Asian markets down as investors look to uncertain 2022

HONG KONG - Asian stocks were mostly down in Wednesday trade as a "Santa Claus rally" showed signs of fatigue and continued fears over the Omicron variant -- as well as uncertainty about economic prospects for 2022 -- weighed on markets.

Covid-19 cases have surged across the world, prompting governments to impose new measures to limit contagion while the travel industry faced thousands of flight cancellations.

Warnings from the World Health Organization that the risk from the variant remains "very high" have compounded the sense that the pandemic is far from over, though data showing a reduced risk of hospitalization has lifted spirits.

Reflecting the uncertainty, Tokyo closed down in thin holiday trade on Wednesday, with the market weighed down by US futures losses.

Seoul was also down, while Sydney and Wellington rose. Europe opened mixed, with London's FTSE slightly up while Paris and Frankfurt fell. 

In China, markets fell, in a slide analysts partly attributed to losses in shares of major liquor brands -- including Kweichow Moutai, one of the world's biggest drinks companies.

"The drop is mostly contributed by some blue chips, in particular the baijiu names," Zhang Gang, a strategist at Central China Securities, told Bloomberg.

"It's likely that some funds want to cash out before the year-end after the recent rebound."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down as investors eyed uncertain prospects for 2022 as well as a continued debt crisis in the mainland's property market.

A continued regulatory clampdown by Beijing on overseas listings by Chinese firms has also weighed down markets -- though expectations that the country's central bank will add further stimulus in 2022 offered some hope.

FITS AND STARTS 

But trading volumes remain thin going into the new year, when prospects for global growth and the long-term impact of the Omicron variant are expected to become clearer.

Moody's economist Mark Zandi said in a note the Omicron wave would dent growth in the first quarter, but "not have a material impact" on 2022 overall because of a rebound later in the year.

"Even after the Omicron wave abates, there will almost surely be others. But we expect each new wave to be less disruptive to the healthcare system and economy than the wave before it," he said.

Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, was also upbeat, saying her firm was "pretty constructive going into 2022".

"We're having fits and starts related to this Omicron variant of course. This will create maybe demand delayed but not destroyed," she told Bloomberg TV.

There was also optimism on oil markets, with crude holding a roughly one-month high on hopes that the Omicron variant will not dent global travel in the ways many had feared.

Agence France-Presse

Costco cuts short China debut after shoppers swamp store

SHANGHAI, China - US retailer Costco was forced to cut short the opening day of its inaugural mainland China outlet over safety worries Tuesday after huge crowds of bargain-hunters swamped the store in suburban Shanghai.

The massive warehouse outlet issued a notice to users of its official app in the early afternoon saying that it would no longer allow more customers through the doors, citing an "overcrowding" situation inside the store and traffic chaos in surrounding areas.

Earlier in the day, an AFP journalist observing the store's opening witnessed frantic scenes as thousands of shoppers jostled to get their hands on everything from fresh meat to big-screen TVs and giant teddy bears.

"Due to overcrowding in the market, and in order to provide you with a better shopping experience, Costco will temporarily close on the afternoon of August 27. Please avoid coming," the notification said.

In a text message to AFP, a spokesman for Costco said the doors were shut to new incoming customers but that those inside would be allowed to finish shopping.

Analysts have warned Costco's model may struggle in a market that has been tough on foreign food retailers but shoppers descended on the outlet in droves as soon as the doors opened, prompting staff to move them into the store in phased groups to maintain order.

But they continued to flow in, leading to shopping cart gridlock throughout the store, especially in more popular areas such as the food section, where people scrambled to get their hands on meat and other produce.

Elsewhere, shoppers pushed and shoved for access to the freshly cooked rotisserie chickens as staff pleaded with buyers to form a line.

Outside, motorists complained on social media about three-hour waits to get into the store's parking lot, while others stood for lengthy periods in 36-degree (97 fahrenheit) heat outside the store hoping to get in.

But there were no immediate reports of any injuries or scuffles.

The spokesman said the store, which sprawls out over 1.4 hectares (150,000 square feet) in Shanghai's southwestern suburbs, planned to open as normal on Wednesday.

Foreign "hyper-markets" have struggled in China, with some criticized for failing to cater to the country's consumer habits.

In June, French chain Carrefour agreed to sell 80 percent of its China business to domestic retailer Suning after suffering recurring losses.

German wholesaler Metro is in the process of selling its operations to a local bidder and Britain's Tesco pulled out of the Chinese market in 2014.

Costco also faces stiff competition from online shopping options provided by the likes of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which have proven hugely popular.

But Costco already has had an online presence in China for 5 years.

Richard Zhang, Costco's senior vice president for Asia, told AFP last week that data gleaned from those online sales convinced the retailer that Chinese consumers were now ready for a bricks-and-mortar version.
© 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

US, China move trade talks to Shanghai amid deal pessimism

BEIJING/WASHINGTON - U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators shift to Shanghai this week for their first in-person talks since a G20 truce last month, a change of scenery for two sides struggling to resolve deep differences on how to end a year-long trade war.

Expectations for progress during the two-day Shanghai meeting are low, so officials and businesses are hoping Washington and Beijing can at least detail commitments for "goodwill" gestures and clear the path for future negotiations.

These include Chinese purchases of U.S. farm commodities and the United States allowing firms to resume some sales to China's tech giant Huawei Technologies.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he thinks China may not want to sign a trade deal until after the 2020 election in the hope that they could then negotiate more favorable terms with a different U.S. president.

