International Trade Commission
(USITC) has determined that the US plywood sector is
neither materially injured nor threatened with material
injury by reason of imports of hardwood plywood from
China that the US Department of Commerce determined
are subsidized.
Chairman Irving A. Williamson and Commissioners Shara
L. Aranoff, Dean A. Pinkert, David S. Johanson, and
Meredith M. Broadbent voted in the negative.
Commissioner F. Scott Kieff did not participate in these
investigations. As a result of the USITC's negative
determinations, no antidumping or countervailing duty
orders will be issued.
The Commission's public report Hardwood Plywood from
China (Investigation Nos. 701-TA- 490 and 731-TA-1204
(Final), USITC Publication 4434, November 2013) will
contain the views of the Commissioners and information
developed during the investigations.
See:
http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2013/er11
05ll1.htm
Encouraging Green building
In order to further promote energy-efficient construction
and accelerate the development of „green building‟, the
Chinese authorities have indicated they will promote the
transformation and upgrading of urban and rural
construction.
In April 27, 2012, the Ministry of Finance and the
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction jointly
issued a report entitled: "Opinions On Accelerating The
Implementation Of Green Building Development”.
The State Council has also issued a "Green Building"
Action Plan developed by the National Development And
Reform Commission and the Ministry of Construction.
According to this action plan the proportion of green
building will account for 30 percent of the total building
area. The aim is to halve energy and resource consumption
during construction to attain levels achieved in developed
countries.
The Chinese government is encouraging the development
of green building development model. One such approach
is to combine green building and ecologically sustainable
urban growth. To test the applicability of such a model a
joint project between China and Singapore called the
“China-Singapore Tian Ecological City” development will
be completed within 10 years over an area of 30 square
kilometer home to some 350 000 people.
Imports from New Zealand exceeded those from
Russia
Russia has been the largest supplier of timber to China for
many years. But now China is diversifying its sources of
timber imports as it expands its downstream processing
industry through upgrading the applied technologies.
China‟s timber imports from Russia have fallen year by
year and in 2012 were just 11.2 million cubic metres or 29
percent of the national total. In contrast China‟s timber
imports from Oceania and North America have increased
rapidly.
China‟s timber imports from New Zealand in 2012 were
8.6 million cubic metres or 23 percent of the national total
but in the first half of 2013 were China‟s imports of timber
from New Zealand were 5.14 million cubic metres,
exceeding that from Russia. At the same time the share of
log imports from the USA and Canada have been
increasing steadily.
Zhangzhou City the largest provincial timber importing
centre
According to a recent copy of the China Green Times
newspaper, Zhangzhou City (Fujian Province) has become
the largest supplier of fast growing plantation raw
materials for industrial purposes. Some 153,000 hectares
of short cycle industrial plantations have been established
accounting for 60 percent of the total plantations in the
province.
At the same time, Zhangzhou City has become the largest
provincial timber importing centre, a record it has held for
many years. Timber imports through Zhangzhou Ports in
2012 rose 40 percent to 2.26 million cubic metres. There
are nearly 1000 timber processing and trading enterprises
in the city with the total output value of RMB34.52 billion
yuan. Of the total, the output value those of wooden
furniture and wood-based panel enterprises have grown
the fastest.
 
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