"I think probably China will say "Let's wait," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Let's wait and see if one of these people who gives the United States away, let's see if one of them could get elected."

For more than a year, the world's two largest economies have slapped billions of dollars of tariffs on each other's imports, disrupting global supply chains and shaking financial markets in their dispute over China's "state capitalism" mode of doing business with the world.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at last month's G20 summit in Osaka, Japan to restart trade talks that stalled in May, after Washington accused Beijing of reneging on major portions of a draft agreement -- a collapse in the talks that prompted a steep U.S. tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods.

Trump said after the Osaka meeting that he would not impose new tariffs on a final $300 billion of Chinese imports and would ease some U.S. restrictions on Huawei if China agreed to make purchases of U.S. agricultural products.

CHIPS AND COMMODITIES

Since then, China has signaled that it would allow Chinese firms to make some tariff-free purchases of U.S. farm goods. Washington has encouraged companies to apply for waivers to a national security ban on sales to Huawei, and said it would respond to them in the next few weeks.

But going into next week's talks, neither side has implemented the measures that were intended to show their goodwill. That bodes ill for their chances of resolving core issues in the trade dispute, such as U.S. complaints about Chinese state subsidies, forced technology transfers and intellectual property violations.

U.S. officials have stressed that relief on U.S. sales to Huawei would apply only to products with no implications for national security, and industry watchers expect those waivers will only allow the Chinese technology giant to buy the most commoditized U.S. components.

Reuters reported last week that despite the carrot of a potential exemption from import tariffs, Chinese soybean crushers are unlikely to buy in bulk from the United States any time soon as they grapple with poor margins and longer-term doubts about Sino-U.S. trade relations. Soybeans are the largest U.S. agricultural export to China.

"They are doing this little dance with Huawei and ag purchases," said one source recently briefed by senior Chinese negotiators.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday said he "wouldn't expect any grand deal," at the meeting and negotiators would try to "reset the stage" to bring the talks back to where they were before the May blow-up.

"We anticipate, we strongly expect the Chinese to follow through (on) goodwill and just helping the trade balance with large-scale purchases of U.S. agriculture products and services." Kudlow said on CNBC television.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He for two days of talks in Shanghai starting on Tuesday, both sides said.

"Less politics, more business," Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics, who closely follows the trade talks, said of the possible reason Shanghai was chosen as the site for talks.

"Each side can take a small step first to build some trust, followed by more actions," Tu said of the potential goodwill gestures. 'DO THE DEAL’

A delegation of U.S. company executives traveled to Beijing last week to stress to Chinese officials the urgency of a trade deal, according to three sources who asked to not be named. They cautioned Chinese negotiators in meetings that if a deal is not reached in the coming months the political calendar in China and the impending U.S. presidential election will make reaching an agreement extremely difficult.

"Do the deal. It's going to be a slog, but if this goes past Dec. 31, it's not going to happen," one American executive told Reuters, citing the U.S. 2020 election campaign. Others said the timeline was even shorter.

Two sources briefed by senior-level Chinese negotiators ahead of next week's talks said China was still demanding that all U.S. tariffs be removed as one of the conditions for a deal. Beijing is opposed to a phased withdrawal of duties, while U.S. trade officials see tariff removal -- and the threat of reinstating them -- as leverage for enforcing any agreement.

China also is adamant that any purchase agreement for U.S. goods be at a reasonable level, and that the deal is balanced and respects Chinese legal sovereignty.

U.S. negotiators have demanded that China make changes to its laws as assurances for safeguarding U.S. companies' know-how, an insistence that Beijing has vehemently rejected. If U.S. negotiators want progress in this area, they might be satisfied with directives issued by China's State Council instead, one of the sources said.

One U.S.-based industry source said expectations for any kind of breakthrough during the Shanghai talks were low, and that the main objective was for each side to get clarity on the "goodwill" measures associated with the Osaka summit.

There is little clarity on which negotiating text the two sides will rely on, with Washington wanting to adhere to the pre-May draft, and China wanting to start anew with the copy it sent back to U.S. officials with numerous edits and redactions, precipitating the collapse in talks in May.

Zhang Huanbo, senior researcher at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), said he could not verify U.S. officials' complaints that 90 percent of the deal had been agreed before the May breakdown.

"We can only say there may be an initial draft. There is only zero and 100% - deal or no deal," Zhang said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

5G future on display with robots, AI at China tech fair

SHANGHAI -- The near future where robots take charge of mundane tasks like grocery shopping to helping doctors save lives was on display in this Chinese financial hub on Wednesday, all powered by the upcoming 5G standard that promises to transform the way people interact with technology.

This year's Mobile World Congress was a display of practical applications of 5G, which Chinese tech titans are selling to the world, despite opposition from the US.

The biggest exhibitors include Huawei, the world’s largest manufacturer of telecom infrastructure and number two smartphone maker that was blacklisted by Washington, compatriots Vivo and Oppo, chipmaker Qualcomm and carriers China Telecom and China Unicom.

Compared to 4G or LTE, 5G promises faster data transfers and at larger volumes at a time. In the home, it can help power smart devices such as virtual assistants housed in speakers and ultra high definition television and gaming.

It can be used by autonomous vehicles to carry both people and cargo, automating both transportation and logistics.

Big data can harness 5G speeds to aid doctors in diagnosis and treatment. Another application allows users to pay for their groceries without passing through the check out counter since the computing is done on the cloud.

One 5G-powered robot was controlled using a glove with sensors, reminiscent of the big robot cartoon "Daimos" that was popular in the 1980s.

Another robot, its body shaped like that of a woman, interacted with visitors as it danced.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Victoria's Secret gala in China hits snag as Gigi Hadid pulls out

Top US fashion model Gigi Hadid on Friday pulled out of the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show in Shanghai after an online video showing her apparently making a slant-eyes face sparked criticism in China.

The announcement is the second apparent snag to hit the US lingerie maker's A-list underwear extravaganza set for Monday, following reports that three Russian and one Ukrainian model had failed to obtain Chinese visas.

Hadid, ranked fifth on Forbes' list of the highest-paid women models last year at $9 million, had excitedly announced her participation in the show in August.

She gave no reason for the reversal.

"I'm so bummed I won't be able to make it to China this year," the 22-year-old said on Twitter.

"Love my VS family, and will be with all my girls in spirit!"

Hadid's withdrawal averts a potential PR disaster for Victoria's Secret, which is hoping to shore up a sagging bottom line by pushing into China's growing intimate-wear market.

The company opened its first flagship stores in China this year and Monday's show is the first held outside the US or Europe.

Chinese internet users accused Hadid of racism after her sister Bella -- another of the three dozen or more models expected in Shanghai -- posted an Instagram video in February showing Gigi squinting her eyes while holding up a Buddha-shaped cookie.

After Hadid announced in August that she would come to Shanghai, many Chinese netizens pounced anew, warning her to stay away.

Hadid posted a bilingual apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo on September 1, declaring her "respect and love for the people of China" and swearing she meant no harm, but even that drew flak.

A Victoria's Secret spokesman declined comment when asked by AFP whether Hadid pulled out on her own, was asked to by the company, or whether Chinese authorities applied any pressure.

- Not welcome -

Chinese Weibo users mostly crowed over her withdrawal.

"Suddenly I have better feelings about VS. If she had come, I would never buy VS my entire life," said one posting.

Others, however, expressed regret, noting Hadid's apology.

Speculation has also swirled over the participation of Russia's Julia Belyakova, Kate Grigorieva and Irina Sharipova, and Ukraine's Dasha Khlystun, after unconfirmed reports suggested they were denied Chinese visas.

The Victoria's Secret spokesman declined comment.

"That's getting into a Chinese government issue. Victoria's Secret is not going to comment on that," he said, referring line-up questions to each model's individual agencies.

The annual show, viewed by millions worldwide, features the planet's top models including Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jasmine Tookes and Lais Ribeiro.

It tapes Monday and airs globally on November 28.

China's foreign ministry said Friday it was "not aware" of the Hadid or visa issues.

"I can only tell you that we welcome foreign citizens to come to China, to engage in normal trade, tourism and cultural activities. And we are willing to issue visas to the eligible applicants," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily briefing.

Hadid joins a list of foreigners who wore out their China welcome.

Celebrities including singers Bjork, Elton John and Lady Gaga, and actors such as Richard Gere and Sharon Stone, have either been banned or pilloried for words or actions deemed as criticising China on sensitive topics like Tibetan independence and human rights.

Argentine international footballer Ezequiel Lavezzi, who plays for Chinese club Hebei China Fortune, apologised in May after publicity photos showing him pulling the corners of his eyes back in a slant-eyed gesture angered many. He is still with the club.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Escalator at China mall 'devours' cleaner's foot

Chinese state television showed surveillance camera footage of the moment a janitor's foot was caught in an escalator at a shopping mall in Shanghai on late Saturday (August 1) night.

The footage, which was acquired from the mall by state broadcaster CCTV and released on Monday (August 3), shows two people jumping over the top platform of the escalator just before a janitor, surnamed Zhang, walked over to mop its steps.

Within seconds of stepping over the escalator's top platform, Zhang slipped and his left foot was caught between a gap in the escalator's steps.

It took local firefighters around 20 minutes to free Zhang from the escalator's grasp, but doctors at a local hospital were unable to save his foot and were forced to amputate it, CCTV said.

Zhang is still recovering at the local hospital, CCTV added.

Authorities from the Market Monitoring Bureau of Shanghai's Changning district told CCTV that they are now conducting an investigation into the incident.

The escalator, which was manufactured in 2004, has been closed off from the public since Saturday's incident, CCTV said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'BRICS' bank launches in Shanghai, to work with AIIB

SHANGHAI - Officials from the world's largest emerging nations launched the New Development Bank (NDB) on Tuesday, the second of two new policy banks heavily backed by Beijing that are being pitched as alternatives to existing institutions such as the World Bank.

Also known as the BRICS bank, it follows soon after the establishment of the China-led Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB). The new bank will fund infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The ceremony on Tuesday concludes a lengthy wait since the NDB was first proposed in 2012. Disagreements over the bank's funding, management and headquarters had slowed its launch.

"Our objective is not to challenge the existing system as it is but to improve and complement the system in our own way," NDB President Kundapur Vaman Kamath said.

He added that after a meeting with the AIIB in Beijing, the NDB had decided to set up a "hotline" with the AIIB to discuss issues, and to forge closer ties between "new institutions coming together with a completely different approach."

The bank is considering raising funds by issuing a "substantial" amount of bonds in member markets to help mitigate costs arising from exchange rate fluctuations, he said.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said the NDB's support of infrastructure projects will help "ease long-running bottlenecks faced by emerging and developing countries, and help them speed up, adjust and upgrade economic development."

The ceremony, held in Shanghai where the NDB's headquarters are located, was relatively low-key in comparison to a June signing of the articles of agreement for the AIIB in Beijing, which was attended by delegates from 57 countries and President Xi Jinping.

"From our standpoint we are really looking forward to cooperating with the new institutions...the needs (for infrastructure) are huge," said Karin Finkelston, a vice president at the World Bank, adding that the World Bank had been helping the AIIB and NDB on issues such as human resources.

The Japan-led Asian Development Bank, in a statement quoting its president Takehiko Nakao, said it hoped to explore opportunities to co-finance projects with the NDB.

The NDB will have an initial capital of $50 billion to be equally funded by the five members who will have equal voting rights. The capital will be expanded to $100 billion within the next couple of years.

The members will also establish a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 billion. China has pledged to contribute $41 billion, Brazil, India and Russia will each contribute $18 billion, while South Africa will contribute $5 billion.

Kamath, a former executive with India's largest private bank ICICI Bank, told Reuters earlier this month that the NDB plans to issue its first loans in April next year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

China evacuates over 865,000 as super typhoon nears

SHANGHAI, China - Super typhoon Chan-hom barreled towards eastern China near commercial hub Shanghai on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of more than 865,000 people after earlier lashing Japan's Okinawa island chain and Taiwan.

The powerful storm could be the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Zhejiang province, which borders Shanghai to the south, for the month of July since 1949, China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said.

At 9:00 am (0100 GMT) on Saturday, the typhoon was around 115 kilometers (71 miles) southeast of Zhejiang province over the East China Sea packing winds of up to 187 km per hour, the NMC said.

It was forecast to make landfall in Zhejiang on Saturday in the afternoon, striking near the port city of Ningbo before approaching Shanghai.

In addition to the large-scale evacuations, the province had called nearly 30,000 fishing boats back to port after waves reached up to 10 meters (33 feet) high off the coast, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Local television showed heavy rain and wind lashing the coastal province under grey skies.

The storm left five people dead in the Philippines earlier in the week and injured more than 20 people in Japan on Friday as strong winds uprooted trees and battered buildings, the Tokyo Broadcasting System broadcaster reported.

Four people were also injured by falling trees in Taiwan when the storm buffeted the island on Friday.

'Not bad so far'

Shanghai had issued the second most serious typhoon alert, according to the local government, but had so far ruled out a direct hit on the city of 23 million. Chan-hom was around 370 km from Shanghai on Saturday morning, local television said.

The city government urged people to stay home, as the weather disrupted scores of flights, trains and buses from Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines cancelled around 400 flights on Saturday, state media said.

Traffic had thinned on the streets, though some people on motorcycles and even bicycles braved the rain, which blew down small branches.

"It's not bad so far. We'll stay open even if there is one customer," said one seller at a small stand offering traditional breakfast food like fried dough.

The typhoon was forecast to affect a wide swathe of China, also bringing heavy rain to the eastern provinces of Fujian and Jiangsu, the NMC said.

"The upcoming typhoon seems very powerful. We have sealed all our windows and doors and have stored food," said Liu Yimin, a villager in coastal Huagang village, according to Xinhua.

People in coastal fishing farms in Fujian, south of Zhejiang, were also asked to evacuate Friday morning when the NMC first issued a red alert -- the highest level -- for the super typhoon.

The typhoon is the second storm to hit China in days after severe tropical storm Linfa made landfall on the coast of southern Guangdong province.

The US government's Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast Chan-hom would head towards the Korean peninsula, bringing "gale-force" winds to along the west coast of South Korea after hitting China.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

China stocks rebound sharply after Beijing slaps curbs on selling

BEIJING/SHANGHAI - Chinese stocks rebounded around 6 percent on Thursday, as Beijing's increasingly frantic attempts to arrest a sell-off that has roiled global financial markets finally appeared to gain some traction.

In the most drastic step yet to prop up the market, China's securities regulator banned shareholders with large stakes in listed firms from selling. The banking regulator said separately it would allow lenders to roll over loans backed by stocks.

By the close of trading, the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen had raced up 6.4 percent, while the Shanghai Composite Index bounced 5.8 percent for its biggest daily percentage gain in six years.

China's malfunctioning stock markets remained semi-frozen, however, with the shares of around 1,500 listed companies - or around $2.8 trillion of stock - suspended, and some analysts said it was too early to call the endgame.

"The market sees some positive signs today," said Du Changchun, analyst at Northeast Securities in Shanghai. "But it is far from calling it a victory for the rescuers as more than half of listed companies are not trading."

More than 25 percent has been knocked off the value of Chinese shares since mid-June, and for some global investors the fear that China's market turmoil will destabilize the financial system is now a bigger risk than the crisis in Greece.

"We are inclined to believe that Beijing will escalate policy responses until they start working," said economists at Credit Suisse in a research note.

"If market conditions do not stabilize, we expect a statement of 'whatever it takes' from the Chinese government, given that social stability is at stake and financial systemic risks are evident."

The United States has voiced worries the stock market crash could get in the way of Beijing's economic reform agenda.

"NATIONAL TEAM"

The plunge in China's previously booming stock markets, which had more than doubled in the year to mid-June, is a major headache for President Xi Jinping and China's top leaders, who are already grappling with slowing growth.

Beijing, which had made handing a larger role to market forces a centerpiece of its economic reforms, has responded with a battery of support measures, including an interest rate cut, suspension of initial public offerings and enlisting brokerages to buy stocks, backed by cash from the central bank.

"The government will be able to stabilize the market because they have a lot of tools in the toolbox," said Christopher Moltke-Leth, head of institutional client trading at Saxo Capital Markets.

"But it is concerning that the Chinese government doesn't allow market forces to work, and that’s something China must change over time."

The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the Communist Party's official newspaper, invoked the "national team" in an editorial rallying support behind the authorities' efforts to arrest the slide.

"While there are disaster victims everywhere in China’s stock market, the other scene is that the 'national team' is truly taking action," the paper said.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said on its website late on Wednesday that holders of more than 5 percent of a company's stock would be barred from selling for the next six months.

The CSRC, which warned on Wednesday of "panic sentiment" gripping a market dominated by ordinary retail investors, said it would deal severely with any shareholders who violated the restriction.

The prohibition is unlikely to have much impact on foreign investors. No Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII), one of the main channels of foreign investment in China, holds more than 5 percent of a Shanghai or Shenzhen listed company. Foreign investors with more than a 5 percent stake in Chinese firms are all strategic investors.

"BIG FIST"

As the daily barrage of official measures to prop up the market continued, the banking and insurance regulators announced a series of moves to ease margin lending requirements and terms on stock-backed loans.

In the latest salvo against short sellers, who bet on falling prices, official news agency Xinhua said police were investigating suspected "malicious" selling of shares. The probe showed that the authorities would "punch back" with a "big fist" against illegal activities, Xinhua said on its microblog.

China's stock market is still smaller than those of many developed countries relative to GDP, and equity financing only accounts for a small portion of companies' capital funding.

"Even if the sell-off in Chinese mainland equities continues for a while, we doubt it will have a major adverse effect on China's economy," David Rees, economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

Nevertheless, commodities that are sensitive to the outlook for the world's second-biggest economy have been hit, with copper prices touching a six-year low on Wednesday and iron ore tumbling to a 10-year low.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Chinese markets welcome central bank easing but hunger for more

SHANGHAI - Chinese stocks shot up more than 2 percent on Thursday before paring gains and money rates eased after the central bank injected more money into the system to spur bank lending and support the world's second-biggest economy.

The yuan also dipped after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut banks' reserve requirement ratios by 50 basis points, a widely expected stimulus move that has helped fuel a stock market rally of nearly 40 percent in the last few months.

"The cut was largely priced in to the stock market (already), but it has reconfirmed an important message to investors that China's monetary cycle has firmly shifted to the loosening camp," Jing Ning, Portfolio Manager at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, wrote in a note to clients.

"The next question is whether this is followed by a rate cut by the PBOC. We will not see the impact of last November's rate decision on the economy until the end of this quarter."

Weighed down by a cooling property market, industrial overcapacity and slowing investment, China's economy grew at its slowest pace in 24 years in 2014 and is expected to cool further to around 7 percent this year, even with additional stimulus.

China's factory sector unexpectedly shrank for the first time in nearly 2-1/2 years in January and firms see more gloom ahead, an official survey showed on Sunday, raising expectations that policymakers will have to take more action to forestall a sharper slowdown.

But Chinese investors, like their counterparts in many other parts of the world around the world, are seeing the glass as half-full and betting that a flood of cash from central banks will continue to boost share prices even as the weaker economy threatens companies' profit margins.

In Shanghai, the CSI300 index was up around 1 percent by early afternoon after surging 2.5 percent at the open, while the Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC was up 0.7 percent after opening up 2.4 percent.

The yuan opened at 6.2560 per dollar and was at 6.2536 at midday, 59 pips away from the previous close.

As the economy cools, money has been flowing out of China, putting downward pressure on the currency and prompting large state-owned banks to step in to sell dollars to ensure the yuan's weakness doesn't trigger even larger outflows.

Analysts at ANZ believe the RRR cut will inject about 600 billion yuan ($95.96 billion) into the banking system, though questions remain over whether the money will fund real economic activity or be channeled into speculation like bigger bets on the stock market.

"We maintain our view that the authorities will not depreciate the currency, as that would risk even more capital outflows, which could prove to be destabilising," ANZ strategists wrote in a daily note.

Money market rates edged down slightly, with the weighted average of the benchmark seven-day bond repurchase agreement CN7DRP=CFXS was 4.4 percent in late morning, down a moderate 14 basis points from Wednesday.

Economists generally expect the central bank to cut reserve ratios one or two more times this year and lower interest rates again, in addition to pumping more funds into the system as it struggles to bring down persistently high funding costs which are putting further strains on debt-laden Chinese companies.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

China New Year crush victims mainly young women

SHANGHAI - China on Friday mourned the 36 dead from a New Year's Eve crush on Shanghai's famed waterfront, as the city government revealed the victims were mainly young women.

The incident was Shanghai's worst since a fire in a high-rise residential building killed 58 people in 2010 and tarnished the commercial hub's international reputation.

On Friday morning, around 100 people gathered in front of a statue of Shanghai's first communist mayor Chen Yi near the accident scene, some laying flowers in a government-approved show of mourning.

The youngest of the 32 victims identified so far was a 12-year-old boy, the oldest 37. All but four were aged 25 or under, according to a list released by the city government on Friday, and 21 were female.

University student Chen Xiaohang placed white chrysanthemums at the site in memory of the sister of a high-school classmate who died.

"I feel very sad about this and I hope the government will offer better safety controls for events like this," she told AFP.

Shanghai residents were questioning why the city government did not control the crowds, though police said a "more than normal" 700 police officers were present.

"The Shanghai government should take responsibility for the incident. Most of the young victims must be the only child of their families," taxi driver Xu Jianzhong said.

Under China's strict birth control regulations most couples are restricted to a single child.

Authorities at first removed flowers after the incident but later set up crowd barriers to allow them to be laid in a controlled area. On Thursday evening, mourners lit candles including an arrangement in the shape of a heart.

Internet postings and media reports initially blamed US dollar-like notes -- actually promotional items from M18, a glitzy Bund nightclub -- thrown from a building for setting off a scramble and causing the carnage.

But police said the "money" throwing occurred 12 minutes after and 60 metres away from the crush in a plaza.

"This happened after the stampede incident," police said in a statement that cited surveillance video, adding it did not cause crowding pressure.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

China closes poultry markets amid bird flu

16 fall ill from bird flu in China

SHANGHAI - Chinese officials have found traces of the new bird flu virus in more areas in Shanghai and in the nearby city of Hangzhou, news reports said on Saturday, as authorities slaughtered birds to stop the spread of the virus that has killed six people.

State-run Xinhua news agency said authorities planned to cull birds at the two live poultry markets in Shanghai and another in Hangzhou after samples of the H7N9 virus were detected in birds at all three sites.

Over 20,000 birds have been culled in the Huhuai market, where traces of the virus were found earlier this week.

Officials in Shanghai, China's financial hub, ordered all live poultry markets in the city closed on Saturday, leaving the food stalls empty and signs reading "The market is closed until further notice".

The new strain of bird flu has infected 16 people in China, all in the east of the country. Six people have died, and the outbreak has spread concern overseas and sparked a sell-off in airline shares in Europe and Hong Kong.

There were no signs of panic in Shanghai, where four of the six deaths have taken place, and people said they were not yet worried. But the culling, which has been widely publicised, did underline for some how close to home the issue had become.

"Now it's just downstairs," said Liu Leting, a user of Weibo, China's version of Twitter which has over 500 million users.

"Suddenly I discover that I'm living in an epidemic zone!"

In one middle price-range restaurant in a the city, a waitress said that the restaurant planned to stop serving chicken dishes because of the outbreak.

"After we sell out the chicken in stock, we will not buy new chicken and will stop serving chicken dishes for the time being," said the waitress, who declined to be named.

While the strain does not appear to be transmitted from human to human, authorities in mainland China and Hong Kong said they were taking extra precautions.

"I support shutting down poultry markets. If the poultry markets stayed open, the virus would continue to spread," Shanghai resident Zhao Juying told Reuters.

Hong Kong's government said it is intensifying surveillance of travelers and poultry coming into the city.

China and Hong Kong were badly hit by the 2002-2003 epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that started in China and killed about one-tenth of the 8,000 it infected worldwide.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

No sign of human transmission in new bird flu cases

BEIJING - The World Health Organization says no evidence has emerged to show that a type of bird flu which has killed two Chinese men can be transmitted between people.

Two men in Shanghai, aged 87 and 27, fell sick in late February. A woman in Anhui province also contracted the virus in early March and is in critical condition.

"At this point, these three are isolated cases with no evidence of human-to-human transmission", the WHO representative in China, Dr. Michael O'Leary, told reporters on Monday.

China's National Health and Family Planning Commission confirmed on Sunday that the three cases were the H7N9 virus, which had not previously been known to infect humans.

"A new virus tends to be more virulent in the beginning. Either it is going to become a truly human virus, in which case we have to start dealing with it regularly, or it is going to be primarily an animal virus with just a rare human case," O'Leary said.

Some Chinese had complained that authorities took too long before announcing the deaths on Sunday. O'Leary said the government acted properly as the deaths needed to be investigated.

"China actually for a long time has been reporting promptly and openly. I think SARS was a turning point globally for that sort of thing. Not just in China," he said.

He was referring to the 2003 epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which caused a scandal when official numbers of cases were later dramatically revised upwards.

SARS emerged in China and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide.

People buying poultry at a Shanghai market on Monday said they were worried the incidents had been made public only weeks after the deaths and said they hoped the government would be quick to report any new cases.

"In the future, no matter what it is, the government should make it public quickly and let the people know early. That way they can prevent it themselves", said shopper Zhang Zhili, 60.

Many users of Chinese microblogs, known as "weibo", said they suspected the latest outbreak of bird flu was related to more than 16,000 pig carcasses recently found dumped in rivers around Shanghai.

O'Leary said that while the dead pigs were part of the overall investigation, there was no evidence of any connection.

It is not known how the three victims were infected. The virus does not seem highly contagious because no health abnormalities were detected among 88 of the victims' close contacts, the health commission said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Apple in Shanghai court over 'Siri' claim

SHANGHAI - Apple appeared in a Shanghai court on Wednesday, accused by a Chinese firm of copying software used for the "Siri" personal assistant on its hugely popular iPhones.

The Californian company's products are big sellers in China, and chief executive Tim Cook said in January he expects it to surpass the US as the firm's largest market, but the relationship is sometimes troubled.

Shanghai's Zhizhen Network Technology Co. claims Apple infringed its patent for voice recognition software, and the two companies were summoned to present evidence at a pre-trial hearing, representatives of the Chinese firm said.

The legal challenge comes after Apple last year paid $60 million to Chinese computer maker Shenzhen Proview Technology to settle a long-running dispute over the "iPad" trademark, whose ownership was claimed by both companies.

State media have also attacked Apple in recent days, with the People's Daily urging consumers in a commentary to "strike away Apple's unparalleled arrogance" for alleged double standards in customer service and returns policies.

Apple has denied those accusations in statements to Chinese media.

Zhizhen says it patented its "Xiao i Robot" software in 2004, while Apple's Siri, which made its debut with the release of the iPhone 4S in 2011, was first developed in 2007.

Siri, described by Apple as an "intelligent personal assistant", responds to a user's commands through voice recognition software.

The Chinese company's product operates in a similar way and works on Apple's iOS system as well as rival Android.

It has wide application in areas including telecommunications, finance and e-commerce and Zhizhen claims more than 100 million users in China, according to a statement.

"The company will ask Apple to stop manufacturing and selling products using its patent rights, once Apple's infringement is confirmed," Si Weijiang, a lawyer representing Zhizhen, told AFP.

"We don't exclude the possibility of demanding compensation in the future," he said.

In court Apple denied the allegations and unsuccessfully asked for the case to be rejected, he added.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

The full case is scheduled to be heard in July, Zhizhen spokeswoman Mei Li told AFP.

"We surely have confidence, our lawyers also told us they have confidence, but of course we will have to see how the judge will rule," she said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Dead pigs in China river exceed 13,000

SHANGHAI - The number of dead pigs found in a river running through China's commercial hub Shanghai had reached more than 13,000, the government and state media said Monday, as mystery deepened over the hogs' precise origin.

The Shanghai government said workers pulled 335 pigs out of the Huangpu river, which supplies 22 percent of the city's drinking water, on Monday, bringing the total to 9,795 since the infestation began earlier this month.

Shanghai has blamed farmers in Jiaxing in neighbouring Zhejiang province for dumping pigs which died of disease into the river upstream, where the official Xinhua news agency said another 3,601 dead animals had been recovered so far.

The Jiaxing government has said the area is not the sole source of the carcasses, adding it had found only one producer that could be held responsible.

Shanghai had checked farms in its southwestern district of Songjiang, where the pigs were first detected, but found they were not to blame, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said on Monday.

The scandal has spotlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy.

Samples of the dead pigs have tested positive for porcine circovirus, a common swine disease that does not affect humans.

"Due to some farming households having a weak recognition of the law, bad habits, and lack of increased supervision and capability for treatment have led to the situation," the national agriculture ministry's chief veterinarian Yu Kangzhen said.

Yu attributed a higher mortality rate among pigs to colder weather this spring, though he ruled out an epidemic, the ministry said in statement posted on its website over the weekend.

The Shanghai government said in its statement that the quality of drinking water remained within national standards, despite widespread worries over water quality among the city's 23 million residents.

The thousands of dead pigs have drawn attention to China's poorly regulated farm production. Animals that die from disease can end up in the country's food supply chain or improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.

In Wenling, also in Zhejiang, authorities announced last week that 46 people had been jailed for up to six-and-a-half years for processing and selling pork from more than 1,000 diseased pigs.

China faced one its biggest food-safety scandals in 2008 when the industrial chemical melamine was found to have been illegally added to dairy products, killing at least six babies and making 300,000 people ill.

In another recent incident, the American fast-food giant KFC faced controversy after revealing that some Chinese suppliers provided chicken with high levels of antibiotics, in what appeared to be an industry-wide practice.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Court says Apple can still sell iPads in Shanghai

SHANGHAI — A Shanghai court has rejected a request in a trademark case to stop Apple selling its iPad tablet computers in the city, averting an embarrassing suspension of iPad sales in its own flagship stores.

The Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court denied a request by Proview Technology (Shenzhen) for the injunction and agreed to Apple’s request that the trademark infringement case be suspended pending a ruling in a separate case in a higher court.

The decision, announced on Thursday on the court’s website, gives Apple some leeway in a larger battle over the iPad trademark in China, which is important to Apple not only as a consumer market, but also because the country is a major production base for the iPad and other of its products.

Its attention will now shift to the appeal it has filed against an earlier decision in Proview’s favor by a court in Shenzhen, in the southern province of Guangdong.

“It’s a great help to Apple by giving it some breathing space,” said Ren Wenfeng, a lawyer at Guo Ce Law Office, which is not involved in the Proview-Apple dispute.

“But it’s not clear whether Apple will eventually win the trademark infringement case in China, as the crucial thing will be the ruling by the Guangdong higher court.”

The dispute, which dates back to a disagreement over what was covered in a deal for the transfer of the iPad trademark to Apple in 2009, has seen iPads seized by authorities in some Chinese cities.

Proview, which maintains that it holds the iPad trademark in China, has been suing Apple in various jurisdictions in the country for trademark infringement, while also using the courts to get retailers in some smaller cities to stop selling the tablet PCs.

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An injunction on iPad sales in cosmopolitan Shanghai would have dealt a bigger blow than the earlier cases, as it would have forced the U.S. tech giant to remove the tablet PCs from the shelves of its three own stores in Shanghai, one of its biggest markets.

“This is a wrong decision,” Roger Xie, Proview’s lawyer, said by telephone. “We will submit an application for the court to reconsider its decision.”

The outcome of the broader dispute, which Proview has said it is willing to settle out of court, will now hinge largely on the decision of the higher court in Guangdong, with a hearing in that case scheduled for February 29.

A decision against Apple in that case would set a precedent that would create an uphill battle in other cases in lower courts around the country.

Proview and its eight main creditors, which include lenders such as Bank of China, China Minsheng Banking Corp and China Merchants Bank Co Ltd, would prefer an out-of-court settlement with a sum of compensation, executives close to the situation said.

Proview’s parent, Hong Kong-listed Proview International Holdings Ltd, was the first Taiwanese technology company to list in Hong Kong, and by the end of the 1990s numbered itself among the top five computer monitor makers.

In 1999 it partnered with U.S. chip maker National Semiconductor to launch the I-PAD, a stripped-down desktop computer whose main selling points were its Internet connectivity and ease of use.

Proview continued to grow, shifting from computer monitors to become the world’s third-largest OEM manufacturer of flat panel TVs, but by August 2009, when Apple began trademark talks through a proxy, Proview had been badly hammered by the financial crisis.

Trading of its stock was suspended in Hong Kong in August 2010 after creditors in China went to court to recover assets. The company faces delisting in June if it cannot provide the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a viable rescue plan.

source: interaksyon.com

Chinese firm seeks halt of iPad sales in Shanghai

SHANGHAI — A Chinese technology firm sought to halt the sale of Apple Inc’s iPads across the affluent city of Shanghai, arguing at a local court hearing on Wednesday that the U.S. firm had infringed on its trademark.

Previous court rulings in favor of Proview Technology (Shenzhen) have covered specific retailers in smaller cities, but a Shanghai order, if imposed, would eat into one of Apple’s biggest markets in China.

Proview lawyers argued, at times emotionally, that an immediate halt of iPad sales be implemented in China’s commercial hub, which is the home to three of the country’s five Apple stores.

Apple defended its right to use the trademark in China and said Proview had no ability to produce or sell its own device under the same name.

“Proview has no product, no markets, no customers and no suppliers. It has nothing,” Hu Jinnan, a partner at Guangdong Shendadi law firm, which is representing Apple in the case, told the court.

“Apple has huge sales in China. Its fans line up to buy Apple products. The ban, if executed, would not only hurt Apple sales but it would also hurt China’s national interest.”

The Shanghai Pudong New Area People’s Court has not said when it will issue its decision, but Roger Xie, a partner at Grandall Legal Group representing Proview, said it was likely to be soon. Apple would in any case have the option to appeal should it lose.

Highlighting the strong interest in the case, some 100 reporters gathered around the court building while the hearing was taking place. Some local residents took the opportunity of the media attention to voice their own grievances over local authorities, holding up banners in front of the assembled TV cameras.

Series of court battles

Proview says it owns the iPad trademark in China and a Shenzhen court ruled in its favor last December.

Apple disputes Proview’s ownership of the trademark, saying it bought the rights to the name in China from Proview in 2009. The firm has appealed against the Shenzhen judgment, with a higher court hearing set for February 29 in China’s southern province of Guangdong.

Following the Shenzhen case, Proview has launched a multi-pronged approach to get Apple’s iPads off the shelves in the world’s second-biggest economy, with mixed success.

Xie reiterated that Proview is open to settle the case out of court with Apple.

“Both sides have willingness to negotiate,” Xie told reporters outside the court.

“Official negotiation hasn’t started yet, and both sides will submit their plans before the talks. A settlement outside the court is quite possible.”

Apple’s iPad has a huge lead over rival tablet PCs in China, with a 76 percent market share. It has three Apple retail stores in Shanghai, with the two other flagship stores in Beijing.

But it is not only the consumer market in China that is important for Apple because the country is also a major production base for the iPad and other Apple products.

Proview, a financially troubled technology company, has already petitioned Chinese customs to stop shipments of the iPad in and out of China, although authorities have indicated such a ban would be difficult to impose.

Over the past week, Proview’s efforts have borne fruit as local media reported that some cities have started enforcing Proview’s request to remove iPads.

Proview’s lawyers said last week it had won a lawsuit in the southern city of Huizhou against a retailer selling Apple’s iPads, possibly boding well for its case in Shanghai.

Proview’s parent, Hong Kong-listed Proview International Holdings Ltd, was the first Taiwanese technology company to list in Hong Kong and by the end of the 1990s numbered itself among the top five computer monitor makers.

In 1999 it partnered with U.S. chip maker National Semiconductor to launch the I-PAD, a stripped-down desktop computer whose main selling points were its Internet connectivity and ease of use.

Proview continued to grow, shifting from computer monitors to become the world’s third-largest OEM manufacturer of flat panel TVs. But by August 2009, when Apple began trademark talks through a proxy, Proview had been badly hammered by the financial crisis.

Trading of its stock was suspended in Hong Kong in August 2010 after creditors in China went to court to recover assets. The company faces delisting in June if it cannot provide the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a viable rescue plan.

source: interaksyon.com